Executed with "Fearless" Precision

I've always been a huge fan of martial arts movies, and when I flipped on Netflix the other day I happened to find probably the only martial arts movie I haven't seen yet: Jet Li's Fearless. I've never been too much of a Jet Li fan to be honest, and I was a little concerned that the only hype surrounding the movie was that it was his last historical piece. However this movie went against all my expectations. Director Ronny Yu's 2007 film Fearless combines themes of historical tensions and redemption with beautifully choreographed action to produce a movie that is satisfying visually and intellectually.

The movie opens in 1910. It is the late Qing Dynasty, a time when many Western powers had a strong influence in Asia and China had lost much of it's former glory. Three Westerners are fighting in a large arena against one Chinese martial artist, and they all lose. The Chinese fighter is Huo Yuanjia, played by Jet Li.

The movie then transitions to a flashback, showing just how Huo Yuanjia got to that point. We are taken back to his childhood, when a type of brutal arena fighting called leitei is very popular. After his father is defeated in one of these tournaments dishonorably, the young Huo Yuanjia is greatly disappointed in him and swears to become the best fighter he possibly can.

The years go by and Huo Yuanjia  is a father and one of the best fighters in the city of Tianjin. His fighting is so impressive that he soon amasses a huge following of disciples. However, Huo Yuanjia's success leads to arrogance- he treats himself and his disciples to drunken parties he can't afford to pay for and he becomes increasingly ruthless towards his opponents. Just when he feels there is no one left for him to fight, one of his students claims a visiting rival martial arts master named Qin Lei attacked him without provocation. Enraged and drunk with pride, Huo Yuanjia challenges Qin Lei to a death match. Their fight sets off a chain of events that lead to Huo Yuanjia's damnation, and later, attempts of redemption.

Fearless got many things right. My favorite aspect of the movie is Huo Yuanjia's fully fleshed out character arc. Throughout the movie, we see him grow from a humiliated, asthmatic child to an arrogant and prideful fighter, to a spiritually broken man, and finally, to a revered hero. These ever changing personality traits add depth to his character and help to make him relatable to the audience. In a genre full of characters who are either inherently good or evil, it feels very refreshing to see a character who is as complex as real people are.

The fight scenes in the movie are very well choreographed. There are scenes where Huo Yuanjia takes on many fighters simultaneously, destroys an entire room, and brings down opponents who are giants compared to him. The camera man knew exactly what he was doing in these scenes, as everything is shot in  a way that makes the fighting seem more intense without being shot too fast. There's even enough time in between punches and kicks for nice fluttering back flips and even snarky comments, which I found didn't feel too cheesy in this movie.

Finally, the story is absolutely top notch. The movie masterfully ties Huo Yuanjia's quest for redemption to an underdog story that is historical, compelling, and in some ways, relatable to any audience. For fear of releasing any kind of spoilers, I will leave my comments on the story right there.

I only have a few complaints about this movie. First of all, while they were well shot, none of the fight scenes feel uniquely Fearless. Sure they are extremely nice to look at, but at the end of the day there isn't really anything to differentiate these fight scenes from another kung fu film.

I also would have liked to explore more of Huo Yuanjia's childhood, or to at least see a montage of the kind of training he had to do to become a great fighter. Seeing him go from being a beaten up kid with asthma to a powerful and well renown fighter with no kind of transition linking the two made me really curious about his transformation.

All things considered, Fearless is an excellent movie. With a masterful display of characters arcs, deep story telling, and nice fights sprinkled here and there, I found myself completely hooked throughout the whole thing. However, with nothing to signify the fight scenes as unique and one crucial element of a character's arc missing, I can not give it a perfect score. My verdict is an 8 out of 10.

Note- If you can, watch the movie with subtitles instead of the dubbed version. Trust me, thought it requires reading, it will make the movie so much more enjoyable.