Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 24
  2. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Much of the film's virtue lies in its straight-ahead narrative and uncomplicated morality. That and the undeniable charisma and virtuosity of its star.
  2. 90
    There's something grand and enveloping about Fearless.
  3. Li plays haughty, brilliant wushu master Huo Yuanjia, whose recklessness leads to tragedy after he becomes a champion at the end of the 19th century.
  4. Though it somehow manages to be a movie about inner peace with crazy, incredibly staged fight scenes every 10 minutes, it is, first and foremost, a movie about inner peace.
  5. 78
    Billed as Li's final martial arts epic (would that Jackie Chan be so thoughtful), Fearless is fittingly peripatetic, finding the Hong Kong superstar ricocheting across the screen.
  6. One of those corny, lusciously mounted, almost predictably thrill-packed action movies you can't help but like.
  7. Li's performance is stronger here than it has been in previous films.
  8. With the exception of one sequence, this PG-13 movie is so youth-friendly that I thought I might take my 10-year-old. But that sequence, upsetting for those of any age, makes the movie better suited for mature 12-year-olds and older.
  9. 75
    The final scenes pack a surprising melodramatic punch.
  10. Reviewed by: Leighton Klein
    75
    Call it "Jet Li's Wushu Retirement Party."
  11. Reviewed by: Monica A. Reyhani
    75
    Despite some amusing jabs at America's influence on traditional China, this film leaves even this American viewer feeling oddly patriotic (or maybe just wishing she lived in China.)
  12. Reviewed by: Megan Lehmann
    70
    Witty choreography juices the pedestrian plot of Fearless, an earnest and technically accomplished biopic in which action star Jet Li flexes his limited dramatic muscles to portray kung fu master Huo Yuanjia.
  13. Reviewed by: Felix Vasquez, Jr.
    70
    The theme behind Fearless is utterly simplistic, but universal: violence begets violence. It's a never ending cycle that becomes more and more vicious, until someone decides to stop it. It's a worthy final installment.
  14. 70
    Fearless sustains the tradition of ethically inflected Chinese action movies.
  15. Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    70
    Manages to pack a satisfying emotional punch.
  16. 70
    Contrary to some reports, this is not Jet Li's last action movie--he already has another in postproduction--but it represents his farewell to wushu, the martial-arts tradition that made him an international star.
  17. As the very traditional hero, Li keeps us riveted through the fisticuffs, and he also carries off the film's heavier dramatic moments well enough -- though, as always, his lack of a strong personality prevents the movie from ever genuinely catching fire.
  18. 67
    It's as subtle as a spinning kick, but some films aren't built for subtlety.
  19. 63
    A lavish biopic that gives Li one of his juiciest roles but is relatively light on the action his fans have come to expect.
  20. It's handsome, well-populated and offers beautiful scenery and settings. But "House of Flying Daggers" it ain't; maybe "House of Fallen Arches"?
  21. 50
    The truth is, Jet Li has gotten soft in his old age. While fans of the "Once Upon a Time in China" star will be pleased to learn that at least half of Fearless is action, what they may not realize is just how mushy everything else is.
  22. The movie is an enjoyable but flawed attempt at an epic story, with too much of the best action concentrated in the beginning.
  23. Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    50
    This is an action movie, and people don't come to be preached to; the "Terminator" flicks also favored world peace but didn't pause the action for nearly an hour to rub it in.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 50 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 29
  2. Negative: 2 out of 29
  1. JoaoS.
    9
    Just loved it. Very good action scenes and story.
  2. YuC
    10
    A good film, good fight scenes, and I liked every part of it. Someone said the ending could be better, first things first "This is based on a True story". They can't go changing what happened in the real legend even though is loosely based on it, the real person died at the end due to poison and is a key part to what has happened. The proper Chinese title of the film Huo Yuan Jia (not fearless) is the actual name of the real legend happened in china and the martial art school he made still stands in china. Gabor in his review he didnt like Crouching Tider style films. Well one Chinese kung fu films has always been made in that way for decades is the way usually done and two Crouching Tiger's style is completely different style to Fearless'. If you watch enough asian films and drama you will understand what I mean. Full Review »
  3. JimA.
    9
    One more usual movie with martial arts. That was my first thought about the film but I was completely wrong. This film is much more different than the the rest of this kind. It has a lot of surprises and a big value of different scenes. Furthermore the end of the movie completes the hole plot with a very interersting way! Full Review »