Jet Li’s Fearless

Legendary Li Makes Graceful Exit

By Rossiter Drake (Sep 21, 2006 )  

If Fearless is indeed Jet Li’s final martial-arts movie, as he has recently claimed, then it is a fitting swan song to a storied career. Sure, its approach is familiar: a young, immature hothead dreams of becoming a fighting champion, ignoring his father’s constant reminders that violence is best avoided. He becomes a champion, surrounds himself with sycophantic cronies and parades about the city, always looking for his next fight. Soon enough, he gets his comeuppance, loses everything and retreats to the countryside in disgrace -- only to experience a spiritual rebirth and learn, too late, his father’s lesson.

It’s a storyline that has become a staple of the martial-arts genre, and Fearless slips into it like a pair of well-worn sneakers. The hothead, in this case, is Huo Yuanjia (Li), who fights first for personal glory, then later in life for his country. Neither Huo nor his lifelong friend Nong (Dong Yong) are pleased when their native China is derided by Japan and much of the Western world as the Sick Man of the East. It is then that Huo, eager to fight for the honor of his countrymen, enters his final bout.

Expertly choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping (Unleashed), Fearless features some of Li’s finest, most elegant fights to date. At 43, Li remains a dazzling performer. He has lost none of his fluid athleticism, making his acrobatic leaps and chops something to behold. Yet Li, unlike so many martial-arts prodigies, is also a charismatic actor, and it’s hard not to be won over by his boyish smile. Even as an arrogant, impudent young man, Huo has an easy charm that overshadows his boorishness. He redeems himself, but is betrayed and murdered in the last act. As with Li, it’s sad to see him go.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars