(From the archives: with the release of Fearless (霍元甲) in the USA and Europe this week, here again is my take on Jet Li’s final martial arts.)Original post: 8/31/06I just finished the movie Fearless (霍元甲) Jet Li’s self-proclaimed final wushu film. The movie itself is not bad (Not that I’m much of a movie critic). It’s about equal parts Fists of Fury and Rocky IV (compare the final fight scenes) with a dash of Raging Bull and an inexplicable Dances with Wolves second act. I like wushu movies and this as good as any, I guess. I can also see why it was so popular in China. The sight of the lithe and deadly-looking Jet Li beating the crap out of a giant white guy (in this case Aussie professional wrestler Nathan Jones) wearing red, white, and blue shorts must be as satisfying for the average Chinese teenage male as it was for my young punk ass to watch American Hero Rocky Balboa beat down the steroid-pumped Ruskie, Ivan Drago, back in 1985.
*****************************************A quick spoiler alert: Most Chinese are familiar with the story of Huo Yuanjia and so know the basic plot of the movie. If you don’t know