This is a beautifully shot, beautifully directed, beautifully choreographed and well acted martial arts movie. It is a true return to the genre which made Li, and while it doesn't measure up to his greatest films, it truly recalls their spirit.
If there is a great shortcoming in "Fearless," it's the script, which lopsidedly groups most of the exquisite fighting in the first half of the film, and relies on an underdeveloped romance storyline and plodding, repetitive lessons in "martial arts morality" to fill the hour leading up to the climactic fight, which is a minor action sequence compared to the early-on blowouts.
Those who already know the story of Fok Yuen Gap know the film's ending and understand that it makes for an unconventional "kung fu" story arc. I think that the genre would have benefited from more varied plotlines in the last three decades, and perhaps filmmakers would have nailed how to make such a story as "Fearless" as compelling from the action standpoint as a classic revenge tale, or even a mature and socially conscious revenge tale like so many of Jet Li's other movies. Unfortunately, I don't believe it has been done yet, and "Fearless" can't deliver on the sheer excitement I expected from Li's last martial arts movie. It's still a great looking flick with great action and decent non-fighting elements. 8/10 - S.M.