'Fearless' Li shows his chops

By Scott Meeker The Weatherford Democrat Fri Sep 29, 2006, 09:51 AM CDT

Joplin, MO. — Of all the Asian imports to American cinema over the last decade, Jet Li seemed to be the hardest to peg.

He didn’t offer the crazy choreography of Jackie Chan or the same strength of presence as Chow Yun Fat, and he seemed to just mark time in a string of watchable, if unremarkable, action flicks like “Romeo Must Die” and “The One” following his American debut in 1998’s “Lethal Weapon 4.”

It’s only been in the past few years that he’s really come into his own — especially as the feral Danny in last year’s “Unleashed.”

While the fight scenes have neither the elegance of those in “Hero” nor the ferocity of “Unleashed,” Jet Li’s “Fearless” is a decent final bow if it is — as the advertising claims — the actor’s final martial-arts epic.

The movie is loosely based on the life of Huo Yuanjia, who became a source of national pride in China when he took on foreign fighters and established his own martial-arts school at a time when the country was being overrun by Western and Japanese influences.

Having suffered several humiliating defeats as a child (all the more embarrassing because his father is a respected martial-arts master), Yuanjia vows to never lose another fight. Years pass and we learn that he has indeed become one of the best fighters in the region, but Yuanjia is also boastful and impetuous — qualities that lead to tragedy.

His spirit weakened, he wanders far and nearly drowns before he is rescued by some villagers who take him in. There, he becomes known as “Ox,” and learns the little joys of living a simple, peaceful life before returning home.

This middle section is nicely done — especially Yuanjia’s budding relationship with a blind woman who nurses him back to health — but it feels truncated. More than 40 minutes were trimmed from the movie for the American release, and this is where you feel it the most.

The fight scenes are well executed, particularly a harrowing battle atop a series of scaffoldings that tower above the village square, and Yuanjia’s bout with a fighter roughly five times his size. But the fighting, while well done, is almost beside the point. Director Ronny Yu and Li are clearly more interested in chronicling Yuanjia’s spiritual journey — one that teaches him what’s worth fighting for. Yes, it’s a message movie at heart, but one that rings true.

It might be his last martial-arts film, but Li proves in “Fearless” that he’s capable of much more. There are some dramatic chops behind those fists of fury.

———

Speaking of fights ... even if you think his movies are utter crap, you have to give director Uwe Boll some credit. The guy can pack a punch.

Some have argued that taking a few blows to the head might not be a bad way to preface watching his horror flicks “Alone in the Dark” or “House of the Dead,” and Boll — a trained boxer — invited four of his critics to step into the ring with him last weekend.

It might be a new low, but it’s certainly entertaining. Check out the highlights on YouTube or at www.aintitcool.com.

Address correspondence to Scott Meeker, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802 or e-mail smeeker@joplinglobe.com.

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'Fearless' Li shows his chops

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