Fearless (***1/2)
Fearless tells the story of Huo Yuan Jia (which is actually the film's original title), a renowned Chinese wushu master who competed during the beginning of the 20th century and formed a school which still exists internationally today. Huo Yuan Jia is played by Jet Li, supposedly acting in his final martial arts film at the age of 44. The film follows Huo from early in his life up until his death, and in this way is a very focused and personal film. At the same time, however, the film ties Huo's rise to national fame to China's desperate need for national pride, during a time when foreign governments had begun openly exploiting the country, and its once subservient neighbor of Japan had begun to force its will upon it.
The first half of the film begins with Huo as a youth aspiring to be like his father-- also a wushu mater-- and following him as he gains notoriety as a fighter himself and founds his martial arts school. This first act culminates in a bloody confruntation with another wushu master who injured one of his students. After this, the film transitions into a more relaxed interlude where Huo goes into a self-imposed exile in a rural farming community. This segment has no fighting and very little dialogue, but still contains some of the more poignant scenes in the film, as Huo meets a blind woman with whom he seems to develop an unspoken bond.
As beautiful as some of these scenes are, Fearless is clearly going to be remembered first and foremost for its fighting. Supposedly, very few wires were used in Fearless's filming, and its evident. The fighting is raw, fast, and intense and the full range of Jet Li's martial arts prowess is shown. The movie culminates in a scene in which Jet Li fights four different international fighters with four different fighting styles, with each fight having at least one "That kicked ass" moment. The film is going to be remembered for a long time amongst fans of martial arts movies.
Fearless is only a little over an hour and a half long, and the scenes setting up the political intrigue and cultural backdrop surrounding the fighting seem sort of barebones. There aren't any exchanges of dialogue that are going to be incredibly memorable-- save perhaps a scene where Huo philosophizes with a Japanese sword fighter-- and the vilification of the foreign characters seems somewhat over the top even in their limited time on screen. Still, the film's incredible fight sequences and beautiful fight scenes speak volumes even if the dialogue sometimes does not. And indeed, the most powerful statement of the film during the climactic fight requires no words whatsoever.
If Fearless is indeed Jet Li's last martial arts film, it is a good way to go out.
