We just got home from a night at the movie theatres.   Imaginary Diva and I decided to empty our wallets to view ”Jet Li’s - Fearless”.   We saw a preview a couple of weeks ago; Imaginary Diva liked it so we made up our minds to see this fabled epic. 

I expected a stereotypical martial arts movie from Hong Kong or China.  A run-of-the-mill action movie filled with wire based acrobatics and scenes filled with little Chinese guys beating up opponents eight times his size (and yes, I had a traumatizing childhood watching Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Steven Segal, Jean Claude Van Dam and those dreaded Ninja movies from the 1980’s).   Moreover, this film is (supposedly) Jet Li’s last martial arts epic he will ever make.    Do we see any dramatic roles for him in the future?

Now back to my impression of the movie.  Was it any good at all?  Was it bad?  Was the acting superb or did it mimic cheese way past its expiry date? 

I can’t honestly answer these questions because, after the first couple of minutes, Imaginary Diva and I decided to walk out.  We simply headed over to the Cashier so we can get a refund.  The Manager was kind enough to give us two movie passes for our next viewing.

Movies are supposed to be a simple form of entertainment.  Most viewers go to the theatre so they can get away from reality or spur their mind into an imaginative frenzy.   People want to see a movie screen filled with larger than life characters, beautiful people and jaw dropping cinematography.

In addition, there are some viewers that would rather watch a movie without having to read text messages appearing on the bottom part of the screen. 

And yes, “Jet Li’s - Fearless” is subtitled.  BTW, Imaginary Diva and I don’t know Cantonese, Mandarin, etc.

There will always be movie fans that like (or really don’t mind) subtitles accompanying foreign films.  I can see it from their perspective because a film can retain a majestic or original feel by keeping its native tongue.

On the other side, there will always be movie fans (like me) who detest reading text throughout a movie.   I would rather give my eyes freedom to see the entire screen, thereby viewing characters, objects and scenery without having to worry about text or written sentences.

If I really wanted to watch a subtitled movie, I would watch an independent flick,  a documentary or attend some over-bloated movie festival.  If I was really in a literary mood, you would see me at home reading a thousand page novel. 

In short, I really have no opinion toward “Jet Li’s - Fearless” because I never had the chance to view the movie in its entirety.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it had great action, colorful characters and the always impressive heroics by Jet Li.

Perhaps in the future, I’ll take a chance and rent “Jet Li’s – Fearless” when it becomes available on DVD.  But for now, I guess yours truly will head back to his humbled reality. 

I guess my fantasy of becoming that super green ninja turtle will have to wait another time.