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Fearless
Yes, I love wire-fu. Hong Kong's martial arts movies, especially those choreographed by Yuen Wu Ping and starring Jet Li, are masterpieces of crazy kung fu fighting. Yes, a lot of it is enhanced by special effects because these things are better with hyperbole. And yes, in the end I don't care; it's enjoyable to watch. Maybe I just like seeing people hit other people through walls. Could be just me.
Fearless is supposed to be Jet Li's final Hong Kong film. This is a shame; I like his Hong Kong movies a lot better than his Hollywood movies. But I suppose that's the price of growth and reaching out- gotta follow the market. With that said, Fearless might be one of his best films. It might well be his most fight-intensive film; he goes through six major fight sequences and several minor ones.
Breaking down the story, we have the essential Hero's Journey: young boy grows up, wants to emulate and exceed his father's skill, becomes powerful but arrogant, overcomes childhood fear, has a tragic moment and fall from grace, goes on a years-long search for self-discovery, returns a new man with a new philosophy, and goes on to become a hero and martyr for the nation. Along the way he beats a helluva lot of ass.
The story is well-told and formed, although people who are not terribly interested by martial arts fighting would be bored by the thirty or so minutes of combat that this film includes. I'm not one of those people. Then again, I'm also not one of those people who thinks that a movie about a plane full of snakes is a bad idea, so take my words with a grain of salt.
Kudos to Nathan Jones for his ability to deliver an entire performance with a series of grunts and one word in Chinese. His fight with Jet Li is worth it just to see how huge he is. I did not recognize Collin Chou as Seraph from Matrix: Reloaded, although his role is relatively short. A shame that the Huo Yuanjia/David Lo Pan fight scene was cut, though.
Kudos also to China just for being beautiful. Almost made me want to go live in a rice farm under the mountains. Mmmm, scenery.
In summary, a great martial arts film with a good story. If that is your cup of tea (haha, I made a funny!), you will not be disappointed.
Disclaimer 1: "What does Yuen Wu Ping have against restaurants anyway?" asked one of my moviewatching comrades. She has a point; Yuen can't go a single movie without staging a fight scene in some beautiful terraced restaurant and COMPLETELY TRASHING THE PLACE TO SHIT. See Once Upon A Time In China (two restaurants!), New Legend Of Shaolin, Legend Of Drunken Master, and several others.
Disclaimer 2: I want a crazy homeless guy to follow me around town singing my praises to the world. American crazy guys just try to kill you and take your stuff.
Disclaimer 3: I think signing a "Death Waiver" before going into a fight is ominous at best. Death Waiver? Think about it!
Disclaimer 4: In the credits, there is a person listed by the name Seven Wang. I have no words.
Fearless
Yes, I love wire-fu. Hong Kong's martial arts movies, especially those choreographed by Yuen Wu Ping and starring Jet Li, are masterpieces of crazy kung fu fighting. Yes, a lot of it is enhanced by special effects because these things are better with hyperbole. And yes, in the end I don't care; it's enjoyable to watch. Maybe I just like seeing people hit other people through walls. Could be just me.
Fearless is supposed to be Jet Li's final Hong Kong film. This is a shame; I like his Hong Kong movies a lot better than his Hollywood movies. But I suppose that's the price of growth and reaching out- gotta follow the market. With that said, Fearless might be one of his best films. It might well be his most fight-intensive film; he goes through six major fight sequences and several minor ones.
Breaking down the story, we have the essential Hero's Journey: young boy grows up, wants to emulate and exceed his father's skill, becomes powerful but arrogant, overcomes childhood fear, has a tragic moment and fall from grace, goes on a years-long search for self-discovery, returns a new man with a new philosophy, and goes on to become a hero and martyr for the nation. Along the way he beats a helluva lot of ass.
The story is well-told and formed, although people who are not terribly interested by martial arts fighting would be bored by the thirty or so minutes of combat that this film includes. I'm not one of those people. Then again, I'm also not one of those people who thinks that a movie about a plane full of snakes is a bad idea, so take my words with a grain of salt.
Kudos to Nathan Jones for his ability to deliver an entire performance with a series of grunts and one word in Chinese. His fight with Jet Li is worth it just to see how huge he is. I did not recognize Collin Chou as Seraph from Matrix: Reloaded, although his role is relatively short. A shame that the Huo Yuanjia/David Lo Pan fight scene was cut, though.
Kudos also to China just for being beautiful. Almost made me want to go live in a rice farm under the mountains. Mmmm, scenery.
In summary, a great martial arts film with a good story. If that is your cup of tea (haha, I made a funny!), you will not be disappointed.
Disclaimer 1: "What does Yuen Wu Ping have against restaurants anyway?" asked one of my moviewatching comrades. She has a point; Yuen can't go a single movie without staging a fight scene in some beautiful terraced restaurant and COMPLETELY TRASHING THE PLACE TO SHIT. See Once Upon A Time In China (two restaurants!), New Legend Of Shaolin, Legend Of Drunken Master, and several others.
Disclaimer 2: I want a crazy homeless guy to follow me around town singing my praises to the world. American crazy guys just try to kill you and take your stuff.
Disclaimer 3: I think signing a "Death Waiver" before going into a fight is ominous at best. Death Waiver? Think about it!
Disclaimer 4: In the credits, there is a person listed by the name Seven Wang. I have no words.