Fearless

Fearless is a Chinese-Hong Kong-martial arts film. It is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, a famous Chinese martial artist who challenged foreign fighters in highly publicised events. The film stars Jet Li in the lead role and he has commented that it is likely to be his last wushu martial arts epic.

Audiences have been saddened by the news that Jet Li will no longer be making martial arts films as his contribution to the genre will be hard to follow. They were nevertheless impressed with this offering especially the remarkable fight scenes; many found it interesting to see western fighting styles pitted against Chinese Kung Fu. Unusually for a martial arts film many viewers found the story to take precedence over the action but this did not detract in any way as it is based on a real character from early twentieth century China.

Li’s character suffers early humiliation and vows never to be beaten again. With the help of his childhood friend, he founds the Jin Wu Sports Federation (still in existence today), to rebuild pride in China. While the martial arts sequences are the centrepiece, the story represents truly what wushu and martial arts are about: the struggle we all have with ourselves to be better tomorrow that we are today.

Cinema release 2006

Certificate 15

Available on DVD and Blue Ray