Fearless
Famously promoted as Jet Li’s final martial arts epic, Fearless is a suitably sweeping and visually impressive piece of cinema that ensures its star bows out of action movies in great style. It is based, albeit loosely, on a real-life Chinese hero: Huo Yuanjia, a legendary fighter from the turn of the Twentieth Century.
Although he is a champion of his people, the Huo Yuanjia of Fearless is an unlikely hero to begin with. He is portrayed showing weakness and errors of judgment that make him flawed but very human, which is jarring at first but proves to be refreshing and quite believable. The Yuanjia of Fearless is also no stranger to tragedy either, which only makes him all the more determined to achieve his aims - this aspect earns him such much-needed respect on the part of the viewer after his less-than-favourable portayal earlier on. Showing the negative side of fame in such circumstances adds a great deal of depth to Li’s character, as well as allowing him to perform outside his usual style of acting (after all, this is the sort of role he will be filling from now on); it is also a suitable setup for the way in which Huo Yuanjia learns from his mistakes and tries to redeem himself.
As a martial arts action film, Fearless is, unsurprisingly, spectacular. Although he is getting on in years Li is still able to pull off some impressive moves that, while they lack the poetic ballet of Hero, are invariably exhilerating and well choreographed. His character’s life story is a worthy excuse for a wide array of different combat situations and techniques too, as Huo Yuanjia fights both fellow Chinese and foreigners who work to widely differing styles and philosophies.
There has been some controversy surrounding the film’s credentials as historically accurate (it isn’t, nor was it intended to be), even going as far as drawing criticism from Huo Yuanjia’s family. Most viewers will be unaware of the details of course; many of us will just sit back and appreciate it as ‘just a film’. Even so, it is far from perfect in that department, which prevents it being Li’s finest ever effort. The running time does not help, for one thing: an epic requires time to introduce the characters and story, which usually means an hour and a half is not quite enough. In showing the whole life of its central character, things seem a little rushed and the film often jumps from one action scene to another with little pause for contemplation in between. While action fans will not be troubled by this, those of us looking for more complexity to the plot may feel a little short-changed.
In Summary
How does Jet Li end his career as a martial arts actor? Quite well, it would seem. While the pacing may disappoint viewers looking for something more than straightforward action fare, fans of Jet Li as the martial artist will be suitably impressed. The feeling that the dramatic/emotional side of things was underused remains however, as much as Li plays up the character who overcomes adversity and his own personality faults. For many, it is enough to enjoy the meticulously-executed martial arts action and wait to see where Li will take his career next.
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