Jet Li's FEARLESS

[Johann]

Master Huo Yuan Jia is an undefeated martial artist. (True Story)

He got his ass handed to him by a childhood rival and vowed that his family name will never suffer another defeat.

This film is sheer excellence.
directed by Ronny Yu (Freddy Vs. Jason)

It opens with Yuanjia (Jet Li) taking on 4 separate opponents.

Each one has his own specific menacing threat, and he beats three of them in awesome style before the story diverts into "the history of a Champion". We follow Yuanjia on an interesting journey until he faces the final opponent: Tanaka.

But there are two other matches in the film that I think surpass the final fight: Master Chin and "O'Brien".

The Chin fight is unfuckingbelievable.
This is Jet Li at his zenith.

But it's not all natural skill- this movie uses digital effects seamlessly. They have super-fast editing and lightning shots to amplify the fights. The fighters are supernatural- they are using some serious-ass CHI. Every blow or strike or kick is precisely executed. It's art theatre warfare.

Jet Li proves with this film that he's actually a great actor.

I love his outbursts and behavior in the scenes where he gives drinks to his disciples and says "we'll be like brothers", also his playing with the children- he's way more than just a chop-socky God. He can actually act. I believed it when his family were slaughtered- I believed his grief, I believed his change, I believed his "temperament".
His relationship with Jinsun is also believable and touching.

The O'Brien fight was unreal- was it CGI? It was such good entertainment that it should be studied.
The editing of it was tight.
That's how you cut a fight sequence.
All of the action was staged by Yuen Wo Ping, the genius choreographer on Crouching Tiger & Kill Bill.

The cinematography deserves a standing-o.
Some shots are jaw-dropping. Beautiful production design, the sets are incredible- I felt I was in early 20th century China.
The story crosscuts back over a few years 1907, 1910, etc. and it's an exciting, top-notch martial arts classic.

I think it's a classic already, and I just saw it once, last night.
It's tagged as "jet Li's final martial arts film" and if it is, it's a helluva way to go out...

Jet Li has taken the mantle of martial arts cinema icon from Bruce Lee. He's legendary in this movie. I can't describe in words how great the fight scenes are- they're poetic, they're glorious, flawless and feel like epic combat.

Excellent cinema.