
Martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of ... (Full plot summary below)
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Martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia became the most famous fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness and into history, defining the true spirit of martial arts. His self-discovery, and the choices he made, inspired his nation. The son of a great fighter who did not wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, the bullied Huo Yuanjia resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win. Years of training enable him to ace match after match in his home region of Tianjin. But as his fame as a martial arts master grows, so does his pride. After an ill-advised fight leads to another master's death, members of Huo's family are slain in revenge. Grieving and ashamed, Huo wanders the country in shock. Near death, he is rescued by women from an idyllic village, and is offered simple kindness and generosity that help him heal and regain his equilibrium over a period of several years. Huo realizes that the future of martial arts lies in sportsmanship and not brutality, and he rejoins society to apply what he has learned. Returning to Tianjin, Huo takes steps to come to terms with his past and restore his family's name. His evolving, graceful Mizong (Missing) Fist method of fighting brings Huo renewed success, and he forms the progressive Jingwu Sports Federation. Taking note, duplicitous members of the Foreign Chamber of Commerce engineer a Shanghai tournament pitting Huo against four fighters, each representing the major foreign powers in China. Huo commits to the bout and faces off against, respectively, a British boxer, a Spanish swordsman, a Belgian soldier, and a Japanese martial artist. What happened that day in 1910 has never been, and will never be, forgotten in China.
Leave your thoughts about Fearless.
| eFilmCritic.comRob GonsalvesBecomes sedate and spiritual without losing its power. |
| The Stranger (Seattle, WA)Andrew WrightServes as a rousing, philosophically high-minded reminder of the actor's glory days. |
| Salt Lake TribuneSean P. MeansIf Fearless is Li's last film as a martial-arts star, he's going out on top of the world. |
| Deseret News (Salt Lake City)Jeff ViceThis is clearly Yu's best work since his 1993 Hong Kong hit The Bride With White Hair. |
| One Guy's OpinionFrank SwietekAlmost childishly naive but beautifully crafted and both viscerally exciting and oddly touching...a surprisingly rich and satisfying love letter by Li to the martial arts. |
| Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanLi plays haughty, brilliant wushu master Huo Yuanjia, whose recklessness leads to tragedy after he becomes a champion at the end of the 19th century. |
| Salon.comStephanie ZacharekThere's something grand and enveloping about Fearless. |
| Baltimore SunChris KaltenbachMuch of the film's virtue lies in its straight-ahead narrative and uncomplicated morality. That and the undeniable charisma and virtuosity of its star. |
| Portland OregonianM. E. RussellThough it somehow manages to be a movie about inner peace with crazy, incredibly staged fight scenes every 10 minutes, it is, first and foremost, a movie about inner peace. |
| Boston GlobeLeighton KleinCall it "Jet Li's Wushu Retirement Party." |