Fearless

brilliant fun. Just a pure, simple, obvious and spectacular kung-fu movie. Based on historical events (artistic licence wielded more like a morningstar than an artful three-part staff), Fearless tells the story of Huo Yuan Jia, a man instrumental in counteracting China’s image as ‘The Weak Man of the East’, representing his country in some crucial combat matches. Did my heritage colour my enjoyment? Nah – I was too busy being excited at recognising Mandarin words!

The writing style really felt like typical anime at times. After a string of fights, we have a lengthy flashback to Huo’s childhood, his downfall and rehabilitation (in a peaceful farming community, cared for by a blind girl – if it weren’t a true story, it would seem too cliché…) and then his rise to fame, before picking up again where we left off at the beginning. For the conclusion of the fights. People are always either speaking nobly of high philosophical concepts, or being sneaky swine who go around being duplicit. Characters are drawn big and simple, and emotional turmoil is milked for all it’s worth. Kids are brattily adorable or adorably adorable, friends come through for one another even when times have been difficult, and a man must suffer great guilt for his misdemeanours, or at least, suffer having a beard and looking mad for one scene before they can be rescued by some kind-hearted soul.

On this pleasingly simple and rather sweet framework, many many fights are hung. It’s quite strange, amidst detailed period costume and settings to have very obvious wirework, but the wushu here is of mythical status, and exaggerated as such. Huo doesn’t just beat his opponents, he totally dominates them, with the exception of fights with his childhood friend, the final climactic battle, and a scrap with Nathan Jones (it’s great just to know people that HUGE really exist!), although there the fight follows the very daft pattern of our hero getting dominated for the first half, then turning the tables and winning without taking another blow.

Much praise is lavished upon the famous fight director whose work here genuinely was very impressive, but the genre is so silly that I can’t take it seriously. It’s all so over-the-top that it’s a pure joy – but will always remain trivial, whether or not that is the intention of the director, in this case Ronny Yu, whose previous works involve such nonsense as Freddie Vs Jason, but who did a good job here, save perhaps some weird MTV quick-cuts in one of the fights, and some very wooden and cheesy performances, especially from the kids. That aside, the beautiful locations, sweeping cameras and sense of fun were all totally enjoyable.
Great fun, and had me giggling away at the sheer audacity of what we were supposed to swallow as a realistic plot, and getting very caught up in the sheer energy of the fights. I’m not sure it was for the right reasons, but I loved it!