"FEARLESS" REVIEW


Martial-arts films have entered a classic, high-style period to which Jet Li is well suited, and will be missed. They have an appealing blend of rich visual style (beyond the action) and mythic storytelling

"Fearless" in particular doubles as a hymn to Chinese nationalism and traditional eastern virtues. "Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless." This quote from Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, forms the premise for the film’s title, and underlies the emergence, fall, and rebirth of real-life Chinese martial-arts master Huo Yuanjia (played by Li).

The film is loosely based on the life of Huo, who lived from 1868-1910, and his exploits as a master of wushu (the general Chinese term for martial arts), which raised national morale during the period when troubled China was dismissed as "The Sick Man of the East."

We shoot into a Shanghai arena in 1910 to find Huo creatively putting a hurt on some foreign opponents. We're in the middle of a public match, one blatantly rigged to humiliate China. Three European challengers go down quickly, and a tough-looking Japanese master, Anno Tanaka (Shido Nakamura), steps into the ring for the final showdown.

As Huo readies to face Tanaka, the film flashes back to his boyhood in northern Tianjin, showing his father holding back and thereby losing a public martial arts bout. Huo, furious, takes on the victor’s preening son--and gets the tar beaten out of him. Despite his father’s opposition, Huo trains in the martial arts and becomes a local celebrity, but loses sight of what's important--family and integrity. Huo eventually challenges a rival master in a brutal battle over a seeming slight. His victory, however, turns to ashes when his opponent dies and Huo learns that he was misled about the insult and his mother and daughter lose their lives as a result of his actions.

Up to this point "Fearless" has had plenty of action, and accomplished naturally, without a lot of wire work or CGI effects; now it becomes quieter and meditative as the broken Huo finds himself in a distant Hobitton-like rural area, where he’s practically adopted by Moon, a blind peasant girl (Chinese TV star Betty Sun), and her wise Yoda-like grandmother. He learns while working in the rice paddies the virtues of humility, self-control and fidelity to the ancient ways. Huo and Moon enter into a chaste, underdeveloped romance. But Moon's inspiration reminds Huo that martial arts have their Zen side, that the word "wushu" combines two words that mean "stop war"--and that reinforces this film's sometimes incongruous pacifist themes.

After an unnamed score of years, Huo returns home, where he’s disturbed to see the Chinese kowtowing to exploitive westerners. He seeks help from his oldest friend, restaurateur Nong Jinsun (Dong Yong) to establish the Jingwu Sports Federation in Shanghai as a place to teach the true wushu way of focusing as much on spiritual self-awareness as on pure technique and to fight "with honor and civility". His success against a U.S. strongman (Aussie Nathan Jones) leads the foreigners to set up the four-against-one tournament to destroy his popularity. At this point the film reverts to the opening, with the final match against Tanaka, who proves to be a true samurai-in-spirit when his sponsors seek to win by dishonorable means. That scene excites and pulls heartstrings.

Yes, the story is pretty standard. Funny at times and both sincere and serious at others, though it stumbles occasionally when the plot gets predictable and sentimental. But the film benefits from the work of Yuen Woo-ping, who staged the numerous fight scenes with gusto, and the behind-the-camera crew: Poon Hang-seng’s cinematography is grittier than a lot of modern Asian cinema but just as sumptuous. Both Kenneth Mak’s art direction and Thomas Chung’s costumes are exceptional. And editors Virginia Katz and Richard Learoyd seamlessly integrate the quieter expository material and the explosive combat sequences. "House of Flying Daggers" composer Shigeru Umebayashi provides a sumptuous score as well. Not to mention Li’s amazing showmanship (I hope to be that agile at 42).

In terms of production value and dazzling action, the film rivals "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and "Hero" (2002), the latter being considered by many as Li's best recent work. "Fearless" also features a smiling, charismatic Li that hasn't been seen much since his "Once Upon a Time in China" series in which he played another real-life Chinese legend, Wong Fei-hung.

The film offers Li a few opportunities to stretch dramatically. Different subplots deal with Huo's flaws as a son and father, his strained friendship with his boyhood friend, Jinsun, and his romance with Moon (one very self-sufficient blind woman). Li is too young for the early scenes, but they still work. And, at the end, when Li's current age matches Huo's, he's able to give the part a depth and gravity that this kind of movie, unless directed by Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou, often doesn't have.

I came into the film with somewhat low expectations, but "Fearless" is director Ronny Yu's best work since his 1993 Hong Kong hit "The Bride With White Hair." Since then, he's come to America and made some busts like "Freddy vs. Jason," "Warriors of Virtue," and a "Chucky" sequel.

Reportedly, a major 40 minutes were cut from the film, right before its American release. The subplot of Michelle Yeoh’s character for one thing was edited out. A body will just have to look for a DVD version later. This explains the condensed storytelling, but "Fearless" doesn't feels gutted and still exhilarates and inspires.

"Fearless" deserves an audience larger than the one that already plans to seek it out. Sold as a martial-arts film, it's also the type of film that deserves to draw the kind of moviegoers who came out to gaze with wonder at "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"--a film that was geared not just to genre enthusiasts but was also sold as a "serious" movie suitable for a discriminating mainstream audience.

The story is told simply and clearly, and in striking visual terms. The fights themselves, including one on a high, nose-bleeding platform, and the numerous weapon combats are done simply and clearly, without too much editing razzle dazzle--a bit like the classical, lean way Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly filmed their dances.

In a way, martial arts movies are like musicals. Their soul lies in their action routines, but the best of them need a strong, supporting story to set off those scenes. "Fearless" isn't in the class of "Crouching Tiger," where the drama and the action fuse on a sublime level. But it's a personal project for Li, who loves his character of Huo Yuanjia and wants to use Huo’s story to raise his countrymen's spirits.

This story of China fighting for self-respect in the early 1900s plays well with today’s Far East Asian audiences because it nods to China's rising prosperity and confidence as a world power. Li's character symbolizes China itself, moving ahead by uniting past and present, urban and rural, clan and clan.

Jet Li has also stated that it’s his goal to express his personal philosophies about the balance between humility and self-respect, and the coexistence of violence and peace. The film is his chance "to use a violent story to talk about a nonviolent idea." Violence in service of serenity in other words.

Though "Fearless" is a story with incredibly staged fight scenes every 10 minutes, it is, first and foremost, about inner peace. It's brazenly sentimental with no major villain beyond Huo Yuanjia's flawed, impulsive self. And it preaches earnest Buddhist ideals; the post-enlightenment Huo tends to make statements like, "Competitions can uncover our weaknesses and open a path to discovery."

The film mentions the Jingwu Federation’s guiding principle of "mind, body and soul." Here, in my opinion, "Fearless" glosses over a major point. Kung fu, as practiced by the monks of the Shaolin temple, was a vehicle for attaining enlightenment. Self-discipline, good health, and the ability to defend oneself came as a consequence of practice, but weren’t the end goals. Through meditation and learning to master physical techniques, practitioners came to sharpen their minds and cleanse their spirits. When one takes martial arts to their end, one need not fight at all. A point that "Fearless" doesn’t dwell on.

In clarifying his public statement about the movie marking the end of his career as a martial arts star, Jet Li has said that it is only the last film in which he will practice the strenuous traditional wushu style of masters like Huo Yuanjia. At 43, Li’s body won’t allow him the acrobatic feats of athleticism that the genre demands. He will however continue to perform parts that utilize his skills in various action films as he works to build his reputation as a serious actor.

"Fearless" may be only his last martial-arts epic, which certainly leaves a lot of windows open.

(Note: Those interested are welcome to read an excerpt of my UCLA contest-winning Chinese Joan of Arc script, "Heaven's Mandate".)