Jet Li
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China.org.cn, December 2, 2010
The Transition Period
The period from 1994 to 1997 could be seen as Jet Li's transition period, during which he tried to break away from the traditional costume piece and take up the modern action film that combined wushu with gunfight. Jet's modern roles in The Bodyguard from Beijing and My Father is a Hero were just as attractive as those in the costumed Wong Fei-Hung and Fong Sai-Yuk series.
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Jet Li: King of the Kung-Fu Stars |
During this period, there was a film worth special attention -- Fist of Legend. In 1994, Jet Li, Yuen Woo-Ping, and rising director Gordon Chan worked on a remake of Bruce Lee's classic Fist of Fury. Jet was a bit hesitant to work on the film. He was hounded by billings of him being the "next Bruce Lee" his whole cinematic life, and Jet knew, and himself felt, that Lee was somewhat of a "cinematic God" all around the world.
Jet, Chan, and Yuen worked closely together to create a movie that would both satisfy fans of Bruce Lee and Jet Li and also, like the original film, bring in new fans. They decided to forgo much of the "wire-fu" (a style which makes people seem as if they are flying, shooting fireballs, or doing other exaggerated movements by using hidden wires and other camera tricks) Jet had used in most of his previous work and stick with a harder, more realistic style that was closer to Bruce Lee's own work. The result was Jet Li's biggest success in years and what many people consider to be his best movie ever, Fist of Legend.
Establishing a Reputation in Hollywood
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Jet Li: King of the Kung-Fu Stars |
After his huge success in Hong Kong, Jet Li decided to try himself at Hollywood. In 1998 he made his Hollywood debut alongside Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon IV, in which he had to play the villain. The film turned out to be successful and paved the way for future projects, including Romeo Must Die, Kiss of the Dragon, The One, and so on, making Jet Li become quite popular among American audiences along the way.
In 2002, the film Hero starring Jet Li was released in the US market. This film was both a critical and commercial success. Later, Jet took a big risk with the 2005 action drama, Danny the Dog, in which he portrays an adult with the mentality of a child who has been raised like an animal. It was a somber film with more depth than had been previously seen in Jet's films.
By then, Jet Li had already established himself in Hollywood, and was accepted as the king of Kung-Fu stars after Bruce Lee.
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