Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Jet Li has some excellent fight scenes from fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping. "Fearless" is based on the true life story of Huo Yuanjia, who took on all foreign fighters during a time of Chinese occupation and boosted national morale. It's a story that's ripe with possibilities, but it's sadly used as merely an excuse to stage one fight after another. Another disappointment is that director Ronny Yudoesn't bring a lot of style or energy to the fights nearly as well as Li's other frequent collaborators like Corey Yuen or Tsui Hark. Still, Jet LI is amazing and Yuen Woo Ping always delivers the goods, and that is more than enough to carry this film.

This engaging Jet Li epic is a throwback to the old glory days of the ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA series, as Li adopts his trademark shaven headed, ponytail-wearing persona and battles villains in turn-of-the-20th-century China. Yep, it's a China that's being invaded by the West once more, so there are many themes revisited that'll be familiar to fans of Li's earlier films. This film had a lot of publicity when Li declared to the press that it was his last martial arts film – but by that he meant it was his last period flick ABOUT martial arts; he's shooting a modern-day cop thriller as I write!FEARLESS is clearly a good film, with an epic-feeling plot, a ton of good action scenes and a very good performance from Li, whose acting seems to get better with age. There are two parts to the film really; the first is a series of action spectacles as egomaniac Li ruthlessly defeats opponents, until his temper leads to tragedy and he undergoes a spiritual redemption, LAST SAMURAI style, in the second half of the film. The finale of the film is particularly strong, with a genuine surprise of a plot twist and some moving scenes interspersed with the action. It's clear that Li has never been better, and he's supported by sterling work from the likes of Yong Dong as his childhood buddy and the underused Masato Harada as yet another Japanese villain, almost exactly the same character he played in the Tom Cruise movie!Of course, it's the action that'll make or break a martial arts film, and the fights here are great: fluid, kinetic and scenery-busting all the while. Yuen Woo Ping works well with the choreography of the battles, which are only spoiled a little by the overuse of CGI. Okay, so some of the impossible moves can only be done through computers – I accept that – but do we have to see CGI wood smashing, people being thrown through CGI walls and the like? Old-fashioned props and scenics will always be far more convincing than the cartoon-style effects on offer here. Plus, the editing on the fight scenes pushes things to the max, with lots of unnecessary jump cuts that'll make you think your brain is going funny, missing frames (why?) and an attempt to out-stylise THE MATRIX! Saying that, at least the battles are pleasingly violent, no kiddie fare here. The highlight is a tremendous fight to the finish between Li and a fellow martial arts master that ends with a rib-snapping power-punch that I've never seen the like of before. Plus we get a ring fight with WARRIOR KING's Nathan Jones, that hulking he-man whose sheer presence and size adds to any film in which he appears. While a better director for the job could have been found (I mean, Ronny Yu? BRIDE OF CHUCKY's Ronny Yu?) FEARLESS is still a strong and effective epic-feeling yarn with plenty to recommend it.

Martial arts films tend to be rather over the top and fantastic in tone as a norm. As such it's refreshing to see one taking place in recent history and featuring actual historical people.Fearless tells the tale of Huo Yuanjia, the prodigious son of a long line of martial arts practitioners, who grows in the late 19th century China, in a nation that's buckling under the Western pressure and occupation. We see him growing from a cocky young fighter into a man that in his own way tried to preserve and protect the ideal that was and still is China.In my opinion this is Jet Li's finest film. He's everything the role needs him to be and then some. Absolutely perfect casting and one of the films where you can see that he actually has a lot of acting talent as well. Sure he can probably identify a lot with the role, but that only makes him so much better for the role. He can also pull off the more serious tone of the story in comparison to usual martial arts ware. Someone like Jackie Chan would be too comical and not arrogant enough for the role.Aside from that, it's a professionally done film. The production values are very high, the whole film looks and sounds great, the story has enough soul and depth behind it to convince and it's interesting to follow. The need to follow a historical story does make some of the plot twists seem a bit weird, because the film doesn't have enough time to give us the whole context, but that never becomes a major problem.Fearless is an excellent film to pick if you're looking for a more serious take on the martial arts genre, without giving up any of the quality or enjoyability.

A beautiful and touching story, brilliantly told. The artistry throughout this film is stunning, both in the dramatic scenes and the fighting sequences. Jet Li gives a very nuanced performance as a men who grows up with a score to settle and a chip on his shoulder, then comes in touch with his inner being and finds his true self. A lot of emotion and reflection in this movie, and yet riveting fight sequences that keep you hungry for more. Cinematically, very artistic uses of a variety of wide shots and close ups and the combination of normal and slow motion that punctuate the mood and intensity of given moments. Pure excellence.