Disc Reviews
Jet Li’s Fearless (Unrated Widescreen Edition) | DVD Review
“Fearless is by no means a great film, but it is hokey fun with an energy and star turn that’s hard to resist.”
From Chinese director Ronny Yu and martial arts superstar Jet Li comes the liberal biopic of a cultural icon in Fearless.
Fearless is the story of Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li), a turn of the century Wushu (a style of kung fu) legend. Set against a vague geopolitical backdrop of Western oppression, Yuanjia must overcome his own personal demons to become part of a larger historical legacy in which he enters into a series of showcase competitions meant to belittle the Chinese fighting spirit, but ends up galvanizing the country behind Yuanjia’s impossiblle heroics.
Fearless has the distinction of being Jet Li’s ‘on the record’ final martial arts epic. The star has decided that at age 42, it’s time to draw the curtain on a fighting career that has spanned more than 25 years and 35 films (although he will continue to film in other genres). In theory, Li uses this farewell opportunity as a stage from which to extol the peaceful virtues of Wushu and his own moral ideals. Ironically, that message gets lost amid the film’s plentiful fight sequences. In terms of the physicality, there are moments in which Li moves with the speed and grace of someone twenty years his junior. However, Li is 42 years old and that means some wire work and CGI to give certain scenes a little extra ‘lift’. There are numerous over the top performances that feel like a throwback to kung fu flicks of the 60’s and 70’s. It’s within this spirit of old skool grandeur that you can forgive the film it’s faults; there’s some cartoonish depictions of Westerners, but no less implausible than the way in which I’ve seen Asians treated in North American cinema.
There’s not a whole lot by way of extras here. There’s a 7 minute deleted scene that’s interesting in so far as it’s a completely intact sequence that would have fit comfortably into the final film and not just a discarded alternate version of an existing scene. There’s also a 16 minute featurette called ‘A Fearless Journey’ which takes a snapshot of the film’s genesis through the words and eyes of Li and director Yu. Li disusses some of his own philosophies and talks a bit about why he has chosen to retire from the martial arts genre.
Fearless is by no means a great film, but it is hokey fun with an energy and star turn that’s hard to resist. And if you’re expectations aren’t particularly high with regards to extras (or if you’re a die hard fan of Jet Li), then what’s included will probably be sufficient as a rather small cherry on top of the film.