Fearless: Director's Cut (2006)

Fearless: Director's Cut (2006) 

Dir. Ronny Yu

A biopic of Master Huo Yuanjia, founder of the world-renowned Jin Wu Sports Federation.

The disclaimer in the end credits states: while this motion picture is based on historical events, characters and incidents have been composited, invented and fictionalized.

It should really have been presented at the beginning to help viewers achieve the correct mindset needed to fully appreciate the film. I don't know about anyone else, but on my first viewing I was expecting the realism of a biopic. Having expectations thrown so far into the wind tainted the experience and it was many years before I gave it a second chance. I'm glad I did, though, because it's a film that deserves a place on a Jet Li fan's shelf.

I find the best way to enjoy Fearless is to forget it has any connection to a real historical figure, at least until the end credits roll. Doing so frees me of any need to forgive fight scenes pushing the limits of what's possible by any human, even one as masterful as Jet under the guidance of Yuen Woo-ping. There are times where it's almost Once Upon a Time in China (1991) levels of exaggerated realism (i.e. fantasy).

The Director's Cut adds an additional 40 minutes of new footage to the running time of the International Edition, bringing the total to 141 minutes. It makes a huge difference to the overall feeling and, more importantly, to the emotional impact of the story.

The best part of what's new is in the middle section. It's a quiet, reflective time wherein the martial artist discovers that there's more to life than fighting. It's been criticised for breaking the momentum, but I fail to see how adding more heart to your story is a failing. I'll take depth and nuance of character over simple action-orientated momentum any day of the week.

There are also two brief scenes featuring Michelle Yeoh bookending the story. They serve to highlight how the disciplines that Master Huo taught are still relevant to a modern day society.

In short, the International Edition was an okay film - the Director's Cut is an excellent one.

It was heavily promoted as being Jet Li's 'final martial arts epic,' a fact that Jet attests to in the extras. However, he co-starred in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) a few years later, but maybe that wasn't 'epic'?  (It sure as hell wasn't much good.)

NOTE: if you like martial arts films with a large dose of fantastical action and haven't seen the aforementioned Once Upon a Time in China, you might want to seek it out. It has Jet playing Wong Fei Hung, another true life character given the legendary hero treatment. The many sequels are a mixed bag, but the first film is a genuine masterpiece of the genre.