Ronny Yu, 2006, Hong Kong, 104 mins
Cast: Jet Li, Nathan Jones, Collin Chou, Shidô Nakamura, Betty Sun, Bao Qijing Collin Chou, Dong Yong
Review by Robert Bennett
The end of an era has come. Jet Li, five times Chinese Wu Shu champion and international movie star, has put his last martial arts epic on celluloid. He takes on the role and story of Chinese martial arts master, Huo Yuanjia, founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. In an impressive film career which spans over twenty years and thirty films - playing such famous Chinese martial arts legends as Wong Fei Hong, Fong Sai Yuk, Zhang San Feng, Chen Zhen - it seems as if it was Li’s destiny to finish in the genre which would make him a legend in his own right.
So is this a worthy farewell from Li, and can his last martial arts epic compare with other masterpieces of the genre? Fans will straight away see the similarities with Li’s previous work with Tsui Hark, and the Once Upon A Time In China trilogy. But as convincing as Li was in those roles, he seems to struggle with playing the Huo Yuanjia character, giving a competent performance, but one that doesn’t match previous endeavours. One reason for this could be the poor choice in director and the sloppy handling of the film’s characters, themes and drama. It’s as though director Ronny Yu – Bride of Chucky, Freddy versus Jason fame- is out of his depth in a genre which not only relies on action, but the ability to tell a story on a dramatic and epic scale.
With Fearless, we revisit the philosophies, themes and characteristics of many of Li’s previous epics. The messages are poured on thickly at times. At certain points, we see characters being sacrificed merely in support of the film’s themes, giving them an element of cheesiness which is one of the film’s major flaws - having Betty Sun’s character blind, for example. Its nationalism makes it feel like a government-sponsored Communist propaganda film, but this is an extreme view, and mostly this feeling can be chalked down to Yu and his mishandling of the film’s messages. It’s just such a finger-breaking shame that Jet Li didn’t re-team with the likes of Zhang Yimou, Donnie Yen and Quentin Tarantino to create his final project.
Yet you can’t help but be impressed with Yu and the sheer volume of significant ideas he sprinkles throughout the film. Blatantly obvious as they are, they are none the less still meaningful as human themes which affect us all: self-sacrifice, politics, a united China with socially responsible citizens, fast city life versus slow-paced country life, the foreign influence on Chinese tradition and culture, the importance of martial arts and the nature of violence and its consequences, loss due to arrogance and self-obsession, glory, compassion, love, honour, Japanese/Chinese relations… They all get a good look-in throughout the course of the movie.
Yu’s direction is a hit-and-miss affair. Certain scenes actually benefit from Yu’s overtly naive and aggressive directing style, working in the film’s favour by keeping us engaged in the narrative. Take the mountain village scenes, where Li learns about nature and the real meaning of life, and the gruesome death of his mother and daughter. But the fight between Li and Nathan Jones, the terrifying head-case/giant wrestler-man, while impressive, doesn’t seem to fit and stands out as a set-piece in a film which tries to drum in too many idioms all too often.
But if I’m boring you with all this talk about wussy themes and messages, fear not action fans, all is not lost. Fearless boasts some truly never-seen-before bone- crunching, blood-spewing martial arts action from Jet. It is here where we clearly see the effect of Yu’s influence on the film, with a clear and more visibly brutal, violent and exhilarating style which Li adapts in his fight scenes. It seems Mr Li will not be outdone when it comes to the hard stuff, especially by the likes of whippersnappers like Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak). The 43-year-old Li matches Jaa kick to bloody punch and seems to get better with age, showing himself as a true master of the genre. With fight choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix) and subtle and masterfully handled wire work, we are kept firmly grounded in the reality of the film’s fast-paced martial arts action. The restaurant fight scene with Master Chin deserves multiple viewings as does the weapons fight between the Japanese Samurai and Jet Li; Shidou Nakamura using a samurai sword against Jet’s three-sectional staff is just amazing. Add the fight scene with Huo’s old boyhood enemy on top of a giant pillar and you get some of the most intricate Wu Shu action that only a true martial arts legend like Li can supply on the big screen. Forget other retired action stars like Arnie. Li’s back for the last time and, by god, will we miss him.
With stunning costumes, set design, music and cinematography - which has clearly been influenced by the likes of such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - the film has a beauty and detail to it which shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s been edited down from the original 150 min version and mercilessly chopped into a 103 min theatrical version. Hopefully, a DVD edition will rescue the lost scenes of Michelle Yeoh and the duel between Jet Li and a Thai boxer from the cutting room floor.
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