This film is inspired by the story of Huo Yuanjia, a Chinese martial arts master. In the opening scene he is taking part in a series of fights against four foreign opponents; he has already defeated three of them and is about to fight the four when the action jumps back thirty years. Young Yuanjia is the son of a martial arts teacher but is forbidden to learn it himself because of his asthma; he is determined to learn anyway. He gets in a fight and is beaten shortly after witnessing his father lose because he was unwilling to land a fatal blow… Yuanjia swears he won't lose again. As the years pass he becomes a great fighter with a large retinue of disciples… he also becomes arrogant. One day one of his followers is beaten by a rival master so Yuanjia fights and defeats him; the pleasure of victory doesn't last long as his opponent dies and his son takes bitter revenge against Yuanjia's family. Heartbroken he leaves his home town and eventually ends up in a remote village where he lives a peaceful life for several years. He then returns home and discovers it has changed; westerners are there and they look down on the Chinese. He determines to found a martial arts school and demonstrate that the foreigners aren't as strong as they believe; this brings us back to where the film begins and Yuanjia fights his final match.If you are looking for a film with a good story and some great martial arts them you are sure to really enjoy this. Jet Li does a great job as Huo Yuanjia; as well as being fantastic in the numerous fight scenes he brings an emotional integrity to the dramatic moments. The fights are fairly bone crunching and feel more real than the highly choreographed fights that appear in many films. These fights are also fairly varied and include highly kinetic fights between martial arts masters; a fight with swords that just about destroys a restaurant and a fight between the relatively small Huo Yuanjia and a man-mountain from the west. The secondary actors are also pretty good. For an action film it is surprisingly emotional at times; most notably when Yuanjia's family is targeted and we then learn that there was no real reason for the fight that led to it. Before watching this I hadn't heard of Huo Yuanjia but having looked up a little bit about the real man it is clear that this is very much inspired by his story rather than being based entirely on known events… that does not spoil the film though. Overall a really good martial arts film that fans of the genre should like.These comments are based on watching the film in Mandarin with English subtitles.

It's 1910. China is considered the sick man of Asia. In Shanghai, the foreign powers created a contest with their four champion fighters. Only martial artist Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) rose to the challenge. He dispatches the three western champions in various disciplines. Only Tanaka from Japan is left. The movie flashes back 30 years ago in Tianjin. Yuanjia's father wants him to learn writing rather than the family wushu. Despite that, he continues to strive to make Huo Wushu the best. However family tragedy strikes and he has to reconsider his life.The fights are terrific and wall to wall. The action is great. The stunt work is exceptional. The story is actually good and compelling. Jet Li is an action hero who provides good emotional acting this time around. Director Ronny Yu brings good work to the film. The fight against the boxer is a great set piece.

Fearless chronicles the true story of Chinese Martial Arts Master Huo Yuanjia who was one of the best fighters of his time and also the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation.Fearless throws us straight into the action and we are treated to an explosive beginning with several impressively choreographed fights. Through beautifully choreography, the Asians seemed to be able to make fighting look like art (when compared to the fight choreography that we witness in films from other continents). This film certainly has style, but it also has more than enough substance to go with it...In the early days of his life Yuanjia just wants to fight for 2 main reasons; 1) So that he is able to defend himself 2) In order to continue to defend his father's legacy. In later life, he sticks to these values and works his way to the top, however he seems to lose touch with his original values along the way. Once he's at the top, Yuanjia seems quite content with his new found popularity and is happy with his new found legendary status. However, being popular and being the toughest can evidently be a double edged sword and both aspect result in devastating consequences for Yuanjia.The second half of the film is much less action orientated than the first half mainly because the second half of the film spends the majority of the time developing Yuanjia's character. Following his time with some villagers, he returns with a new outlook on life and attempts to build some bridges. I think that this is one of the main reasons why this works so well; not only is it stylish, well-choreographed and generally beautiful to look at, but the characters are also well-developed through the narrative.Jet Li was excellent in this film (probably the best I've seen from him). Essentially more is asked of him in the second half, but overall he was solid whether he was in 'martial arts' mode or 'acting' mode.I can't praise this film enough and loved everything about it. The ending is particularly moving and it's a wonderful feeling knowing how influential the real life Yuanjia has been in the martial arts world. This simply has to be seen.

Jet Li is Fok Yuen Gap! Of all the actors that Neo admired, there is one that he admired the most and can almost boast to be the only actor that Neo have watched every single one of his movies and this great talent is Jet Li. Perhaps, it is his heroic roles that made me a fan, but really it is his fighting abilities and unique on screen presence that made him such a respectable character. Recalling the days when I watched my first ever Jet Li's movie - Fist of Legend, it reminded me of Chinese pride and more importantly it sparked myself into HK cinema fascination. It was Li, not Jackie Chan that got me into HK cinema and now with the rumor-like announce of partial retirement by Mr. Jet Li, it is fittingly that a long time fan paid tribute to what has been a brilliant career by any standards. In his latest blockbuster - Fearless, Li has matured and his philosophy into life is all the more evident and after years of talking about - "violence without violence" on his own official website, his insight in the world of wushu have finally emerged to audience around the globe. This is a period flick and a fittingly finale as Li's final wushu movie, as the plot isn't deliver by fighting physically, but rather - the true meaning of martial arts - fighting a battle in our hearts. This is no ordinary action blockbuster, but one that reinforce my race, nationality and finally - pride of being a Chinese.While one may call Li's best is behind him - OUATIC series, Fong Sai Yuk, Fist of Legend, Swordsman 2 and more recently Hero, it may well be physically, but his acting has improved and matured. In what I will label as Li's most difficult role - as he played 2 very different characters - Fong Sai Yuk's carefree style in the beginning to respected hero in the form of Wong Fei Hung at the end. His range was naturally forced and his critically acclaimed stoic face provides a much hidden message behind a great man - Fok Yuen Gaap. In an age where all action movies are seamlessly cliché with a main bad villain that the hero is trying to beat, Fearless heads up the standard to be above the rest, by not having any true villain, but rather expressing a deep and profound message - the biggest enemy is indeed ourselves. Winning isn't everything, and being able to beat someone physically does not make you superior, but rather winning in your heart is far more important.Surely a Jet Li's movie can not be without brilliant fight scenes and once again Li and Yuen Woo Ping is a perfect combination. Woo Ping is perhaps the best fight director and somehow his best is always within a Jet Li's movie. Li is flawless and perhaps is still very much in his prime and his personal charisma can not be doubted. His steer presence alone is amazing and if they is one actor who don the half bald head more naturally, it must be Jet Li. Maybe, he was born for that period or maybe he is at his best with that hairstyle.Actress Sun Li performs with just enough grace and cuteness for us to care about her character, while it may seem forced to have such a cliché redeeming character, in Fearless it just sort of clicks. The both Li shared a reasonable chemistry and if only more time is spent in this part, the movie emotional core might even go further. However, what made this movie works is definitely a return to form by Hollywood-converted - Ronny Yu. Just like most biography flicks, the audience probably already know the fate of the hero - so how can you make someone feel the emotions when they already know the result. That is exactly the genius of Yu, and on the way he created a new type of action movie - its not about fighting and kicking ass, but about the heart and spirit of the game, nation and pride. In dealing with patriotic senses - proud of being Chinese, Yu has pressed all the right buttons for an utterly terrific yet emotionally manipulative finale. Yu really knows how to finish off, as if it was delivered by a lesser director the movie may have a very different value and perception.Certainly the fights are amazing to endure - Big Guy vs Jet Li and the finale honorable Japanese vs Jet Li fight, but the most amazing of all is not the hardcore fighting, but the moral message about the true art of wushu that it is delivering. Fighting and hurting others physically will not solve any problems, but rather creates further problems that one can not imagine - anger leads to revenge and finally to murder and deaths. In a way it is true that people learn from their mistakes, but perhaps Jet Li learned a lesson that was much too harsh - sure he was rash, ambitious and unforgiving, but he certainly did not deserve his fate. However, it is human nature to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, until it finally hits you in the heart that you began to change. Life isn't about winning this and winning that, but it is about the human spirit, proud of who you are, being confidence yet without overdoing it, and quite frankly and directly the biggest enemy is indeed yourself. Li taught us a worthy lesson and in the process also entertained us with an epic. Sure the title is Fok Yuen Gap, but to me, this movie isn't so much about Fok, but rather Li as a character, his life and his true spirit of wushu... In other words, Neo loved it! (Neo 2006)I rate it 10/10www.thehkneo.com