*UPDATED*!!!
Jet Li had a career full of classics (and a few bombs,but who doesn't?),but here are my personal top five Jet masterpieces:
Runner-Up--Kiss Of The Dragon:The fight scenes are excellent(especially the last 15 minutes-DON'T MISS IT!),and Luc Besson's above-average script and Chris Nahon's direction take the time to explore and humanize the characters far more than you'd expect from your average action movie.A vastly underrated entertainment.
5)Unleashed(aka Danny The Dog): Jet Li's best English-language film--EVER.Before this, KoTD held the title. But Unleashed frankly runs circles around that movie because of the superior quality with which it carries every aspect of its production,from the writing (by Luc Besson) and directing (by the consistently promising Louis Leterrier) to the production design, editing, cinematography, and especially the fight/action choreography (by the AMAZING Yuen Woo-Ping). Jet Li completely outdoes himself in every way, giving the performance of his career as Danny, a man/child raised as a slave and used as a brutal enforcer by a big-time criminal(the terrific Bob Hoskins) who frees himself and finds new life with a piano tuner(Morgan Freeman) and his stepdaughter(Kerry Condon), but finds his horrifying past once again catching up with him. Combining complex chararcters, intense and poignant drama, quirky humor, and spectacular,visceral action set pieces with a master's touch and pure vision, Leterrier gets the best out of his cast and crew, crafting a unique, spellbinding tale that keeps you riveted, fascinated, unsettled, and won over in equal measure.A genuine truimph for all involved.
4)Fong Sai Yuk:One of Jet's very best characterizations came with his portrait of folk hero Fong Sai Yuk--brash,sensitive,charismatic,cocky,intelligent,optimistic,and finally heroic and selfless.On top of that,the film also may very well be one of the best multi-genre films out of Hong Kong,flawlessly gliding through hard-hitting kung-fu,slapstick farce,breezy romance,powerful drama,gripping suspense,and ensemble piece without missteping once.A milestone for its director, the great Corey Yuen, and its star alike.
3)The Shaolin Temple:Jet Li became a force to be reckoned with in Chinese cinema and a household name almost overnight with his debut role here, and on the strength of his stunning martial arts performance here,you'll have no trouble believing why he was designated by his countrymen arguably the most dynamic WuShu competitor of his time.He and several other incredible young WuShu athletes let loose in this story of a youth and his adventures in the Shaolin temple.You CANNOT call yourself a Jet fan or a kung fu fan without this in your library.If you don't have it yet or have never heard of it before,go buy it anyway.SEE IT NOW (and thank me later)!!!
2)Fist Of Legend:Well,what else is there to say? Quite possibly Jet's single best and most hard-hitting martial arts performance (next to The Shaolin Temple),with some of the best one-on-one and group fights ever,including the now famous finale with Billy Chow(a fighter's worst nightmare come to life),Jet's equally notorious smackdown of an entire karate school,and a superb kung fu duel with the underrated Chin Siu Ho, all thanks to one of the very best fight directors of all time,Yuen Woo Ping.BUY IT!!!
1)Once Upon A Time In China 2:Absolutely unmissible and the rare sequel that's both superior to and distinctive from the original.Brilliant characterization,resplendant visuals,superlative direction from Tsui Hark and two of the most spectacular duels shot on film (Jet vs. Hung Yan Yan, then Jet vs. Donnie Yen).And,for me,the film is also notable on a personal level as one of the most blistering statements I've ever seen on the devastating effects of racial and religious intolerance (an issue that, as an African-American, is close to my heart).A watermark not only for Jet Li,Tsui Hark,and HK cinema in general, but quite possibly one of the best movies ever put to the screen.
"He not busy being born is busy dying."-Bob Dylan
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