In ‘Fearless,’ Jet Li bids farewell to chopsocky
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, September 21, 2006
Jet Li, the diminutive yet formidable star, has said that “Jet Li’s Fearless” will be his farewell to the martial-arts genre. We’ll see whether the box office allows him to stick to that pledge, but this is a decent way to go out.
The subject is a fitting one: “Fearless” is the story of the man who popularized a kind of martial arts in China and whose sports academy was instrumental in training many practitioners of the art. Li plays Huo Yuan Jia (1869-1910) in this period piece.
The story has a familiar rise and fall: Huo begins as a confident young man, goes through chastening experiences, and then re-emerges as a great fighter. The film has a nationalistic twist, which is that Huo represents a rebuke to Western ideas that China is the “sick man of Asia,” a country in decline.
Jet Li gets to play both youth and wisdom, and in the early scenes it’s strange to see him smiling so much. Even at 43 years old, he can still deliver the physical punishment to his opponents (in scenes choreographed by “Matrix” master Yuen Wo Ping).
The framing device of the movie has Huo facing the leading fighters of other nations, including enormous Nathan Jones, who’s also brutal in “The Protector.” That film, with Thai fighter Tony Jaa, has stolen some of the thunder from “Fearless” by presenting the most jaw-dropping stunts of the year.
Although it’s been a big hit in Asia, “Fearless” has been trimmed by more than a half-hour for its release here. Apparently Michelle Yeoh was once a co-star in the film, but she’s nowhere to be seen now.
What’s left is a scenic tour of some martial-arts conventions, without too much plot to get in the way. Director Ronny Yu, who’s made many Asian films but also “Freddy vs. Jason,” is an experienced hand at making the action scenes come to life.
“Fearless” won’t make a crossover the way “Hero” (which starred Li) or “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” did. It’s not as ambitious – at least the cut version isn’t – and it lacks a romantic pull. But it’s a good note for Jet Li to go out on. Now he can get back to making more weird, brooding little action pictures like “Unleashed.”
Associated Press
Jet Li, sitting next to a promotional banner for his movie “Fearless,” speaks during an interview in Beijing.
