Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Fearless Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 8, 2008

Winner of the 2007 award for Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards, Ronny Yu’s “Fearless” ends martial arts superstar Jet Li’s onscreen exploits of wushu. Pic is an impressive display of skill, athleticism and spiritual beliefs which appear to have guided the Chinese actor in his quest for perfection. Courtesy of HK-based distribs Edko Films.

A loose biopic chronicling the rise of legendary fighter and founder of the Jingwu Academy Huo Yuan Jia (Li), Fearless begins with a story about a young boy fascinated by his father’s wushu skills. Determined to follow his steps the boy steals an old book with fighting instructions and begins to practice with the assistance of his best friend. Years later he becomes a wushu champion.

A tragic accident, however, forces Huo to flee his home town. He settles in the countryside where a blind girl would help him reevaluate his past. Eventually he returns home only to discover that ambitious foreigners have taken over and set new rules. Huo's childhood friend helps him get back into ring fighting. This time around, however, instead of defeating and degrading his challengers Huo wins their hearts and respect.

Soon to be a legend

A very personal for Jet Li project, Fearless does not redefine the genre it belongs to, but it certainly does a stellar job in offering a credible reason why the martial arts guru has come at the end of a long journey. It allows the audience to see and study a side of Jet Li, which many will greet as unconventional and shocking. Key contemplations on the true strength and power of wushu for example go far beyond the realms of traditional martial arts films. In Fearless they address humanity and one’s ability to live a harmonious life in a notably personal fashion.

On the other hand, the film’s visual composition is still very much in tune with the Chinese actor’s record. It is explosive and choreographed to perfection. Terrific camera work allows one to witness a degree of self-control and athletic excellence few actors, if any, could replicate. Mind- boggling kicks, jumps, and pirouettes provide Fearless with the type of energy wushu films thrive on. There are terrific action scenes here that should please those who have followed Jet Li’s progressions in front of the camera.

His maturation behind the camera, however, appears to have been a key factor in the realization of this project. Citing a desire to put close a cycle of his life which ironically mirrors that of the main protagonist in Fearless Jet Li’s acting comes off as a reflection of his own struggle with a number of personal demons (take a look and listen to the documentary supplied with this Blu-ray disc where he talks about how one could be his own worst enemy). Not surprisingly, Fearless resonates as far more than an action film overflowing with spectacular fighting scenes.

The director’s cut of Fearless, subject of this review, is far more convincing and cohesive than the sanitized version that made its way to North American shores not too long ago. It puts a lot of Jet Li’s words in perspective, particularly because one is given the opportunity to see more from Huo Yuan Jia’s struggle to unite rather than divide, and consequently shows why his legacy lived on. The political overtones the film adds during the second half are also nicely aligned within the context of the story. They provide Fearless with a much different flavor which appears to be a byproduct of the Chinese actor’s publicized decision to move away from wushu pictures.

Fearless Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer the director's cut of Fearless arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Edko Films Ltd. There isn't much here that will surprise those who already have been exposed to Edko's Blu-ray output. A solid-color scheme, excellent degree of detail, and terrific contrast is what this transfer boasts. The colors are lush, rich, and very convincing (nuance is key here). Furthermore, I did not detect any DNR alterations and as a result the print sustains a healthy, very natural and warm, look. I did not detect any debris, scratches, or specks either. In fact, my only complaint with this transfer is the tiny dose of digital noise I noticed during a few selected scenes ((the ring fight during the second half of the film between Jet Li and Tanaka is a prime example). Still, Fearless has been given an adequate treatment that should meet the quality demands of even the most pretentious amongst us. (Note: This is a Region-A only release which you will not be able to play on your Region-B hardware).

Fearless Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A number of times already I've noted that Asian distributors are really on a quest to prove that superb audio encoding is of major importance to Blu-ray. I am very impressed with how much effort is being put into recent HK releases and I truly hope that some of our local distribs will finally jump on the quality wagon as well.

This Blu-ray release offers three different soundtracks: Mandarin PCM uncompressed 7.1, Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, and Mandarin Dolby Digital 6.1. I watched the film with the PCM track on and later on did a few selective comparisons with the DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix. And I was not disappointed! The PCM 7.1 track delivers and it does so with a bang. While I did not particularly enjoy Fearless I was very pleased with the manner in which the audio producers have encoded the Blu-ray disc. There is an enormous amount of activity in the rear channels and those of you who could benefit from the 7.1 mix are definitely in for some great treats. During the fighting scenes (and specifically the first challenge on the high stage) there are tons of little effects that pop-up from all sorts of directions. I also noted a very deep and potent bass (listen to some of those enhanced kicks) which adds plenty of flavor to the already incredibly active audio scheme. The actual dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow and I did not encounter any hissing, pop-ups, or cracks. Now, I did a few selected comparisons with the DTS- HD Master mix and frankly I could not tell much of difference. The fighting scenes are probably what you want to compare if you wish to see if there is notable difference between the two. As far as I am concerned both the PCM 7.1 and the DTS-HD MA 7.1 sound identical. Finally, the Blu- ray disc offers optional traditional Chinese and English subtitles. I did not detect any serious syntax errors to report either but I would like to point out that the actual subs are placed inside the image frame, they are not split.

Fearless Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from selected filmographies for the cast and crew of Fearless and a photo gallery you will also find a terrific documentary titled "A Fearless Journey". It is shot entirely in English (shockingly even Jet Li avoids speaking Chinese) and as far as I am concerned it is incredibly informative as well. There are numerous comments addressing the technical construction of Fearless, Jet Li's journey as a wushu superstar, the message the film carries, etc. I strongly recommend that you watch it as it certainly sheds enough on the Chinese actor's decision to have Fearless as his last wushu project.

Fearless Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A beautiful summation of one man's vision of wushu Fearless will likely reconfirm Jet Li's status as the most exciting martial arts actor to step in front of the camera in quite some time. Time will tell how his legacy will resonate with future generations but suffice to say his name will be remembered for years to come. The Blu-ray release courtesy of Edko Films is of very high quality which will undoubtedly meet the quality expectations of even the most demanding amongst us.