My Cultural Diet

One of the greatest martial arts films of all time, and arguably Jet Li’s finest film to boot. When a young Chinese man returns home from Japan to mourn his master’s untimely death, he uncovers a web of political conspiracy and racial animus. Fortunately, he possesses some incredible martial arts skills, but even those might not save him and his loved ones. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, Gordon Chan’s remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury is actually an improvement on the original, with a much more nuanced storyline that isn’t afraid to delve into shades of gray. While Jet Li doesn’t have Bruce Lee’s charisma, he nevertheless acquits himself well here as a man forced to constantly reassess his idealism and loyalties. As for his martial arts prowess, that’s never in doubt, not even when it’s (occasionally) enhanced with wires and undercranking. Li’s speed and agility are a perfect match for Yuen Woo-Ping’s inventive fight choreography, and the result is at least five outstanding martial arts sequences, with the highlight being a surprisingly philosophical duel with an older Japanese master played by Yasuaki Kurata.

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