Le Maître d'armes

I've always been a fan of Jet Li since his early days, and frankly his movies and performances in them have been terrible in the last few years mainly due to his attempts to be a profitable and a more mainstream actor in the US. As a result, we were treated to "nice" movies like The One and Cradle to the Grave. This movie though makes up them. This was truly a gem. Not only were the action sequences spectacular, and I iterate spectacular, but the story line and acting as well as screen play was very tastefully done. Gone were the traditional comedic side plot, and welcomed was a sense of respect not only for the Chinese but also for some of the foreign countries that are often portrayed poorly in the movies. In the end, I can't help but feel like I've not only seen a great movie but felt the humanity and pride that the movie released. See it!

Let's get to the point. This is Jet Li's best movie in years. Not because of the fight scenes, but because the plot is engaging throughout and the emotional tension of the movie works, even though it was a bit tangled with a bit of preach.

The plot is simple. I think everyone here knows about it, so I won't spent time talking too much about it. Jet Li plays Huo Yuan Jia, an arrogant young man that has no regard for human life so to speak, and in one brash move, he indirectly caused the death of his family. He journey to a remote village to learn humility. This is probably the weakest part of the film. Mainly because a large part of it was cut out from the theatrical release. Huo had a few dialogues with Betty Sun, who played a blind girl. Their relationship was very underdeveloped. And Huo's return to Shanghai to fight was with brevity, and hardly explained. He returns to Shanghai and defends his country's honor.

I thought Jet Li did a great job acting both as the arrogant man and as the wiser wushu master. But people of course, came to see Jet Li fight. And to me, the earlier fight scenes are good, but have too much computer effects and slow motion. Still, it was refreshing to see Jet Li return to using Chinese Kung Fu.

The best fight scenes in the movie are definitely the battle between Huo and Nathan Jones, the hulking giant and the weapons fight between the Japanese Samurai and Jet Li using the sword against the three sectional staff. The ending was very emotional, and it was refreshing to see a different take unlike most endings of old Jet Li movies.

The movie could have been better of course, but I was very satisfied with it, both the plot and the action sequences.

9/10

Fearless has a similar structure to last years' Unleashed (2005), in that this is not just a martial arts extravaganza, but also a film with heart and proper acting on the part of Jet Li. This latest effort, despite flaws, is the much more accomplished of the two works; both contain exceptional and brutal fight scenes, and a central 'drama' section where Li's character learns about life and about who he is, and both of these aspects are handled better in Fearless.

Based on actual events, the story focuses on Li's Huo Yuanjin, martial arts master whose family is murdered and who flees his home, only to be taken in by simple farmers. Spending many years there, Huo learns to embrace peace and live out his simple life with the villagers. However, he is tempted back to his home town in an effort to show the foreign powers that are flooding China that the Chinese people are unified, and will not be suppressed by foreigners. He sets up a martial arts school and competes in a four-way tournament to prove that he is the greatest fighter in the world.

Make no mistake; the main appeal to the film is the fight sequences. Courtesy of the ever versatile Yuen Wo Ping, (The Matrix Trilogy, Crouching Tiger) the staggering fight choreography manages to combine the graceful moves of Hero (2002) with the brutality of Unleashed to create possibly the greatest action scenes put to film, aided by Jet Li's so-good-it-looks-easy martial arts capabilities. The film starts as it means to go on, and contains plenty of inventive action, the main highlights being a colossal one-on-one in a restaurant and of course the climactic four-way tournament.

The film is not all action though; at its centre is the time spent with the villagers where Huo 'finds himself'. This is perhaps the films weakest point, but it is held up by the fact that Jet Li, showing he's not only a martial arts expert, can actually act. However, the scenes are lacking, from a scripting and directing point of view, enough emotional depth to allow us to truly get involved. Being based on a true story the film had to play out as it did, but one feels that Huo could have gone anywhere to find himself, even stayed at home and become a recluse. Director Ronnie Yu lacks the directorial range to let these scenes flourish, so the section begins to bog itself down with unnecessary sentimentality. However, it is a more developed section than the comparable parts in Unleashed and although maybe is too short – it could have been developed into much more – it at least doesn't outstay its welcome. Jet Li is good though, and nicely moves from the arrogance of his early days to the wiser warrior in the second half.

Fearless shows us a moralistic China that is ruled by an honour that is now lost amongst the modern world, and its portrayal of upholding traditional values is a welcome move; it gives the film purpose, and not just an excuse to make good action scenes. Ironically, the films message is one of anti-violence, and if this is indeed to be Jet Li's last martial arts film, then he has gone out on a high.

Rated: 8/10

More reviews at: http://www.thelazylounge.net

This is an exciting, beautiful, exceptional martial arts movie that cements Jet Li's superlative contribution to kung-fu cinema. It is absolutely filled with stirring martial arts and gloriously made, with eye-filling cinematography. Although the story is simple, it is heart-felt and effective. It's hard to understand how anyone who could call this boring, unless they are so jaded and cynical that their review would be useless in any case. This film is a great accompaniment to Jet's Shaolin Temple series, Once Upon a Time in China films, Fist of Legend, and Hero, and an absolute must-see for anyone who enjoyed those films.

Almost flawless, this new release improves on the style and genre in a significant way. The film is presented in a way that the viewer can appreciate it from several perspectives without heavily relying on the genre's standard formulas. We don't have to wade through the typical love triangle, the maniacal drug lord contracting a hit, or the beloved school's instructor being tortured and murdered before the ultimate revenge takes place. This film has a legitimate story line, skillfully presented in a clear and well edited manner.

Although the film was generally concerned with the development of a specific fighting style and philosophy, the audience is also treated to some authenticity of the then Chinese culture and the biography of a Chinese martial arts master. These features seem to give the production a much higher level of credibility than the average martial arts action movie.

Although we did experience some speed editing in fight scenes, it was done in such a way that it enhanced, rather than detracted, from the believability of the film. In "House of Flying Daggers", for example, the ballet and acrobatic like choreography of some of the fight scenes tended to undermine, rather than enhance. If there was any flaw in the fight scenes present, it was minor. This flaw may have been inescapable because of the inherent limitations of the style of the film itself. For example, trivial features such as disconnected striking combinations at the expense of speed editing, or the fact that the Japanese martial artist did not seem to be using a typical Japanese style of fighting. (It appeared to be a combination of Chinese and Korean oriented styles).

This film should, by all rights, reset the bar for the standards of martial arts films from now on. It was simply an outstanding film in every way.