The Rise and Fall of Jet Li / WTF really happened!?
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- Опубликовано: 31 авг 2023
- Li Lianjie was born on April 26, 1963; The world would come to know him as Jet Li. He acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce. They likened his career to an aircraft, which likewise "takes-off" as quickly, so they placed the name Jet Li on the movie posters.
Li is regarded by many as one of the most iconic Chinese film stars and one of the most renowned martial arts stars of his generation; but how did it all really begin? (and curiously, how did it end)?
At the age of 2, Li lost his father and the family ended up living in poverty as a result. By the age of 8, due partly to the Chinese government’s involvement, Li started training at the Beijing wushu academy. It didn’t take long for the coaches to realize that Li was different, that he had the physical capacity and interest to perform “admirably” for the glory of China.
After just 3 years of rigorous training with acclaimed Wushu teacher Wu Bin, Li built his coordination, balance, speed, strength power and technique to such a high degree that he won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team at the age of 11.
His prize was a trip to Washington D.C. to meet then president Richard Moe Nixon, at least I think that’s what the M stands for anyway.
Between 1974 and 1979, Li would win the title of Men’s all around national Wushu champion 5 times, beating out all of the adults during his pre-teen and teenage years.
After retiring from competitive Wushu at the age of 18, Li went on to great acclaim as an actor in China and made his debut with the film Shaolin Temple. The film instantly catapult him to stardom in East Asia and helped start the 1980s Kung-Fu boom in Mainland China.
There would be several more films in China during the 80s before he relocated to Hong Kong, where he became the biggest star of the early 1990s Kung Fu Boom there. He went on to star in many critically acclaimed films, most notably the 3 films in the Once Upon a Time in China series from 1991-1993 and then 1994’s Fist of Legend, which was a remake of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury.
Jet Li’s movie career in China and Hong Kong is credited with reviving Wushu in Hong Kong martial arts films in the 1990s, as well as revitalizing the Shaolin Temple. The films also made a notable contribution to the international popularity of newer Wuxia films.
Wuxia literally means “martial heroes”, and is a genre of Chinese Fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China.
Wuxia films first began in the 1920s; however, the popularity of the genre came to an abrupt halt in 1931when the Chinese government banned them as they were deemed responsible for brewing anti-government sentiment.
Jet Li was inspired by the success Jackie Chan was getting abroad and decided to pursue Hollywood as well. The opportunities in America were certainly there and he was offered the part of Deacon Frost in Blade (1998), but opted to do Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) instead. This ended up being a wise choice as that film wound up grossing $285 million. Interestingly, that film would be the first time Jet Li would play a villain.
It wouldn’t be long before Li returned to playing a Hero, which he did in 2000’s Romeo Must Die. In this modern Kung Fu take on Romeo and Juliet, Li played the lead role opposite the late Aalyiah. The film was produced by Joel Silver, who was getting tired of American Action films at the time and was looking to do something fresh. Jet Li’s fans weren’t too happy with the overuse of wirework in a modern setting.
Next came Kiss of the Dragon, which really captured the hard-hitting tone Li fans were looking for. The film received mixed reviews, with some critics feeling the violence was a bit too much; let me know in the comments below what you think about that related to Kiss of the Dragon.
Li would reappear in 2014’s 3rd installment of the Expendables; however, his appearance was pretty much limited to 5 minutes of screentime in the watered down pg-13 rated film that primarily focused on a younger team of Expendables.
Around the time of The Expendables 3, jet li went public and announced that he was suffering with Hyperthyroidism and a photo of him appeared that shocked and concerned the public as it looked like he aged about 20 or 30 years.
When summarizing the film career of Jet Li, it’s important to remember that he achieved everything he set out to do. According to Li, everything he has ever wanted to tell the world can be found in three of his films: the message of Hero (2002) is that the suffering of one person can never be as significant as the suffering of a nation; Unleashed (2005) shows that violence is never a solution; and Fearless (2006) tells that the biggest enemy of a person is himself. Li thinks that the greatest weapon is a smile and the largest power is love. 
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He did not fall he’s just sorta retired from Movies because of his health and now focuses on his foundation 👍👌🙏🏼👊🏻
Movie wise yeah he did fall
@@heavenlypath1065The guy is 60 years old and is enjoying his retirement....he became a star and will be remembered forever, I wouldn't call that "falling"....
@@heavenlypath1065
HOW MANY MOVIES HAVE YOU MADE OR STARRED IN?
@@mcruz4571 Bro that doesn't change the point that he fell off man cope all you want.
@@enriqueramos4693 I've featured in many movies with your mom
Jet Li is one of my favorite martial artist, a great actor and martial artist. Unfortunately he had thyroid cancer which stopped him from making more movies. I hope he get well soon.
Fist of Legend is one of the best movies ever made. The way he floats when he starts kung-fu boxing. What a man. Unique in the world
The first time I noticed Jet Li was in Lethal Weapon 4, he was fast af Kung Fu Artist. That scene towards the end of Kiss of the Dragon, where he fights and kills those two blonde brothers is one of my favorite fight scenes ever.
My first notice of jet li was Cradle 2 the grave.
I remember they had difficulties because Jet was so fast that Mel Gibson couldnt keep up in the fight scenes.
@@gotrix2965 I believe it.
I absolutely love The One. I know, I know. It's not the best movie he ever did, but it just does it for me. That bangin' Nu Metal soundtrack paired with Jet Li battling the evil multiverse version of himself is just awesome! Having Jason "The Stath" Statham as his sidekick was pretty cool too.
I don't believe the movie did well but I thought it was awesome!
@@MentalDeviant It made $79 million on a $49 million budget, so not bad by 2001 standards, but not a smash hit by any means.
@@MatrixCobrettiI am so surprised about the budget that the movie has made 🤯
It's the best movie he's ever done, or top 5
The One is awesome!
I personally like Kiss Of The Dragon myself, especially the fight scenes. Gotta love the stoic characters he portrayed in his films as well. Too bad he won't be in Expendables 4.
In 2004 he was in the maldives with family when tusamni hit. That changed his life path. Had life changing impact on him.
I loved Jet Li's films. He was very convincing at showing Chinese traditional Martial Arts in his early movies. Fearless was his best in terms of script, his acting, and his martial arts in this movie.
Danny the Dog (Unleashed) is a close second.
I respectfully disagree. He would have been better off without using the ropes in this movie. I know they are a staple in the wu xia genre and there's not too much of those but the fights scenes in Fearless were pretty realistic in style. It's a good movie nevertheless but I prefer seeing martial artists of such an exceptional level not use any additional tricks to look cool. His mere presence is damn cool enough.
Unleashed and The One are my fave if they do a remake under Jetli as director would be sick
After "Lethal Weapon 4" Jet Li become a real international star. I saw "Fearless" in theaters on 2007 and i think this is the last movie to honor the Jet Li career.
I loved that movie.
My Wushu Sifu, Tian Li, is Jet's cousin. She is also Xianghua in the Soul Calibur series of Video Games. They both went to the Beijing Wushu Academy.
Ah so you’re a student at NW wushu nice
My favorite Jet Li film will always be Kiss of the Dragon... you're spot on that they really captured a slick and gritty tone that was definitely missing in Hong Kong action films. Donnie Yen would later continue that flavor for sure. KOD was a little Luc Besson, a little HK flavor, and a pinch of Bruce Lee intensity! Which turned out to be amazing! I always considered that film a spiritual continuation of what Bruce Lee films were heading towards.
Kiss of the Dragon is. My Favorite
When I was a kid, I used to love his movies as he portrayed Wong Fei-hung.
"Fearless" is Jet Li's masterpiece!
Anyone agree?
Agree. The directors cut especially is the much better version
I don’t know what it is but, a lot of his movies didn’t hit for me though I always liked and enjoyed him. War, The One, Hero…I just didn’t like as a whole. Jet Li was always great though!
Jet Li was my guy.. Loved just about all of his movies and consider Fearless to be one of the greatest movies ever made..
I really miss Jet 😐He was so good in Kiss of the dragon. He killed that one!! Bless him!!
He didn’t fall he retired. Dude made hits for over 30 years
Love Jet Li - the Fong Sai Yuk (legend) movies were probably my favourites along with Shaolin temple and fist of legend...so many to choose from.
When I got to see him and Jackie in forbidden kingdom I was finally satisfied...Jet can do what he likes, he'll forever be a legend.
I waited a LONG time for you to do a piece on Jet Li. I'm glad that you finally did a worthy piece on him. I've been a fan of his since I saw Black Mask at the movies in 1999. I've seen so many of his more recent movies at the theaters, and a huge chunk of my DVD collection are of Jet Li movies. He was one big reason I started practicing Tai Chi. Kiss of The Dragon and Unleashed are two of my favorite Jet Li movies.
A few things, btw: 1. Cradle 2 The Grave was released in February of 2003. This was a BIG movie in the hood. Between a new Jet Li movie and a new DMX soundtrack, all of The Bronx was bumping "X Gon' Give It To Ya" after watching that movie.
and 2. I'm surprised that you didn't note something special about The One: Jet Li's fight double was Ke Huy Quan, aka Shortround from Indiana Jones. In the fight scenes where Gabe is fighting Yulaw, Quan is Jet's double. Quan had been working with Corey Yuen in the early 2000's as an assistant fight choreographer. That's one big reason Ke Huy Quan's fight scenes were so amazing in Everything, Everywhere All At Once; he hasn't lost his touch since his days with Corey Yuen.
After All these years, I'm still a huge Jet Li fan, not just because of the prowess he showed in his martial arts films, but because he genuinely cares about people. After he did Unleashed, one project he did was the 2010 drama, Ocean Heaven, which spread awareness for the autistic community. His endeavors in helping people have really been inspiring, and I hope that people will remember Jet Li for his altruism as much as his martial arts prowess.
I loved twin warriors, it inspired me to start training in Tai Chi.
Ke has trained years with Tan Tao Liang
@@zivoradmarinkovic-cz1kg I know. That was back in the late 80's and early 90's, around the time he did the movie Breathing Fire. That movie is said to be adapted from Tan's own movie, Shaolin Deadly Kicks.
"Kiss of the Dragon" was a great movie. Enjoyed Jet Li's portrayal.
He is a great martial artist. One of the greats. 🦋
Absolute legend. One of the best action stars ever, no doubt of that. Big respect for Jet Li.
Fist of Legend, and Fearless still two of my favorite KF films. Props to Jet 👍🏾
You should really interview Hiro Koda
He’s been behind the scenes in movies as a stuntman and choreographer for over 30 years and is a very legit martial artist
I love Jet Li he has made some amazing movies I wish he did more modern Martial Arts movies
Jet li definitely has some epic classic movies
Respect to Jet Li. Love him
Kiss of the dragon is one of my all time favorite movies, ever. I've watched it numerous times, and never gets sick of it.
One most important point you didn't check is the turning point was when he almost died with his daughters when he was on vacation & strange people helped him & his family ( from that point he decided to help people more than focusing on movies ) he said that in interview after almost fatal incident.
Dang I was going to mention this. You got to it first. He said this was a real turning point in his life. He became more religious and doesn't want to do as much with movies. He claimed he had a massive spiritual Awakening because of this event
@@itsjustme8846 ❤️🙌🏼
I think it’s more than his moves that set him apart but his appearance. I’ve never heard one say but he has these deep probing eyes that are amazing and unnerving.
This was great man, thanks for putting this together!!
Jet Li doesnt owe me another new movie, thank you for your service Sir , Anytime The One is one with that first slow mo fight scene i watch it like it was the first time. Jet did his thang in the films and was out and left a great mark & im not mad at it...
Such a LEGEND. The One and Unleashed are my fave.
Cool guy. Thanks for the video.
Great idea, specially for non native speakers, to have the music a lot louder than the voices. It gives this clip some aura of mystery, which fits great with the eastern theme. Couldnt understand a word. Awesome!
When I hold Jet Li so high as many do, he will never fall.
Excellent video, Once Upon A Time In China movies are masterpieces, Fist Of Legend, My Father The Hero, The Legend 1 & 2, Black Mask plus many others are all great kung fu flicks.
So sorry hear his health not so good.
Jet li never fell he floated gracefully off the big screen just as he did on screen and stage
Jet Li didnt Fall, hes retired due to health issues he is a major star then and he is now, when its dubbed the rise and fall its said like if he had issues of some sort, jet li is a legend!
I really appreciate content like this...I just finished watching a movie and I didn't enjoy the horror movie I was watching but I really enjoyed this just now 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Kiss of the Dragon and the One are my favorite movies from Jet Li’s repertoire. Great martial artist but I don’t think that we can only base Jet Li’s personality from one only person’s experience or opinion. I’m not saying that this may not be the truth, but it is hard for me to believe this. Great biography video about Jet Li’s background. I really enjoyed it and appreciated it Brother. You are the best👍
Kiss of the dragon is one of my favorite jet li movies the street fights and choreography is top notch whoever said it’s over the top is crazy
One of Jet Li movies are my favorites are Lethal Weapon 4, The Expendables 1, Black Mask.
Great content like always Viking Samurai🔥
Thanks, glad u liked the video!
Black Mask, kiss of the Dragon , Fist of legend Epic funny and brutally awesome at the same time😂
I just wish we would’ve got a movie with Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and Donnie Yen. Would’ve been one of the greatest Kung fu movies ever made. Growing up I absolutely loved watching The One, Fearless, Kiss of The Dragon, and Romeo Must Die.
On the bright side, we did get two movies where Jet Li faced Donnie Yen; Once Upon A Time In China 2, and Hero. Jackie may not have been in the mix in those movies, but we did get Jet and Donnie at their absolute best in their fight scenes.
@@Diggy22 I loved their Once Upon A Time in China 2 fight more than their Hero fight
They're all 3 still alive so hopefully, we can still get something
One of my all time favorite martial artists
Never forget the first time I saw Fist of Legend. Blown away
Really good video mate
Jet li is a legend
Respect from Northampton UK 🇬🇧
I love kiss of the dragon. I sometimes workout to the movie, same thing with the one. Unleashed has some bad ass fight scenes. Great video.
Saw Kiss of the Dragon with my brother in early 2000s. It was amazing. AMAZING.
Thanks for another great look into an action movie legend. Too cool seeing you in So Bad it Good With Jason and the crew!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed that episode!
When I was in my teens I would sacrifice my lunch allowance to buy Jet Li and Jacki Chan DVDs , I'd rank fearless as his best film
The new legend of shaolin! One of my favorite movies of his. Sad he has thyroid problems but that man left us many gems! He has nothing else to prove and can not be replaced IMO.
I still regard him as the best on screen martial artist. Great on screen presence.
Kiss of the Dragon is my favorite modern day Jet Li film, followed closely by Danny the Dog
Great video, love Jet Li. Background music was a little loud in parts.
Thanks for the feedback
I followed Jet since watching him and Michelle Yeoh in The Tai Chi Master in the 90's. I was excited when he left Hong Kong to pursue a career in the US however I was a bit disappointed with the films he did in the states. Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed were good tho, but his other US films used way too much wire work. Imo his last great movie was indeed the Directors Cut of Fearless. Watching the Directors Cut really changed the film totally and is a must watch.
Kiss of the gragon 100% one of his best roles
Definitely no falling for Jet Li, just retired due to his health
First saw him on Lethal Weapon 4. It was at a theater. And I still remember how powerful and scareful this short guy seemed to me.
his illness is what took him out the game unfortunately. but he did some great work when he was in the game. Your buddy Bey Logan gave a good analysis of his character which i greatly appreciated.
He didn't fall off he just got out of the spotlight for health and to enjoy his family
Kinda weird to hear negative things about Jet. He seems like the nicest man, always smiling in public and quite serious with his charity works, and never had any scandals...while Jackie Chan had quite a few scandals.
Also, I think it's misleading to imply that Jet is just another wushu guy whose physicality and skills can easily be replicated by other guys doing wushu...he is not! He is a 5-time champion and recognized in China as a prodigy and extraordinary talent in the field of wushu.
Great video, thanks! But you really really need to turn down the volume of the background music during interviews.
Thanks for the feedback
Lee Lyen Gee-eh is the best way I can give you to pronounce his name using english sounds. I forgot the Kiss of the Dragon even existed until you mentioned it, I should check it out again but I was not crazy about his work after going to America.
I also remember purposely extending my stay in Hong Kong just to watch The Warlords in theatres cuz it was being so hyped while i was there. I also remember it was released on the same day as Will Smith's "I Am Legend" on December 2007. Best theatrical experience ever!
I remeber Him First Time in Lethal Weapon was Spectacular...Perfect Video Viking caise I want to about Him
Jet Li is probably the best actor out of all the martial arts guys in my opinion.
I recently saw "Dragon Fight" for the first time on Netflix before all the Warner Brothers owned Golden Harvest films got removed from the streaming service. It was the only film that starred both Jet Li and Stephen Chow, filmed in the USA
Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed are on the top of my list of Jet Li's movies.
I never care much about his western movies, but absolutely loved his Hong Kong/Chinese period: Once Upon a Time in China I&II, Fon Sai Yuk, Tai Chi Master, The Hero, Fist of Legend. His best in my opinion: Once Upon a Time in China II, Hero.
Kiss of The Dragon , Unleashed and Fearless were definitely my top favorite Jet-Li movies especially after he was introduced in the America in Lethal Weapon 4 back in the day...liked all the rest of his other action movies Li did too but the ones I mentioned are definitely the most stand out ones
I am a big fan of Jet Li . Greetings from the Netherlands 🥋 OSU 🥋
Jet Li is the best Martial Arts star but who can also act to come from China.
Had Bruce Lee lived he probably would have improved his acting but he never got to live long enough.
Fearless is his masterpiece.
He didn’t fall anywhere his a legend forever
I love jet li he's such a nice guy tai chi master is my favorite movie I remember when I saw this movie for the first time there was one detail that shocked me it was the sound of punches during fights, it had an impact on me
Fist of legend, kiss of the dragon, cradle to the grave, one, unleashed just a few of my favorite.
Born to defend which also stars Paco from Bloodsport is an underrated martial arts masterpiece
So glad you did this brother sone stuff i didnt even know and as for kiss of the dragon it is a classic and that should have been the movie he did after leathel weapon 4
I’m not willing to admit that “20,000 guys in China” can do exactly what Jet Li does, minus his facial expressions.
Everyone has their own uniqueness & that man is special. Much love to him and hopefully his health is recovering or recovered.
The guys racist
Jet is a absolute international legend
Fearless is Jet Li best movie and one of the best martial art movie
He's doing good and had a birthday. He just doesn't have a platform pushing him like Dux. Jet Li is one of the best martial art actors of all time
CONTRACT KILLER AND FIST OF FURY are his best movies ever
You should try to get jet li on your show man that would be awesome
That would be cool! I wonder what happened to his health
I spent some time with Jet Li. And he was an maazing guy, wouldnt speak much English then because he was so conscious, of being incorrect. But i experienced a wonderful warm character and just an incredible humna being. I'd love to see him again. 🙏🙏🙏
Jet Li stole the show as the villain in Lethal Weapon 4
I love his movies where he doesn’t use wires as much such as Kiss of the Dragon, Unleashed and Fearless. I highly recommend The Master if you haven’t seen it. Some great fights including a scene where Jet jumps in the air and kicks 4 guys before he lands with no wire work. 😎
My favorite Jet Li movie is Fearless!
Loved The One, now that is a fun movie that dealt with a multiverse. It's actually the second movie I watched that had Jason Statham, the first was Ghosts of Mars.
I remember getting his movies on Laser discs and copying then to VHS and selling them by the hundreds, his movies were like drugs people were hooked.
The One is awesome 🤜 and definitely got me into Baguazhang and Hsing Yi 👍👊🤜
Kiss of the Dragon was awesome. One of my favorite.
Jet Li is the Grant Hill of martial arts cinema.
Love Kiss of the dragon 🐉 👍🏼👍🏼
Kiss of the Dragon is my favorite of his movies. I read it cost only 12 million to make and made it's money back many times over. We should have had at least 2 more sequels of Kiss of the Dragon.
Jet Li has been involved in classic martial arts movies. Once upon a time in China remains one of the best films ever made!!! His US movies were entertaining but far from his magnificent Chinese work. 👍👍👍
'The one' is the gr8est film of all time
He got old and retired at the perfect time.
Kiss of the Dragon i seen it 10 times and still love it. It is seriously overlooked whne we think of classic almost Eurpanised Hollywoodised martial art movies.
Fearless may be his swansong but the first two Once Upon A Time in China movies will remain his best movies of all time due to how they managed to balance martial arts and story so perfectly.