Jet Li's Fearless (Huo Yuan Jia) - Directed by Ronny Yu
Rated PG-13 for violence and martial arts action throughout.

The opening minutes of what is being billed as "Jet Li's final martial arts epic" are worth the price of admission, alone. Indeed, if you're looking for stunning hand-to-hand combat sequences, Fearless delivers and then some.

Fearless chronicles the life and hardships of martial arts master, Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li). Like all good kung fu movies, this one follows a somewhat predictable plot: someone murders someone, while another seeks revenge. However, Fearless throws a few twists in to keep things interesting. And if you can look past the negative way the West is portrayed and the heavy communist undertones, you're left with a touching story of personal triumph.

With fight choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping (The Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill, Crouching Tiger) on board, top-notch fight sequences were pretty much guaranteed--but they surpassed my expectations at every turn. Featuring duals between Li and everything from a European swordsman to a Japanese Samurai, the scale of each stunt is matched only by its originality.

The only thing that I think could have been handled better in Fearless is the pacing. It's usually not a good sign when most of the final fight sequence is shown at the very beginning of the movie. Although it worked well as a means to draw my attention into the story, it left the climax feeling a bit lacking. Also, the movie gets bogged down in the middle, focusing on Li's emotional trauma. It's all good content, don't get me wrong, but I found myself counting the minutes until they got back to fighting.

If this is to be Jet Li's final martial arts movie, I do believe he has gone out on a high note. With mind-blowing, original fight sequences and a touching, emotional plot, Jet Li's Fearless is likely to be as good a martial arts film as you'll find this decade. For martial arts fans and otherwise, I highly recommend Jet Li's Fearless...Just be warned that you will need to read subtitles, so younger viewers probably wont be able to truly appreciate the story.

Rating: 4.5 / 5