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Jet Li's Fearless: Director's Cut
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (20th December 2008). |
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The Film
 For my money there is no better martial arts action star of this generation than Jet Li. Forget Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa (although I have a feeling this young man will become the next martial arts action icon) and even Chuck Norris...there I said it: Jet Li can kick Chuck Norris' ass any day and I don't care who knows it. I was introduced to Li like most other Western mainstream audiences, from his appearance in "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998) when he cleaned the floor with Murtaugh and Riggs, well at least until the end when they fought him together and won...just barely. I was captivated by his onscreen presence; he commanded the camera and his fighting abilities were out of control. I'd never seen anyone move as quickly as he had during those fights. I later discovered a treasure trove of films made while in Hong Kong, which opened a completely new world for me. "Swordsman II" (1991), "The Tai-Chi Master" (1993), " Once Upon a Time in China I, II and III" (1991-1993), "King Fu Master" (1993) and "Fist of Legend" (1994) were among my favorites and in an action career spanning over 25 years and some 36 movies Li has decided to call this film his final martial arts epic. "Fearless" tells the story of a Chinese martial arts master, Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) who was the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. From childhood Yuanjia had wanted to learn wushu and fight like his father, a popular fighter at the time. When he loses a match, Yuanjia is challenged by a local boy in order to defend his family name. Yuanjia is beaten and from that point onwards he made a vow that no one would beat him again. As an adult Yuanjia fought his way to the top, beating opponent after opponent and became the self-proclaimed champion. His egotism and arrogance destroyed his personal life, in an effort to claim ultimate championship he lost his best friend and saw the murder of his family. Yuanjia, tormented and angry, left his home and journeyed to remote China, where he was discovered by villagers. For the next few years he would live the simple life, working the rice paddies and connecting with the simple things. This time served as therapy, the anger inside subsided, his arrogance and egotism was no more. He returned to his home and then went onto Shanghai to participate in a tournament to defend the honour of his country. In the process he etched his name into history and legend. I must admit that after seeing the trailers for this film online I got goose bumps, sitting through this film was in a word exciting. However, as one would expect the story is fairly simple, Yuanjia always wanted to be a fighter, his fighting caused him to lose everything and his fighting also allowed him to gain it all back by the end. Despite this wafer thin plot, screenwriter Chris Chow finds ways of adding depth to the character by providing a rich history behind him and his motivations (and not the usual "someone killed my master and I must get revenge" motivational through line you see in many martial arts films). Care was taken with developing this character's depth to ensure he's not the typically two-dimensional action hero. Over the last couple of years Li has surprised me as a performer, taking on dramatically demanding roles and turning in impressive performances. Especially in last year's schizophrenic yet none-the-less fantastic "Danny the Dog" (2005) (aka "Unleashed"), Li stretched his acting chops alongside Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins and managed to give them a run for their money, delivering a poignant and sensitive performance (on the other hand there was the ferocious action). "Fearless" shows off Li's acting range as his character moves from one chapter in this life to the next, and not just relegating himself to stone cold stares during the fight scenes. The photography lends a very epic feel to the film. Shot in cinemascope, the wide frame is vast and captures the turn of the century China in all its depth. The camera techniques could be considered contemporary, with the use of crane shots getting near impossible angles and movement following the action. There were a few shots that tip the hat to traditional Kung-fu films including the quick zoom, being a staple of the genre for many years. "Fearless" used the close mid-shot with fast zoom out to reveal a massive wide set occasionally. Matching the overall modern feel of photography was the film's fast paced editing, although the pace tended to slow down as the story required. I did find some of the sped-up moments in the fight scenes a little too music video-like. It somehow doesn't feel right considering the era this film's story takes place in. Now, let's get to the real reason you'd go to this flick...the action! Li teams up with fight choreographer extraordinaire Woo-ping Yuen and the result is some of the best Kung Fu action committed to film that I have ever seen. From the opening battle, that sees Li lay to waste a series of combatants from around the world, to his rise as the champion. Some of the most impressive set pieces were the wooden structure fight with his childhood bully. Balancing high off the ground the two fought within a small area utilising close proximity fighting styles. And a sword battle in a restaurant counts among the more violent encounters in the film. The sequence begins with a vicious sword battle that lays waste the premises and continues into hand-to-hand combat leaving his enemy bloody and with a broken shoulder blade that pops out of his back. Certainly not for the faint-of-heart these scenes are fast, furious and totally exciting. However the best is certainly kept for last, as Yuanjia faces his Japanese adversary Tanaka (Shido Nakamura) in a three stage battle royale that will leave you on the edge of your seat. In fact, I found myself out of my seat during many of the exhilarating moments of this fight. The fight choreography was certainly the delicious cherry on the top, "Fearless" is quite possibly Li's finest martial arts film, it breached my expectations and is an excellent way of saying goodbye to a genre that made Li a household name. This new Blu-ray release from Universal collects all three cuts of the film, they are accessed by seperate menus but are played seamlesslessly at you select which ever version you wish to see. Included is the original PG-13 "Theatrical Cut" of the film which runs for 101 minutes as well as the slightly longer "Unrated" Cut of th film which runs for 104 minutes. Finally the "Director's Cut" features some additional footage not seen in the previous released editions, this "Director's Cut" version of the film adds nearly 40 minutes back into the film running for 141 minutes, several changes include the addition of a sub-plot featuring Michele Yeoh which adds another layer of history to this already rich story. It also adds back the Muai Thai kickboxing scene in which our hero saves a village boy from getting a beating. Unlike the previous cut this one takes its time to unfold but the additional character moments and storylines certainly expand to make it a more satisfying experience.
Video
All three versions of the film are presented in it's 2.40:1 widescreen ratio and in high-definition 1080p 24/fps, this transfer has been mastered in VC-1 compression. The image is solid with rich and deep colors that show off your TV, this is the first impression of the image; it's totally lush and vibrant. Detail and textures look great and show off the cinematography and the fantastic wide vistas and period Chinese locations. The HD image uses a 50GB disc to space out this epic and the additional space allows this film to breath and it looks brilliant in HD, it's certainly reference quality stuff and could easily be used to show off your home theater equipment.
Audio
Three audio tracks are featured on this disc, all three versions of the film can be viewed in Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The "Unrated" and "Theatrical" versions also include options in either English DTS 5.1 or French DTS 5.1 surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-HD track and much like the stunning image the audio is complex, aggressive and immersive. The dialogue is clear, the ambient sounds are subtle and well mixed within the space, directional effects are present and don't feel out of place but it's the action scenes that provide the biggest punch (pun intended) and fill the space with a rich soundtrack that immerses the viewer. Additionally the film's score also adds another layer of depth to the overall mix. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Universal has released this film with only a single extra, a featurette. Below is a closer look at this supplement. The only extra is "A Fearless Journey" a featurette which runs for 16 minutes 4 seconds and features interviews with the key cast and crew about the film, we also get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, the fights and choreography and story elements as well as a look at what wushu is, it's meaning and place in Chinese cinema and we finally hear it from Li that this is in fact his final martial arts film. Overall this is essentially an EPK fluff piece that glosses over the basics and nothing else but this clip is actually annoying considering it's narrated by the most grating narrator in the history of extras!
Overall
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