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''Fearless'', also known as ''Huo Yuanjia'' () in
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, and as ''Jet Li's Fearless'' in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, is a 2006
martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...
directed by
Ronny Yu Ronny is a given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Ryan. It may refer to: * Ronny (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo * Ronny (footballer, born 1991), Brazilian footballer Ronieri da Silva P ...
and starring
Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years o ...
. It is loosely based on the life of
Huo Yuanjia Huo Yuanjia (18 January 1868 – 9 August 1910),wushu.org.cn
states that the Chin Woo Athletic Association ...
, a Chinese martial artist who challenged foreign fighters in highly publicized events, restoring pride and
nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
to China at a time when Western imperialism and Japanese manipulation were eroding the country in the final years of the
Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
before the birth of the Republic of China. Li stated in an interview that the film was his last wushu martial arts epic, a point also made in the film's television promotions and other publicity. ''Fearless'' was released on 26 January 2006 in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, on 23 June 2006 in the United Kingdom, and on 22 September 2006 in the United States.


Plot

The film begins with Huo Yuanjia fighting and defeating three Westerners: a British boxer, a Belgian lancer, and a Spanish fencer. While waiting for the fourth match to begin, Huo remembers his father Huo Endi teaching martial arts. The story is then told in an extended flashback. Watching his father fight, the young Yuanjia wants to participate, but his father is concerned about his asthma. Yuanjia sees his father in a match with Zhao, who dishonorably won by retaliating when Huo Endi held back a fatal blow. Humiliated by his father's defeat, Huo Yuanjia vows to regain the Huo family's honor and pride. He practices martial arts behind his father's back. As time goes by, Huo Yuanjia defeats several opponents (including Zhao's son who bullied him when he was younger) and becomes a famous martial artist in Tianjin. As he becomes successful, he becomes more short-tempered and reckless and grows more arrogant and ruthless towards his opponents, unlike his late father who advocated showing mercy to opponents. This also leads to Huo gaining many followers and getting himself into financial trouble by spending his family's money on drinking and partying. When a rival martial arts master named Qin Lei injures one of his followers, Huo feels insulted and furiously confronts Qin on his birthday, at a restaurant owned by Huo's childhood friend, Nong Jinsun. Failing to dissuade his friend from fighting and fed up with his ruthless behavior, Jinsun furiously and adamantly ends his friendship with Huo. The confrontation escalates into a fight that ends with Qin's death. Qin's godson seeks vengeance and kills Huo's mother and daughter. Huo goes to Qin's house, where Qin's godson admits to the murders before killing himself. Huo becomes depressed when he learns that it was his follower who had insulted Qin's mistress, which caused Qin to beat him. Wracked with guilt, Huo flees Tianjin and wanders aimlessly for months. He nearly drowns in a river but is saved by Granny Sun and her blind granddaughter, Yueci. They bring him back to their village. Guided by their kindness, and over the years, Huo learns the value of compassion and mercy. In 1907, Huo returns to Tianjin and sees the changes that have taken place. He apologizes to Qin's family and reconciles with Jinsun, now a businessman. He challenges the American wrestler, Hercules O'Brien. Prior to the match, Huo requests that he and Hercules fight with honor and civility. Taking advantage of the language barrier, the Announcer deliberately mistranslates Huo's request to "He wants to kick your butt". During their match, Huo saves O'Brien from being impaled on some nails and wins his gratitude. The match ends with O'Brien happily naming Huo the victor. Huo's fame spreads with successive bouts against other foreign fighters. In 1909, with funding from Jinsun, he founds Chin Woo Athletic Association in Shanghai. The members of the foreign chamber of commerce fear that Huo's victories might fan anti-foreign sentiments among the Chinese people, thus becoming a disadvantage to them. They propose a match between Huo and four foreign champions. Huo takes up the challenge, even though he will have to fight four bouts in a row. Before the matches, Huo meets the Japanese champion Tanaka for tea and strikes up a friendship, with the men developing a mutual respect for one another. The film then returns to the competition shown in the opening scenes. On September 14, 1910, Huo faces Tanaka after defeating the European challengers. In the first round, they fight with their weapons of choice. Huo uses a sanjiegun while Tanaka uses a
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the '' tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge f ...
. In the heat of the fight, they accidentally exchange weapons. Huo is able to handle the katana proficiently, while Tanaka can defend himself but fumbles when attacking with the sanjiegun. Huo offers to exchange weapons with Tanaka, and the first round ends in a draw. Before the next round, Huo unknowingly drinks tea poisoned by the members of the foreign chamber of commerce. In the second round involving unarmed combat, Huo has difficulty breathing and begins to lose his strength. He collapses and starts coughing blood as a result of
arsenic poisoning Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, bu ...
. Tanaka and Huo's supporters demand that the match be halted and postponed, but Huo wishes to continue as he is going to die anyway. Huo, overwhelmed by Tanaka, still manages to deliver a final blow to Tanaka's chest, using the same technique that killed Qin, but deliberately holds back, smiling just before he collapses. Tanaka, aware that he could have died had Huo used more force, declares Huo the victor as Huo dies and respectfully bows to him as he collapses into the arms of his friend and students. Before departing, Tanaka angrily retorts to a protesting Japanese diplomat (who had Huo poisoned) that he was a disgrace to Japan for valuing his own personal gain by betting on and attempting to fix the match by poisoning Huo over having enough national pride in Tanaka that he could win honorably for Japan. Tanaka storms off to the diplomat's immense shock. In the epilogue, Huo's spirit practices Wushu on a field while Yueci observes him. Huo turns to her and smiles, indicating a lover's reconciliation.


Cast

*
Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years o ...
as
Huo Yuanjia Huo Yuanjia (18 January 1868 – 9 August 1910),wushu.org.cn
states that the Chin Woo Athletic Association ...
. Lu Yuhao played the younger Huo Yuanjia. * Dong Yong as Nong Jinsun, a businessman and childhood friend of Huo Yuanjia. Zhu Qilong played the younger Nong Jinsun. *
Nakamura Shidō II , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese kabuki and film actor. Life Born in Tokyo, the son of kabuki actor Nakamura Shidō I, young Nakamura made his kabuki debut at the age of eight. He took the name Shidō the following year, following ...
as Anno Tanaka, a Japanese champion and an honourable man who respects Huo Yuanjia and upholds the spirit of Wushu. *
Collin Chou Collin Chou (born 11 August 1967), sometimes credited as Ngai Sing, is a Taiwanese actor and martial artist. Personal life Chou attended Pierce Community College in Los Angeles, United States. In addition to his native Mandarin, he also spe ...
as
Huo Endi Huo Endi () (1836–1917) was a Chinese martial artist and the father of famous Chinese martial artist Huo Yuanjia. Huo Endi, a 6th-generation successor of Mizongyi was a well-known martial artist who served as a bodyguard for caravans trave ...
, Huo Yuanjia's father. *
Betty Sun Sun Li (, born 26 September 1982), also known as Susan Sun, is a Chinese actress. In 2018, she became the youngest Chinese actress to win the "Grand Slam", after winning the three biggest television awards, the Flying Apsaras Awards, Golden Eag ...
as Yueci, a village girl who took care of Huo Yuanjia when he was in a state of depression. She is called Moon in the US release. * Nathan Jones as Hercules O'Brien, the American wrestler. *
Paw Hee-ching A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...
as Huo Yuanjia's mother *
Mike Leeder Mike Leeder (born 5 August 1968, in Croydon, England) is an English casting director, producer and actor based in Hong Kong. Leeder has been responsible for DVD and Blu-ray special features for many Hong Kong productions. He worked on such projects ...
as Randall, the match referee. * Ian Powers as Dante, the bellboy. *
Anthony De Longis Anthony Charles De Longis (born March 23, 1950) is an American actor, stuntman, and fight choreographer. Life and career De Longis was born in Glendale, California. He attended California State University, Northridge where he was initiated int ...
as Anthony Garcia, the Spanish fencer. * Brandon Rhea as Colonel Han Herzon, the Belgian lancer. * Jean-Claude Leuyer as Peter Smith, the British boxer. *
Somluck Kamsing Somluck Kamsing (name used in the 1996 Summer Olympics) or Somrak Kamsing ( th, สมรักษ์ คำสิงห์; ; born January 16, 1973) is a Thai kickboxer and Olympic gold medal-winning amateur boxer. During the 1998 Asian Games in ...
as Beicha, the Muay Thai kickboxer. He appears only in the director's cut. *
Masato Harada is a Japanese film director, film critic, and sometimes an actor; he is best known to foreign audiences as Omura in ''The Last Samurai'' and as Mr Mita in ''Fearless''. In both his acting roles he portrayed the villain who wants Japan to westerni ...
as Mr. Mita, the Japanese diplomat, who was despicable and dishonourable unlike Tanaka. He was the one who poisoned Huo Yuanjia, leading to his death * John T. Benn as the American businessman * Philippe Millieret as the French businessman * John Paisley as the British businessman *
Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...
as Ms. Yang, the narrator of Huo Yuanjia's story in the opening scene. She appears only in the director's cut. * Hu Xiaoling as Huo Yuanjia's daughter. She is known as Jade in the US release. *
Chen Zhihui Chen Zhihui is a Chinese actor best known for playing supporting roles in various films and television series since the 1980s. Some of his more notable roles in film include: Master Chin in '' Jet Li's Fearless'' (2006); Zhang Fei in '' Three Ki ...
as Qin Lei, a rival martial arts master who was killed by Huo Yuanjia. He is known as Master Chin in the US release. * He Sirong as Qin's wife * Ma Yin as Qin's daughter * Ting Leung as Laifu, the Huo family servant. * Qu Yun as Granny Sun, Yueci's grandmother. She is known as Grandma in the US release. * Ma Zhongxuan as Zhao Jian, Huo Yuanjia's childhood rival. Shang Yapeng played the younger Zhao Jian. *
Jacky Heung Jacky Heung Cho () is a Hong Kong actor. He is the elder son of film producer/presenter Charles Heung and his wife Tiffany Chen Tiffany Chen Ming-Yin (born January 15, 1959) is a Hong Kong administrative film producer, agent and investor. ...
as Qin's godson, who kills Huo Yuanjia's family to avenge his godfather. * Zhao Zhonggang as Zhao Zhiqiang, Zhao Jian's father who defeated Huo Endi in a match at the start of the film. * Zheng Shiming as Xia Xiang * Chen Fusheng as Xu Dashan * Wang Qi as Gui * He Jun as Bang, the town idiot * Liu Licheng as Qiang * Qian Yi as the referee at Huo and O'Brien's match * Sun Yueqiu as accountant * Yi Shixiong as Liu Zhensheng, Huo Yuanjia's student. * Ma Jing, Wei Binghua, Zhao Tieying, Xu Yonghai and Song Shuo as Huo Yuanjia's students


Production


Alternate versions

The film was originally approximately 140 minutes long, but to fit market demand, it was cut to 105 minutes, and scenes by
Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...
and a fight between Jet Li and a Thai boxer, portrayed by
Somluck Kamsing Somluck Kamsing (name used in the 1996 Summer Olympics) or Somrak Kamsing ( th, สมรักษ์ คำสิงห์; ; born January 16, 1973) is a Thai kickboxer and Olympic gold medal-winning amateur boxer. During the 1998 Asian Games in ...
, were removed. A special release of the film in Thailand in March 2006 reinserted the scenes with Somluck (but not Michelle Yeoh), making its new running time approximately 110 minutes. In January 2007, Ronny Yu's original 140-minute director's cut was given an official DVD release in Hong Kong, featuring the full Michelle Yeoh subplot as well as the fight with Somluck Kamsing. Within the Somluck Kamsing scene, there are two different endings. In the director's cut, the fight ends after Huo Yuanjia stops the Thai boxer from falling head first. In an alternate scene, the Thai boxer continues to fight after this and Huo appears to kill him with the exterminating blow, only to see that he had resisted, in which the boxer realises this and ends the fight.


Director's cut

Universal released the full 140-minute director's cut on DVD in North America in July 2008. The released DVD, however, contained 2 discs and has been reported to errantly contain both the existing US theatrical version and the existing unrated version and not the actual director's cut on either of the discs. However, many people were able to get replacement copies that had the director's cut after sending a complaint on their website. In December 2008, Universal released the
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
version of the film, which contains the three versions (Theatrical, Unrated, and Director's Cut) in a single disc. There are many differences between the theatrical and director's cut. * Instead of the film opening with the fighting competition in Shanghai, 1910, the film opens with Ms. Yang (
Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...
) explaining to the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
why wushu should be an Olympic sport. She then proceeds to tell the story of
Huo Yuanjia Huo Yuanjia (18 January 1868 – 9 August 1910),wushu.org.cn
states that the Chin Woo Athletic Association ...
, the man who helped wushu become a major sport. * Before we see Huo as a child, a scene of him is shown seeking passage on a boat, with the boatman taking a small jade jewel out of a sack as payment from Huo (shown later to be the gift that Huo's daughter intended to give him when he wins his fight). This will also later be shown to be a scene of Huo wandering in despair. * Before Huo and his friend, Nong Jinsun, as children, go to see Huo's father fight, there is a scene of Huo showing Nong his father's certificates from winning fights. * There are scenes of Nong, as a child, copying the Huo family's wushu manual for Huo Yuanjia so he can learn. * A scene was added of Huo Yuanjia, as a child, getting his revenge and defeating the son of master Zhao. * After Huo's minor confrontation in the streets with Qin Lei, a scene is added of Huo beating his disciples for not working hard enough. * An extra scene of Huo's family, waiting for him to come home after his competition. * The montage of Huo wandering in despair is longer, as well as his time with the villagers. * A scene was added of a young boy from the village, Gui, getting beaten by members of another neighbouring village for stealing an ox after his own died. The villagers of Huo's village protest to let him go, and when the man of the other village refuses, Huo offers to take Gui's punishment instead. He has to let a Thai boxer beat him until an incense stick burns out. Huo allows the Thai boxer to beat him until members of his village protest. Huo defends himself from the Thai boxer, but does not fight back. When the Thai boxer is about to hit his head on the ground, Huo saves him, and the Thai boxer bows in respect, and agrees to let Gui and the other villagers go. * In his time with the villagers, Huo has a talk with two village boys about wushu, and makes them explain why they want to learn it. * When Huo returns home, the black-and-white footage of battle shown at the beginning of the theatrical version is now shown right before Huo's return to Tianjin, with subtitles explaining that after the Qing Dynasty, foreign armies invaded China, and made Tianjin a semi-colony. Also added was a scene of Huo giving master Zhao, whom he defeated earlier in the beginning of the film, his copy of the Huo family's wushu manual. He later comes to Jingwu school and joins. * After the main credits, Ms. Yang is walking away from the meeting, with a reporter asking her if she thinks she will succeed. She responds saying that she had done her best, and that is what is important. When the reporter asks, "Is it enough?", she smiles and walks away. * Various scenes in the film are now given their time and place in subtitles. Also subtitled are the names of the three fighters Huo fights with before Tanaka in Shanghai, as well as their fighting styles.


Other names

* Some promotions, including television and
AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...
, billed the film as ''Jet Li's Fearless''. * The film is also known as ''Spirit'' in Japan. * The film is also known by its Chinese title ''Huo Yuanjia''.


Reception

The film holds a rating of 73% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
with the consensus being, "''Fearless'' is a brilliantly choreographed, beautifully filmed endcap to Li's quarter-decade of epic martial arts glory." ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' gave two stars out of five with a verdict stating, "Despite impressive, CG-light action sequences and an absorbing story which certainly stands another re-telling, director Ronny Yu barely elevates this above the level of a direct-to-video fightfest. ''
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
'' or '' Crouching Tiger'' it ain't." ''Fearless'' opened in Hong Kong on 26 January 2006 during the Chinese New Year holidays. The film played to blockbuster business, eventually grossed an exceptional HK$30,201,600 by the end of its run on 8 March 2006, making it the highest-grossing domestic film of the territory of 2006. On 22 September 2006, ''Fearless'' was released in 1,806 North American cinemas under the title ''Jet Li's Fearless''. In its opening weekend, it placed 2nd at the box office to the sequel to ''Jackass'', grossing US$10,590,244 (US$5,863 per screen). It was Jet Li's seventh film in a row to open to over US$10 million. The film went on to gross US$24,633,730 by the end of its North American run—making it the sixth highest-grossing non-English language foreign film in the United States to date—and its total worldwide gross US$68,072,848.


Controversy

The descendants of Huo Yuanjia were so upset by how their ancestor was portrayed in ''Fearless'', as well as by the historical inaccuracies in the film, that they launched a lawsuit against Jet Li and the film's producers and distributors in March 2006. Huo Shoujin, an 81-year-old grandson of Huo Yuanjia, stated he was unhappy that the movie showed Huo Yuanjia causing "trouble", which led to the deaths of his mother and daughter. Huo Shoujin also denounced the filmmakers for depicting his grandfather as a violent fighter. In December 2006, a court in Beijing dismissed the case, saying ''Fearless'' was an exaggerated and fictitious portrait of Huo Yuanjia but it "contained no defamatory or libelous depictions".


Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack was composed by
Shigeru Umebayashi (born February 19, 1951) is a Japanese composer. Once the leader and bass player of Japan's new wave rock band EX, composer Shigeru Umebayashi began scoring films in 1985 when the band broke up. He has more than 30 Japanese and Chinese film sc ...
. The Taiwanese singer
Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...
wrote and sang the theme song, also named "Huo Yuanjia". In the song, Chou sings in a falsetto voice for a few segments.


Awards and nominations


See also

* Jet Li filmography


References


External links

* US * * * *
HKMDB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearless (2006 Film) 2006 films 2006 martial arts films Chinese epic films Chinese martial arts films Hong Kong biographical films Hong Kong martial arts films 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s Japanese-language films Chinese biographical films Films set in Shanghai Films set in Tianjin Films set in 19th-century Qing dynasty Films set in 20th-century Qing dynasty Films set in 1900 Films set in 1909 Films set in 1910 Kung fu films Wushu films Chinese New Year films Focus Features films Rogue (company) films Films directed by Ronny Yu Films scored by Shigeru Umebayashi Martial arts tournament films 2000s English-language films 2000s Hong Kong films