Jet Li's final martial arts film is at hand with "Fearless," featuring a score by Composer Shigeru Umebayashi.
From a soundtrack fan's perspective, associating Jet Li's movies with memorable soundtracks might prove to be challenging. To my recollection, only "Hero" offered a score that was legitimately above average, although the cultural songs and action music from "Once Upon a Time in China" were fun. In "Fearless," the offerings are more abundant than the low-budget offerings from earlier Jet Li films, and indeed, is more in line with the score from "Hero." That's a step in the right direction, even if it is the end of the road!
If you're to chance upon this score, buckle up for a fast moving ride and that's not because of an up-tempo score. I offer this warning due to the high number of cues on the disc and the short running time associated with many of the tracks. For instance, there is a track on here that runs just 13 seconds! No matter how good the music is, the cues of minimal length that fall in line one after the other make for a disjointed experience. That's some of what happened here.
Okay, so that's the bad news. The score is actually enjoyable when you're able to accept the flow of it. The composer writes more of a dramatic score than action based, and while it doesn't ascend to unforgettable, epic heights (which one would envision as a final Jet Li film), there is a softer blend of drama and ethnic melody that makes it work. You can anticipate music of a reflective nature that conjures up a bit of romanticism but with enough action cues to remind you that this is ultimately a martial arts saga!
And more along the lines of cultural music -- there are moments in the soundtrack where the patented 'action drums' are heard as well as native instruments that feel authentic. It's always welcome to hear legitimacy given to the music when depicting a specific subject type. There's nothing worse when you hear music that doesn't relate to the context of the movie. And say what you will about this soundtrack, there can be no mistaking that this music represents this genre quite nicely. For that alone, it deserves some merit.
In all finality, however, you'll have to be the judge as to whether or not you can withstand the choppy track lengths of this score. If you can, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the time the album concludes since it offers first-rate score material when the tracks are long enough to showcase the music.
Final Score: The music for Jet Li's final martial arts film is effective in quality and tone, but perhaps could have benefited from a better album arrangement for a more accommodating listening experience.
