Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) (Legend of a Fighter) (2006)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Phil H

  
  Exquisitely lavish is a good way to describe this Jet Li film, I thought this was some kind of silly action flick or another historical ancient Chinese dynasty film with more semi bald Chinese blokes mixed with a fantasy element, but boy was I wrong. Turns out this is actually a… More
  Exquisitely lavish is a good way to describe this Jet Li film, I thought this was some kind of silly action flick or another historical ancient Chinese dynasty film with more semi bald Chinese blokes mixed with a fantasy element, but boy was I wrong. Turns out this is actually a biopic of a famous martial artist by the name of Huo Yuanjia as we follow his life of training in the art of Wushu. I was slightly dubious as I started to watch this as many Eastern martial arts films tend to be very over the top with their fight sequences and use too much mystical hocus pocus over realism. To my joy this film is very down to earth and a very solid steady epic which clearly has had allot of time and effort put into it. The first thing that hits you is the attention to detail on everything, the sets and costumes look beautiful down to the last tiny prop, all the cast look authentic for the era and the acting is most definitely top dollar. The story is slowish but never dull as you are slowly fed much Eastern wisdom and philosophy that really is a joy to hear. Li's soft calm voice is perfect with this in his role as he portrays the arrogant fighter in his prime, a man coming to terms with the beauty of life, kindness and honour and finally a wise compassionate mentor...but never at any point is Li an unlikeable person. As for the fighting...the real crux of the matter for many, its pretty darn fine basically, what you have here is some stunning fast fluid and realistic fights displaying Wushu in its finest form from Li. I was so pleased not to see lots of obvious wire work or cgi nonsense to interfere, that's not to say there is just a small amount of wire work to add a small element of magic but it just about works without ruining your suspension of disbelief. There is a strong 'MMA' undercurrent in this film also of course, the whole point was how Yuanjia challenged foreign fighters from all over the world and different disciplines to demonstrate and prove Wushu. This entails fights against boxers, lancers, kickboxers, fencers etc... and is possibly the first example of 'MMA', I have no clue whether it was or not but it certainly seems so which is interesting. I have to give much kudos to this film and its direction from Yu, I was pretty surprised this came from Yu seeing as his previous films don't come close to this type of epic offering. I also must admit to not being a Jet Li fan and find many of his films too similar plus he really looks quite mean facially if you ask me hehe got evil eyes, never the less this film is damn high quality with superb work in every area making it a visual treat with stoic performances.

• Albert K

  
  There's a lot of martial arts movies that come our way -- they could have dazzling fight sequences, long takes of great choreography, or even poor action sequences, but almost all of them have one thing in common: poor storytelling (except Ip Man 1 & 2). "Fearless"… More
  There's a lot of martial arts movies that come our way -- they could have dazzling fight sequences, long takes of great choreography, or even poor action sequences, but almost all of them have one thing in common: poor storytelling (except Ip Man 1 & 2). "Fearless" doesn't exactly manage to completely trump the martial arts epidemic, but it's better than most, coupled with great choreography that rivals with the few greats. The story is entertaining, not much more beyond that. Near the end, it begins to hit the cheesiness line. However, the action sequences has incredible camerawork and editing that makes it incredibly gripping. You'll have a great time with "Fearless".

• Drake T

  
  Li makes a comeback from his terrible run of Hollywood action flicks with this martial arts epic that not only celebrates the roots of Wushu but embodies every theme about the Asian-movie-genre; honor, wisdom, discipline, and heart. It's everything it has to be and nothing more,… More
  Li makes a comeback from his terrible run of Hollywood action flicks with this martial arts epic that not only celebrates the roots of Wushu but embodies every theme about the Asian-movie-genre; honor, wisdom, discipline, and heart. It's everything it has to be and nothing more, but appropriately so. An incredibly fitting farewell from Jet Li, the man who brought us the Wong Fei Hung films.

• Kristijonas F

  
  A martial arts epic.

• danny d

  
  even better upon a second viewing. despite the fact that this film is so well received, i still think its a bit underrated due to the fact that this might be the best martial arts film ever made but that opinion has been slow to circulate. jet li was fantastic, the art direction was… More
  even better upon a second viewing. despite the fact that this film is so well received, i still think its a bit underrated due to the fact that this might be the best martial arts film ever made but that opinion has been slow to circulate. jet li was fantastic, the art direction was phenomenal, and the film was shot perfectly. most martial arts films are high on entertainment but lack substance, but this film adds in unexpected layers that captivate through sadness, joy, and introspection. a near perfect film.

• Cassandra M

  
  Make no mistake about it, Fearless is the best straight-ahead martial arts film since Jackie Chan's seminal Drunken Master 2. Director Ronny Yu crams more bone-jarring, well crafted fight scenes into the first forty minutes of this movie than most films can match in their entire… More
  Make no mistake about it, Fearless is the best straight-ahead martial arts film since Jackie Chan's seminal Drunken Master 2. Director Ronny Yu crams more bone-jarring, well crafted fight scenes into the first forty minutes of this movie than most films can match in their entire runtime. This is a canny move, as it pulls in the viewer via the blurring action before beginning to develop the film's narrative in the middle third. While the story is a well used one (kung-fu bully comes to realise his skills can be used to educate rather than brutalise), it's a perfect structure on which to hang the film's many excellent confrontations. It's obvious that this film is Li's love letter to his Wu Shu background and martial arts in general. In dramatic terms, Fearless never reaches the heights of recent wuxia movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero and so is unable to feel truly fulfilling as a great movie per se. It is however up there with Jet Li's very best work in the genre, OUATIC & Fist of Legend for example, and if it is (sadly) true that it is to be his last period martial arts picture, it's a hell of a bang to go out on.

• Lorenzo v

  
  After seeing this movie, I thought that Jet Li is definitely more suited for Chinese movies (movie is in Chinese with Chinese and English subtitles). The movie truly reflects not only on history, but on Chinese culture itself. The movie had a perfect mix of fighting and storyline. A… More
  After seeing this movie, I thought that Jet Li is definitely more suited for Chinese movies (movie is in Chinese with Chinese and English subtitles). The movie truly reflects not only on history, but on Chinese culture itself. The movie had a perfect mix of fighting and storyline. A definite must-see for brawl-loving, exotic cultured movie perfectly reflecting history.

• Mike S

  
  Well-coreographed martial arts, but the storyline wasn't much to get excited about. There was also something really off about the directing at times and I often found myself sighing at the unbearably preachy dialogue. Some people might like it more than I did, but to me it… More
  Well-coreographed martial arts, but the storyline wasn't much to get excited about. There was also something really off about the directing at times and I often found myself sighing at the unbearably preachy dialogue. Some people might like it more than I did, but to me it became so uninteresting that I might as well have stared at a wall for two hours. I wasn't expecting any masterpiece to begin with though, so I suppose I can't complain all too much. In summary: a redundantly long, but watchable film, saved merely by its occational portions of cool fighting scenes. So if you're looking for a good Jet Li movie, a smarter option would be to see "Hero" instead.

• Alexander W

  
  Martial Arts Movie set in the West with a combatant story and little politics.

• Lenny M

  
  Perfect formula for Jet Li

• Lewis C

  
  Not as good as Hero or Crouching Tiger, because it tells a very different kind of story.

• xGary X

  
  Fearless is based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, a martial artist who became the figurehead of Chinese national pride at the turn of the century. The format is all very familiar; a famous fighter becomes drunk on his own success until his arrogance results in tragedy leading to his… More
  Fearless is based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, a martial artist who became the figurehead of Chinese national pride at the turn of the century. The format is all very familiar; a famous fighter becomes drunk on his own success until his arrogance results in tragedy leading to his downfall. He learns what is important in life and overcomes adversity to fight a final battle to restore the pride of his country. Yes, Rocky, The Karate Kid and a hundred others have followed this formula, but the fact that this is in fact based on a true story gives it much greater credibility. I would also have to say that, although I may be biased, the way the Chinese approach the subject matter is something akin to comparing a piece of artful, moving poetry to Hollywood's ham-fisted and tacky greetings card rhyme. Full of the kind of beautiful imagery you'd expect from a nouveau martial arts film, and typical of the kind of superb action sequences you'd expect from Jet Li and Yuen Wo Ping (fight choreographer for The Matrix amongst others) it's yet another example of Asian cinema at it's finest.

• Taylor B

  
  I enjoyed it very much

• Megan S

  
  I'm just wondering why Jet Li couldn't dub his own character for the English version.

• Nani V

  
  It was a beautiful film.

• Emily A

  
  This one is really really good. I love the way they make it very apparent that Yuanjia developed his skill first and his discipline much later; it really colours his actions for the rest of the film. I found the story of strength of character and foreign condescention very affecting… More
  This one is really really good. I love the way they make it very apparent that Yuanjia developed his skill first and his discipline much later; it really colours his actions for the rest of the film. I found the story of strength of character and foreign condescention very affecting and pertinent, and how it takes the bigger man not to use the deadly force he has. I loved that most of this movie: He spent half the movie learning how to beat the snot out of people, and the other half learning how not to. It makes more sense if you see it. Jet Li really shines in this movie, but the martial arts are almost just scenery.

• Dan S

  
  A good, but missable movie.

• Aaron N

  
  Huo Yuanjia: I practiced for many years to understand what Wushu is, what is wushu's real purpose. The competition must continue... A fitting end to Jet Li's main career work as the star of martial arts epics. A well told story with nice visuals to go with it. It is… More
  Huo Yuanjia: I practiced for many years to understand what Wushu is, what is wushu's real purpose. The competition must continue... A fitting end to Jet Li's main career work as the star of martial arts epics. A well told story with nice visuals to go with it. It is also directed very slickly, making good use of the wire-fu involved. Being used to these kinds of movies, I was happy to enjoy this tale and surprised at how much I cared about what was going on and the characters, particularly Li, who has not been given the best chances to act in past films. Here we see a character that develops through the film, and becomes a fully realized person. Hup Yuanjia: One cannot choose how one's life begins. It takes courage to finish the final step.

• Dean !

  
  A pretty good martial arts film that just slows down a bit too much in the middle. However the fights are great.

• Aliyanto L

  
  This true story movie considered as the last Jet Li's Wushu choreography movie. Too bad if it is!

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