China - Hong Kong - U.S.A. | 2006
Directed by Ronny Yu
Starring
Jet Li
Shido Nakamura
Betty Sun
Color | 141 Minutes | Not Rated
Format: Blu-ray (Region A)
Universal Home Video
More Jet Blu (April 2010)
 
 


Review by
Ryan S.
Film:8
BD:7
Back in 2006, Fearless was promoted as Jet Li's "final martial arts epic". As it turns out, this was only half true; it is his last film to prominently focus on Wushu but it is not his last movie to feature any form of the martial arts. Jet followed Fearless with 2007's War (co-starring Jason Statham) and 2008's fantasy-adventure The Forbidden Kingdom (in which Jet finally shared the screen with Jackie Chan). To be fair, the advertisers did technically stay true to their word since neither of these films could even begin to be considered "epic".
    For Jet's fans, the news that he was retiring from martial arts cinema was difficult to hear but it was manageable since he was giving his fans a final bow (or kick). However, when news started circulating that the theatrical release of Jet Li's final foray into Wushu had been cut by roughly forty minutes, disappointment reared its ugly head once again. All was not lost, however. Universal saw fit to release Ronny Yu's director's cut of Fearless on Blu-ray and DVD. Better belated than forgotten, right?
    Jet plays Huo Yuanjia, a man fueled by ambition and arrogance in search of fame in the Wushu arena — something he gains at great cost, leaving him to question the true value of his new found noteriety. This is where the director's cut shines over the theatrical release. The additional footage focuses on drama, allowing Jet's character room to grow; Yuanjia's transition from stubborn competitor to altruistic tutor is now more gradual, perhaps even seamless.
    The Director's Cut of Fearless is not for the impatient. First and foremost because the action sequences are now spaced further apart, the fight scenes are as intense (and somewhat bloodier) than ever but this does not change the fact that you will now have to wait a little longer in between each display of Jet Li's fancy footwork. The second reason those who suffer from a short attention span may want to stick to the initial release is that the Director's Cut does not offer an English Dubbed audio track. If you're one of those 'I watch movies so I don't have to read' people, this is not the film for you. Of course, the 141 minute running time would most likely preemptively weed out the casual viewer.
    None of the aforementioned details are in fact flaws. The gap between fight scenes gives us fully fleshed out characters, the original language track lets us hear the emotions conveyed by the actors in their truest form, as originally intended by the filmmakers. And the two hour-plus running time gives the audience a more complete cinematic experience. These differences are highlighted here as a word of caution to those find their feet tapping restlessly when no one on screen is being punched, kicked, or otherwise beaten.
    As Jet Li's Wushu swan song, Fearless triumphs. The story is human and poetic. The action sequences (choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping) are a total blast to watch. True, the fight scenes may flirt with the outrageous from time to time but the wire work is kept to a minimum, so as not to distract us unnecessarily from the true heart of the movie: the story and philosophy Jet wanted to leave us with before parting.
    As a side note, Fearless could be considered a sort of prequel to 1994's Fist of Legend, which picks up immediately where Fearless leaves off, but to explain exactly how the two films relate to one another would mean revealing some major plot spoilers for both films.
Universal Studios presents the Blu-ray edition in full 1080p 2:40:1 widescreen. The picture is, well... gorgeous, vibrant and alive. Really, anything else would be a shock considering this is a recent, major studio release. The audio is equally impressive. For the Director's Cut, the kicks really kick and the punches retain their punch in DTS-HD Master Audio (Mandarin language only). What an upgrade from the standard Dolby soundtrack! Even the subtle movements resonate with this full range Surround Sound treatment. Along with the Director's Cut, we are given the two versions previously available on the DVD release, the Theatrical Version (with a running time of 101 Minutes) and the marginally extended Unrated Cut (104 minutes). These two alternate versions also provide the premium DTS-HD Master audio Manderain Soundtrack as well as (non-HD) DTS 5.1 surround sound in English and French. All three versions of the film feature Subtitles in English, Spanish, French and English for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. The English subtitles are clear and without grammatical error (I can't say so definitively about the Spanish or French Subtitles since I speak nether). Disappointingly, bonus features are nearly nonexistent; we get a 16-minute featurette entitled A Fearless Journey, a lackluster 'making-of' with interviews of the cast and crew. W're left to wonder why there was no detailed discussion about the decision to trim 40 minutes from the theatrical release, nor a single commentary track.
    The Fearless Director's could easily be considered the definitive version of the film. It is obvious that much time and attention was taken to ensure Jet's fans got to see this expanded edition in crystal clear picture and sound, too bad the same level of care wasn't taken to share the ins and outs of the film's production. 4/03/10
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