Huo opened up a successful martial arts school, Jingwu Sports Federation, and the people rallied behind him. The Foreign Chamber of Commerce didn’t like losing control, so they set up a series of matches against Huo, which he accepted. Nong smelled a trap, but Huo was aware of what rewards would come if he succeeded. The story comes full circle and the final bout between Huo and Tanaka takes place. Tanaka found the contest unfair, but Huo allowed it to proceed as planned.

Fearless rises above other martial arts film by taking the story one step further and showing the ramifications of the violence. That high-mindedness may put some viewers off, but the film isn’t as cerebral as it sounds. There’s plenty of glorious action choreographed by the legendary Yuen Wo Ping. Whether hand-to-hand or weapons combat, there are plenty of great set pieces, especially the fight in Nong’s restaurant. The special effects are limited and only once was I distracted by something that looked unreal. It’s mainly just the skills of the men on screen and director Ronnie Yu wisely keeps the camera wide to capture the violent ballet.

The DVD extras include and short documentary about the film, “A Fearless Journey,” and a deleted scene when Huo was staying with the villagers where he takes on the punishment for a young boy. Nothing is lost by its absence, but it is well worth seeing. The audio is in Chinese and dubbed in English. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French. The few times English is spoken in the original film it is subtitled as well. The Widescreen Edition is presented in Anamorphic 2.40:1.

For film buffs, in Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury, which used to be known as The Chinese Connection until 2005, Lee played Chen Zhen, a fictional student of Huo Yuanjia. That film was twice remade as New Fist of Fury starring Jackie Chan and Fist of Legend starring Jet Li.