Fearless (2006)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Memorable, crazy movie

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This film is inspired by the story of Huo Yuanjia, a Chinese martial arts master. In the opening scene he is taking part in a series of fights against four foreign opponents; he has already defeated three of them and is about to fight the four when the action jumps back thirty years. Young Yuanjia is the son of a martial arts teacher but is forbidden to learn it himself because of his asthma; he is determined to learn anyway. He gets in a fight and is beaten shortly after witnessing his father lose because he was unwilling to land a fatal blow… Yuanjia swears he won't lose again. As the years pass he becomes a great fighter with a large retinue of disciples… he also becomes arrogant. One day one of his followers is beaten by a rival master so Yuanjia fights and defeats him; the pleasure of victory doesn't last long as his opponent dies and his son takes bitter revenge against Yuanjia's family. Heartbroken he leaves his home town and eventually ends up in a remote village where he lives a peaceful life for several years. He then returns home and discovers it has changed; westerners are there and they look down on the Chinese. He determines to found a martial arts school and demonstrate that the foreigners aren't as strong as they believe; this brings us back to where the film begins and Yuanjia fights his final match.If you are looking for a film with a good story and some great martial arts them you are sure to really enjoy this. Jet Li does a great job as Huo Yuanjia; as well as being fantastic in the numerous fight scenes he brings an emotional integrity to the dramatic moments. The fights are fairly bone crunching and feel more real than the highly choreographed fights that appear in many films. These fights are also fairly varied and include highly kinetic fights between martial arts masters; a fight with swords that just about destroys a restaurant and a fight between the relatively small Huo Yuanjia and a man-mountain from the west. The secondary actors are also pretty good. For an action film it is surprisingly emotional at times; most notably when Yuanjia's family is targeted and we then learn that there was no real reason for the fight that led to it. Before watching this I hadn't heard of Huo Yuanjia but having looked up a little bit about the real man it is clear that this is very much inspired by his story rather than being based entirely on known events… that does not spoil the film though. Overall a really good martial arts film that fans of the genre should like.These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitles.

(58%) A better than decent addition to period far-east martial arts moves comes this offering from legend Jet Li. Films such as this need more than just a couple of good fights to be anything worth a look, and I'm glad to report this has. The plot is basic stuff, yet it's still a well told tale of revenge and regret. The fights themselves are really well done with finely choreographed set-pieces that although push the realms of reality are still very enjoyable to watch. Overall this has all the most important bases covered: it's well made, the performances are good enough, the action works, and this has a compelling plot with a fair amount of soul and passion running through.

This movie is a great sense of how to learn about yourself in a pursue of happiness. It is uncommon for people in this day and age, for one, to find true happiness in what they do. Most die and never see real importance of life and their own propose. This movie is one of my favorites because, Huo dreams so big into being the best Wushu master and claiming his house name among china, that he not only forgets what is most important to him, but he sacrifices the lives around him for his own endeavor. After realizing what he has done, he leaves uncertain of his own motivation in his life. Then he is picked up, aged, and in a isolated place where he learns the meaning of life and how to grow. He learns here that not only is his dreams still worth chasing but the reasons why he does it is not for his own greed, but rather for the teaching of others. He realize through honorable competition he can find himself, learn who he is and in his place of happiness die with peace. For he has left others to do good. Unfortunately, my review probably still does not do justice for this film but I would recommend this movie to everyone in hopes that they see, what my words lack.

The grandeur and the simplicity of this martial arts epic root it in its history and milieu, and makes of the old China a tale that is at once a powerful myth and an expression of love for the simple truths evident in the hearts and minds of decent people, just as the greatest Hollywood Westerns showed America in an exemplary light as the product of the epic strivings of their emerging nation. Gunfight duels or wushu contests, the only difference is that China was then striving to re-emerge from foreign domination. Probably - pace the noble efforts of John Ford - this Chinese martial-arts film can praise and raise up for admiration and emulation its own heroes with a better conscience than the American western, since in the latter the victims are objectively the native Americans, who are only infrequently and Pyrrhically shown besting the white man - but never ultimately prevailing.I feel sure there is also a feeling in this film for the samurai epics of Kurosawa; there is in 'Seven Samurai' (for instance) something of the same transformative value as shown in the - at first grudging - service of swaggering but down-on-their-luck samurai warriors as protectors of scared peasants as we see when the hero of 'Fearless' - Huo Yuan Jia - is rescued, both physically and morally, through the fortunate connection he develops with the people at the rural heart of China, whose honest peasant simplicity saves him from the wreck of his previous life as an arrogant bully and wastrel: Again, there is the humbling of heroism which demonstrates the ultimate refinement of primitive savagery into a civilized and civilizing value - true, unassuming, socially contributory, unselfish, self-sacrificing, pure heroism. 'Fearless' gives to each of these tragic poles of human striving - aggression and sacrifice - their full moral weight, being at once horrific and spiritually healing, in just the manner - in fact - of the great dramatic precursors of both the Chinese theatre (tellingly referenced in an early scene), and of the ancient Greek drama or Icelandic sagas which stand like stark crags dominating all our western cultural landscapes.This is a film worthy to stand alongside the pity, terror and moral dignity of the greatest westerns. It exists at a penetrating point of existential sublimity very far distant from the aimlessly pretty butterfly flutterings of a pretentious, overblown romantic fantasy such as that darling of effete tastes, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' Jet Li's portrayal of a great wushu warrior is every bit as noble a film hero as were any of the famous shootists of the Wild West whom Hollywood elevated to moral stature.