Jet Li’s Peerless
I just got back from seeing Jet Li’s Fearless. Verdict? Well, if you like marital arts epics, you’ll love it. If you don’t — well then what the fuck good are you anyway??
Seriously it was very well done, comparable to and on par with Hero. And — well I’ll let you see the story. But I’ll say it was a fitting way to mark Jet Li’s retirement from the genre.
So will the retirement stick? Who knows. I hear he wants to do some regular acting now. I actually think he can pull it off — he’s a better actor than people give him credit for. He speaks English as a second language, sometimes in an overdub, and often with cheesy dialog over which he has little control. Taken altogether people often see bad acting, when it really just is what it is. I think if he plays a role of a character such as an immigrant that might require slightly broken English, he’ll pull it off well.
One thing that struck me, outside of the film itself, was just how great it is that we’ve reached a point where kung-fu movies of this caliber and budget are being made, and getting major theater distribution, all still in Chinese with English subtitles. We’ve come a long way from the classic overdubbed Hong Kong pulp. And let’s face it, for some of the people that see this film, this might be all the reading they do this year : )
Of course my favorite Jet Li flick remains Unleashed, but that was an utterly different kind of movie. I may have to write up a post about that film sometime. Not today though. I will say that film was partly responsible for my opinion of his acting. Of course when you’re in the company of Bob Hoskins and Morgan Freeman…
Seeing the film made for a nice martial arts bookend to the weekend, since I spent Friday night in an extra “fight night” class at the dojo. I don’t do the Fridays nearly as often as I should, as evidenced by the nasty wallops I took on both sides of my rib cage. I’m actually a little fucked up, the ribs have hurt like hell all weekend and I’ve had some trouble getting the really deep breaths. But I did get through yoga OK, and they’re not as bad now as they were, so I don’t think there’s any serious damage. But, lest I had any illusions, I can be quite certain I’m not the one who’ll fill Jet Li’s shoes : )
However I do remain convinced that with enough training, I will be able to successfully defend my woman from robot ninjas.
UNLEASHED? Better than FIST OF LEGEND? Better than MY FATHER IS A HERO? Better than . . . etc.
Well, it’s *different* than those movies. The whole drama about the way he was treated, and him finding a new family and all, like a grownup finally getting a real childhood or something — that was some powerful stuff. It would have been a good movie even without the kung fu.
But yeah, as far as straight up martial arts, you gotta go back to the HK stuff.
I’m quite impressed that you’ve read my back issues. Kinda scared too. ;)
Don’t worry, I’m not stalking you : )
I think I read it when you linked to it from your year-end wrap up post.
That’s what all stalkers say.
I am convinced Takashi Akusawa broke one of my ribs one time. He denied it. I feel for you; but I will share another of Sensei Akusawa’s lessons, taught to me while we were in traffic one day in Memphis. He pulled a Colt .45 ACP from under the driver’s seat, whipped it up to my temple in a flash, and asked me: “What good is your karate now”?
I believe some wannabe tough guy administered a similar lesson to Bruce Lee, with more disastrous results.
Speaking as one who finally saw Kill Bill 2 and thought it was an entertaining cartoon.
Indeed. In fact I don’t really take karate for defense or fighting (hence why I rarely go to fight night) — to me it’s just another set of asanas which I practice for the same reasons I take yoga and meditate. Plus it’s less mind numbing than going to the gym : )
But that said, a guru might well say that part of becoming a martial artist is in gaining mindfulness — particulary being mindful enough to avoid situations where one might wind up staring down the barrel of a gun. But then I suppose that was precisely Akusawa’s lesson.
Wintermute: I was a student of Akusawa sensei when he moved from Memphis, Tennessee to Miami, Florida in 1970 and am interested to know more about your history with him as well as any updates you may have about his current life in Japan. Arigato gozaimasu. Ron Beck
I am Takashi Akusawa’s daughter…He is in Setaguyaku, Japan and is suffering from severe Parkinsons. He will not be with us long. He left my mother and me when I was young. We lost touch for a very long time, but recently came back in touch a little.
It still always shocks me to find these little bits of him all over the place.
Was he REALLY the superman everyone says he is?
Ms. Donovan,
I am very saddened to learn of your father’s condition. I trained with your father in Miami during the summer of 1971. Of all the people I ever saw performing karate, he was the very finest. Amazing techniques that I never saw matched. I know a little about his personal life during that time.
I sure would like to drop him an email if at all possible. Please let me know if you know how I could contact him if you think that would be appropriate.
J Musick
Ms. Donovan: I’d look forward to writing you about your father and learning more about his condition. Is there an address that I could use to send him a letter of appreciation? Thank you.
Ron Beck
ronbeck@rochester.rr.com
Hi Ann,
I have not seen Pam or you since you were a baby in South Miami.. I just read your blog….
Your Dad, my Sensei, is truly one of the great ones… Jimmy Andrews, Armand Camacho, John Hinken, Larry Pamillio, Ron Beck, myself and others, were affected deeply by your father’s teaching and training. We all love and respect him.
If you read this blog before he checks out… please contact us, as we would like to get in touch with him, if possible.
Sincerely,
Phil Tepperberg
t-wedge@atlantic.net
Hi all great information here and good thread to comment on.
Can I ask though - how did you get this picked up and into google news?
Very impressive that this blog is syndicated through Google and is it something that is just up to Google or you actively created?
Obviously this is a popular blog with great data so well done on your seo success..
Thanks! Google would have just picked it up through their spiders, nothing I actively did. The key is having links coming in to your site from sites that google already knows about, that’s how they find you, and as you grow more such links, your rankings grow.