Jet Li’s Fearless

Well, it’s probably as personal and philosophical a film about the true spirit of martial arts as one from the director of Freddy vs. Jason can be. Jet Li, or at least his publicist, has said this is his last martial-arts movie, presumably so audiences will read into it a sweeping funereal dignity. Maybe they will, but the thing itself, while luscious and likable enough, remains for the most part simply solemn. It loosely adapts the life story—with emphasis on spiritual comeuppance—of Huo Yuan-Jia, the founder of the Jinwu Sports Federation. Li inhabits the main role of the huffy, undefeated fighter whose hubris ultimately earns him a spinning kick in the ass from karma. His journey toward the honor of self-discipline and tempered patriotism, if unsurprising, is satisfying.