Lately, the name of Jet Li at the head of the cast has not been a sign for general rejoicing.  The martial arts champion of the world (five times in the late 1970s) made an impact in Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s and 1990s but then came to Hollywood to play the villain in Lethal Weapon 4.

No matter how enjoyable his Hollywood sojourn was, the films were not so good, especially in recent years with Cradle 2 the Grave and, more especially, Unleashed, both rather brutal shows.  When he went back to China to play the lead in Zhang Yimou’s rather magnificent and spectacular Hero, he made a very good artistic choice.

Expectations for Fearless were not too high.  It is, however, a pleasant surprise.  (However, it was a bit of a shock to read that it had been cut from its Chinese length of 150 minutes to 103 – in retrospect, there were some time leaps but, while watching it, we accept these gaps and its works quite well.)

It can be added that Ronny Yu’s films since he went to Hollywood after 20 years or more making films in Hong Kong have not been all that auspicious: Bride of Chucky, the rather obnoxious 51st State and the lucrative Freddy Vs Jason.

Working in their own language and on home ground, paying tribute to a significant Chinese historical figure, Huo Janjiu, both Jet Li and Ronny Yu have made a significant martial arts film.

It is not new in the sense that this kind of heroic material is original.  Rather, this is a familiar story well told and meant to inspire, the story of a man who became obsessed with winning, was punished by his arrogance with disaster and tragic loss, opted out of society and re-discovered his soul and returned to the world that he knew and tried to do something significant for China.  He founded the which unified the martial arts in China and developed national sportsmanship. (Significant for China in view of the 2008 Beijing games.)

There are plenty of fights with a variety of weapons, intricately choreographed and filmed.  There is also a strong human story of family, friendship and betrayal.

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