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"JET LI'S FEARLESS" (2006) (Jet Li, Dong Yong) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Heavy Extreme *Mild Heavy Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Moderate None Minor Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor Mild Heavy Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Action: A martial arts fighter must contend with the various repercussions of his desire to be champion of his region. PLOT: It's the early 20th century in China and Huo Yuanjia (JET LI) is the best Wushu martial arts fighter in the Tianjin region. Although his father (COLLIN CHOU) never taught him the fighting style and his mother (PAW HEE-CHING) tried to instill its correct philosophy into his head, he's determined -- after being bullied as a child -- never to be beaten again. Accordingly, and much to the dismay of his lifelong friend Nong Jinsun (DONG YONG), he'll fight anyone to become the champion of all fighters. Yet, his increasingly arrogant ways and hard drinking soon lead to tragedy resulting in him wandering the countryside where a blind girl, Moon (BETTY SUN), and her Grandma (QU YUN) not only save his life, but also adopt him into their farming village. That eventually has a calming effect on his demeanor and life philosophy. Refreshed and wishing to make amends, he returns years later to Tianjin and then on to Shanghai where he plans to start his Wushu Sports Federation -- in hopes of uniting the Chinese in the face of demeaning pressure from outsiders -- and must battle formidable opponents such as the hulking American Hercules O'Brien (NATHAN JONES) and Japanese fighting champion Anno Tanaka (NAKAMURA SHIDO). WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Jet Li or martial arts films, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For violence and martial arts action throughout. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JET LI plays a formidable fighter in turn of the 20th century China who's obsessed with being the champion. He becomes arrogant and drinks a lot until tragedy forces him to leave and reassess his life. He then wants to make amends and start a peaceful martial arts movement, although he keeps fighting in public contests. NAKAMURA SHIDO plays Huo's philosophical Japanese opponent. BETTY SUN plays a blind farming village girl who tends to Huo and dispenses all sorts of life philosophy to him. DONG YONG plays Huo's childhood friend who's discouraged by what Huo has become, and while their friendship becomes strained, he puts the past behind them to help his friend. QU YUN plays Moon's kind grandmother. NATHAN JONES plays the hulking American fighting champion who battles Huo. COLLIN CHOU plays Huo's father who doesn't want his son learning the martial arts he teaches. PAW HEE-CHING plays Huo's mother who tries to instill in him the real principles behind their martial arts (beyond fighting). CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this action film that's rated PG-13. Profanity consists of one minor expletive, while a few colorful phrases are present. The main bit of potentially imitative behavior, however, will be all of the martial arts based fighting and other stunts that occur throughout the film. All sorts of hard blows (punches, kicks and more) are delivered to opponents, one of which results in a man's death. Other on and off-screen deaths occur, while they and the fighting could possibly be suspenseful for some viewers, and some of that violence has bloody results (in a graphic bit of bloody vomiting). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, some smoke and others drink (one to the point of having a drinking problem, which he later kicks), and tense family material includes a man finding his mother and daughter murdered. Various bits of philosophical thematic material are also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there are varying amounts of camera movement in the film, including some spin around camera shots. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Huo and others drink in Nong's restaurant. Huo and others drink and then do even more as they revel at Nong's restaurant. Nong tells Huo to judge others by their integrity, not by their drinking. Huo and others drink, with Huo downing a lot. Huo's disciple admits that he was drunk and insulted a master's wife (which resulted in that man beating up the disciple, and then everything else that followed). When Nong offers Huo his favorite wine, Huo declines, saying he's given up drinking. Some miscellaneous men have wine. BLOOD/GORE One of Huo's disciples is carried in, wounded and bloody from another master beating him (not seen). A man's head is bloody after Huo slices him there (on the top of the head) and then beats him up, resulting in his face being quite bloody. Huo vomits when he hears that he killed his opponent. Huo returns home to find that both his mother and daughter have been murdered (by his opponent's godson). The mother has blood on her clothing and behind her head in bed, while we see Huo cradling his dead girl's limp body (he has both of their blood on his clothing). A combatant is poisoned by spiked tea, resulting in him vomiting up blood onto his opponent. We then see more such blood, including on his clothing. That includes when his opponent punches him in the throat, causing more black blood to spew forth. The poisoned man tries to keep fighting (punches and kicks), but eventually has had enough, is declared the winner by his opponent, and then dies. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE A slightly older boy bullies young Huo and then beats him up when the latter challenges him to a fight (punching, kicking and pinning him down, all while bloodying his nose and face). Huo is obsessed with being champion of his town, and puts that above everything else. Huo takes advantage of his friendship to Nong by running up a huge tab at his restaurant. When another master's godson asks Huo to respect his godfather's birthday celebration, Huo grabs the young man by the arm, twists it, and then kicks him away. Huo returns home to find that both his mother and daughter have been murdered (by his opponent's godson). The mother has blood on her clothing and behind her head in bed, while we see Huo cradling his dead girl's limp body (he has both of their blood on his clothing). Huo's disciple admits that he was drunk and insulted a master's wife (which resulted in that man beating up the disciple, and then everything else that followed). We hear that a huge American fighter was quoted as calling the Chinese the "weak men of the East." Tanaka's sponsor has a bad attitude, as he wants his fighter to finish off Huo so that they can humiliate the Chinese. A combatant is poisoned by spiked tea, resulting in him vomiting up blood and eventually dying. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" might be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Huo must ascend a tall platform to battle his former childhood nemesis high above the crowds below (and nearly falls getting up there). Both deliver hard punches and kicks to the other and take turns nearly falling from the platform. Huo then possibly breaks the man's fingers (or at least bends them enough to cause a lot of pain) and then knocks the guy from the platform (he hits various ropes and such on the way down before hitting the hard street, but he gets up and seems okay). Huo returns home to find that both his mother and daughter have been murdered (by his opponent's godson). The mother has blood on her clothing and behind her head in bed, while we see Huo cradling his dead girl's limp body (he has both of their blood on his clothing). A disheveled Huo wanders along a dam of sorts and falls face first into the water, but is pulled out before he drowns. GUNS/WEAPONS Swords/Spears/Various martial arts weapons: Used in various martial arts contests and fights. See "Violence" for details. We see canons being fired in old archival footage, along with resultant explosions. We see soldiers marching through Huo's town carrying rifles. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Don't be a wuss," "Shut up," "You were such a nerd," "You filthy scum," "He wants to kick your butt" and "You son of a bitch." All of the martial arts moves, fighting and stunts might be enticing for some kids to try to imitate. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of dramatic and some suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 S.O.B. SEX/NUDITY From time to time in the film, we see shirtless male combatants in fights. SMOKING Some miscellaneous people smoke cigars or pipes in a few scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES We hear that Huo's wife died in the past (his mother thinks Huo's daughter needs a mother). Huo returns home to find that both his mother and daughter have been murdered (by his opponent's godson). The mother has blood on her clothing and behind her head in bed, while we see Huo cradling his dead girl's limp body (he has both of their blood on his clothing). We hear Huo crying at night (grieving over his dead mother and daughter). We hear that Moon's parents are dead (her grandmother says the girl should visit their graves). Huo visits his parents' graves as well as that of his daughter, telling them he's sorry for how he acted in the past. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The historical accuracy and/or any artistic license taken with the true story. Martial arts. Young Huo's mother tells him that Wushu is about discipline and self-restraint rather than fighting or revenge, and that there's a difference between fear (what he wants from others) and respect. We hear that Huo has asthma, but nothing more is made of that. The comment that one's most formidable enemy lies within oneself. Huo visits his parents' graves as well as that of his daughter, telling them he's sorry for how he acted in the past. Huo's vision is to unite the Chinese in face of foreigners who are demeaning to them. The motivation of Huo's federation being cooperation rather than intimidation. The comment that revenge only brings more bloodshed. VIOLENCE Huo battles three opponents separately, avoiding one's punches and then repeatedly hitting him with his hands. He then competes against another, spear vs. spear (where he hits his opponent with the blunt end repeatedly and trips him, while also slicing the other's clothing, while the other man tries to jab him with spear), and finally takes on another in a sword battle (where clothing is also sliced). Young Huo watches as his father signs a death waiver to battle another man in a public contest. Various punches and kicks are delivered and the father seems to have the upper hand, but then stops short of killing his opponent, thus allowing that man to kick him out of the ring and win. A slightly older boy bullies young Huo and then beats him up when the latter challenges him to a fight (punching, kicking and pinning him down, all while bloodying his nose and face). Huo must ascend a tall platform to battle his former childhood nemesis high above the crowds below (and nearly falls getting up there). Both deliver hard punches and kicks to the other and take turns nearly falling from the platform. Huo then possibly breaks the man's fingers (or at least bends them enough to cause a lot of pain) and then knocks the guy from the platform (he hits various ropes and such on the way down before hitting the hard street, but he gets up and seems okay). We see a montage of Huo battling various opponents (throwing punches and kicks, while also fighting with swords, etc.). He then invites everyone he's just fought to fight him at once and proceeds to kick and strike them again until he's defeated everyone. One of Huo's disciples is carried in, wounded and bloody from another master beating him (not seen). When another master's godson asks Huo to respect his godfather's birthday celebration, Huo grabs the young man by the arm, twists it, and then kicks him away. Huo and another master engage in an angry swordfight in a restaurant (Huo wanting revenge for Chin beating up one of his disciples). As they battle, they cause a great deal of property damage with their massive swords, while Huo slices the top of the man's bald head, drawing a line of blood. That man then slices Huo in the chest (we see blood through the hole in the clothing), and they crash through stairs and walls during their battle that includes Huo bashing the man's head through various vases. Huo then delivers such a hard blow to the man's chest that we see the impact from the man's back (bones and/or his shoulder blade seem to be displaced). He's carted off wounded, but we hear that he died from that. Huo returns home to find that both his mother and daughter have been murdered (by his opponent's godson). The mother has blood on her clothing and behind her head in bed, while we see Huo cradling his dead girl's limp body (he has both of their blood on his clothing). Huo gets revenge on the young man who killed his mother and daughter by killing him with a blow from his sword. He nearly kills a woman and her daughter there (somehow related to the teen or the dead man lying in state), but stops himself. Two of Huo's former disciples push and kick some men out of a place. Huo battles a huge and very muscular American (Hercules) in the ring, avoiding his punches while kicking and knocking him around. The American picks him up and throws up, then picks him up by the neck, and then tries to squeeze him with a bear hug, but Huo manages to get away by doing something to the man's flesh on his side that causes him pain. Huo then continues to throw the bigger guy around, punch him and bend his fingers back. When the match seems over, the man grabs Huo by his leg, prompting Huo to kick him backwards, over the rope rings, with his face headed toward some nails sticking out from the side. Huo catches the man in time, and the fight is then over. A combatant is poisoned by spiked tea, resulting in him vomiting up blood onto his opponent. We then see more such blood, including on his clothing. That includes when his opponent punches him in the throat, causing more black blood to spew forth. The poisoned man tries to keep fighting (punches and kicks), but eventually has had enough, is declared the winner by his opponent, and then dies. Reviewed September 20, 2006 / Posted September 22, 2006

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