I went to see “Fearless” last weekend, which is apparently the last martial arts movie in which Jet Li intends to act. Seems a shame really but I suppose he’s fed up of doing the same thing all of the time. The film is set in China at the start of the twentieth century, a time during which Western colonial influences were causing radical changes to Chinese society as well as undermining her international status and identity. The story focuses on Jet Li’s character, based on the legendary Chinese fighter Huo Yuanjia, whose youthful impetuousness brings personal tragedy upon himself and his family leading him to fall into the depths of despair and darkness just so that he find himself again and eventually champion a higher cause that serves the greater good of China and it’s people.

Ok, so it’s not the most original of tales and while some of you might argue that the story in a martial arts movie is marginally more important that the plot of your average porn flick, personally I felt that the somewhat weak story coupled with some really poor subtitles, apparently everything in China circa 1910 was “great”, turns “Fearless” into the poorer cousin of such films as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “The House of the Flying Daggers” and “Hero” from an overall perspective. That said, I don’t want to sound overly negative, the film is quite beautiful and the fight scenes are exhilarating and to be honest, if you liked any of the previous films mentioned above, you will probably enjoy “Fearless” as well. In overall terms, I liked it but as Dunphy might quip, it’s a good film not a great one!

Labels: Cinema

# Forged from the fiery depths by Pure Cork Boy.