“Every knot can be untangled.”
This hopeful action/drama film, Fearless reteams Jet Li with producer Bill Kong (Hero) and action director and choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (Unleashed). Li takes the lead as Huo Yuanjia, a Chinese martial arts fighter who takes a deep personal journey and keeps his promises made at important life crossroads.
Director Ronny Yu uses flashbacks and some signature close camera shots to tell the story, loosely based on real life events surrounding the famous Huo Yuanjia. Yu also creates some iconic moments (Huo’s field practice) and sequences (a memorable discussion about tea) that etch deep memories lasting long after this one hour and 43 minute film has ended. More historical background in the plot would’ve been helpful, but it doesn’t take long for Huo’s personal story to jump to the forefront.
The martial arts genre has been known for life lessons in the dialogue — some great, some not so great. In this case, great lines like “Fear and respect are not the same,” and “The most formidable enemy lies within you” boost this film’s credibility.
As the 20th century begins, Huo Yuanjia seeks the title of martial arts champion of Tianjin. The title Fearless directly describes the way Huo looks at his opponents, but the secondary emotions tied to that look change each time ranging from rueful to arrogant. Huo’s foreign adversaries include performances by Australian native Nathan Jones (Troy) as the “Hercules” fighter and Shido Nakamura as the honorable Japanese fighter Anno Tanaka.
Collin Chou (Seraph from the Matrix film series and the upcoming DOA: Dead or Alive) plays Yuanjia’s father, even though he’s actually about four years younger than Jet Li. Yong Dong has a memorable performance as Huo’s best friend, Jinsun, and Sun Li debuts on the big screen as Huo’s love interest, Moon. “I see everything with my heart,” says Moon, who teaches Huo valuable life lessons during an emotional respite from his martial arts activities.
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