Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Fearless (2006)

Director: Ronny Yu

Average user rating
1 review

Movie review

From Time Out London

Billed as Jet Li’s last martial arts epic and his swansong to wushu, this proficient if prosaic period picture never quite ascends the heights of Li’s ‘Once Upon a Time in China’ nor affects the visual splendour of his more recent ‘Hero’, but it at least feels authentic and full-blooded. Loosely based on the life of martial arts master Huo Yuanjia (Li), whose famed Jingwu fighting school Bruce Lee attended in ‘Fist Of Fury’, the film begins in 1910 with Huo taking on three out of four foreign fighters in a Shanghai competition before flashing back to his beginnings as the son of provincial Chinese champion. Humiliated in a scrap with a local bully, the young Huo vows never to be defeated again, devoting himself to emulating his father, although any subsequent success is blighted by an overwhelming arrogance and inner torment. Following a family tragedy, Huo flees to the countryside, learning humility and respect through his friendship with Moon (Sun Li), a blind woman in a small farming community, eventually returning home to found his Sports Federation and begin the call for all China to reunite against the influx of Westerners and their values.

Li’s fans shouldn’t feel short-changed by the varied and plentiful fight scenes which, in contrast to, say, ‘Kung Fu Hustle’’s CG-enhanced chopsocky, rely less on major wirework and effects trickery than on bone-crunching action, celebrated action director Yuen Wo Ping’s crisp choreography and Li’s quick fists and feet. Yu, back from his Hollywood sojourn with ‘Bride of Chucky’ and ‘Freddy vs Jason’, is less successful, however, in dealing with his star’s limited emotive abilities, the message-heavy script’s melodramatic philosophising and a sappy ending.

Author: Mark Salisbury 2006-06-20 09:54:03

Time Out London Issue 1870: June 21-28 2006


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • anonymous said...
    Posted on Mar 20 2008 00:51 "melodramatic philosophising and a sappy ending"? anything to back that statement up? what exactly is MELOdramatic about the philosophic themes touched upon by the film (taoism, confucian ethics, buddhism)? what exactly is sappy about the ending? it underlines the message of the movie, it sums up its philosophy and it simply fits.
    "limited emotive abilities"? i think you do not know asian cinema well enough to judge this. the film expresses many of jet li's personal ideas (check out his site) and thus is - even as he himself stated - a rather personal one for him. thus, if he chooses to present his emotions in a certain way in such a context, his depiction is the most realistic one there is.
    it is uninformed claims and broad judgements like this that give movie critics a bad name.
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'

Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'

Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?

How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'

We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

A gateway to all things 'New Moon'

In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.

London Children's Film Festival

London Children's Film Festival

Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

The films that deserve a TV spin-off

With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'

Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam

In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations