Wednesday Wushu — From Jet Li's "Fearless"

Even though it's a new addition to the canon, I consider "Fearless" to be among the finest wushu flicks, not only because of its slick storytelling but because of the level of wushu which a mature, highly refined Jet Li brings to the screen, more subtle and more advanced than the acrobatic displays of his youth, and in my eyes, more beautiful. The film is loosely based on the celebrated life of Chinese martial arts folk hero Huo Yuanjia, who helped restore Chinese pride at a time in history when European, American, and Japanese imperialism were exploiting the weakness of the disintegrating Qing dynasty to ravage the wounded nation. In the movie's final scene, a mortally poisoned Huo penetrates the defense of his Japanese rival to demonstrate that, had he been inclined to do so, he could have landed a fatal blow. Then he falls. And that right there is the difference between Chinese flicks and Hollywood.

Comments

[Josiah]

I had no idea of the political implications of this. I'll have to watch it now.

I have to admit I've been avoiding Li's stuff because his Hollywood crossover work has looked so cheesy at first glance. That shows how ignorant I am of his Chinese oevre. The man's got talent, for damn sure.

[nezua]

yes that movie is haunting me in such a good way.