| Fearless on DVD |
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| Reviews - DVD | |
| Written by John Delia | |
| Monday, 07 July 2008 | |
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 Rated: NR The film opens with Huo Yuanjia (Li) as a young boy trying to follow in the footsteps of his martial arts teaching father Huo Engdi. Engdi is a champion instructor of the fighting style Washu, and therefore does not use his abilities to destroy his opponent. At a championship meet, Engdi has a chance to beat his challenger, but knows the blow he's about to give will kill his opponent, so he holds back. The opponent seeing it as a weakness delivers a responding blow to defeat Engdi. Embarrassed over the loss of the championship by his father, Huo gets bullied by his friends. Determined not to stand down to the kids, Huo teaches himself to fight. After years of work Huo becomes champion of the Tianjin China. In an act of fate, one of Huo’s pupils convinces him that he was beat up by a rival martial arts lord. Feeling insulted, Huo kills the lord in a duel. As retribution, the son of the dead rival kill’s Huo’s family members. When Huo finds out that his pupil lied, Huo gives up his life in Tianjin and wanders the countryside in shock. His return many years later to Tianjin however, makes him something of a legend.The martial arts fight scenes are so incredibly well orchestrated that they look amazingly real. Jet Li is at the top of his game and the fighters who face him are extremely well coached. The five-minute sword fight between Huo and Master Chin shows the power and stamina of the two actors as they battle for their lives. In addition to the choreography being the focal point, the camera work by Pooh Hang San is amazingly good. Vistas of China are beautiful, and the sets that are used for most of the action look amazingly realistic through his lens. Jet Li lovers beware, Fearless WAS supposed to be Li’s last martial arts film and this DVD should have been a great collector's item. In fact, in one of the bonus features, Li claims that it will be the last time he will be seen in a martial arts film. He not only says it once, but also emphasizes it again and again. “After this, no more,” he says. But WAIT, hold your horses, on August 1, 2008, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor gets released. And GUESS WHAT, right there in the credits; Emperor Han is played by none other than Jet Li. I can’t wait to see Li using his martial arts abilities fighting off Michelle Yeoh in a knife fight as seen in the trailer. Sure the film is not billed as a martial arts film, but why else would they call on Jet Li? So I guess collectors will have to wait for the release of The Mummy DVD as Jet Li’s last ever martial arts performance on film... As far as bonus features, disc number two has some deleted scenes that I believe should have been left in the film. One of them shows how Huo was able to get accepted by the people of the village he temporary lived in while he wandered the country following the death of his mother and his child. The other bonus feature is called ‘a fearless journey', and is narrated by Director Ronny Yu and Cinematographer Pooh Hang San about Jet Li as an actor who can really fight. “He’s fast, he’s quick and he’s fierce,” says Hang San. It is within this extra that Li makes the announcement that it will be his last martial arts film. The fascinating sixteen minutes of this bonus feature gives the viewer a much-needed overview of martial arts fighting, more insight into the film that’s based on a true story and why Fearless was made. In addition to the regular theatrical version, there is an unrated version. Both versions can either be played using the native language with subtitles or dubbed in English. The martial arts fights, and the gore shown in the film, are very realistic and may be a bit strong for those that are not mature. FINAL ANALYSIS: Jet Li’s Fearless makes great viewing for those that love martial arts fighting combined with stunning cinematography.
This Reviewer's Rating:           |
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