OllieSuave-007 Jet Li stars in one of his earlier films, playing young soldier Jet during post-WW II who takes on Americans who have been bullying him and those he loves.Li shows off some intense and impressive martial arts moves, particular in the exciting boxing scenes. However, I thought much of the movie is consumed in violence and lack of character development, making the film suffer with its overkill scenes and lack of redeeming qualities. The ending, I thought, was ***spoiler ahead*** somewhat anti-climatic and Jet's fate is left ambiguous at one point. ***spoiler ends***. Overall, not one of the better Jet Li flicks.Grade D+

quaxter-1 ... or be a die-hard fan of some variety to sit through this farce.There are so many anachronisms in the first fifteen minutes that historical accuracy cannot have been a consideration. One reel, they're fighting the Imperial Japanese Army, the next, American sailors are driving around in a 1979 Cordoba.The only US sailors who wore beards were submariners. The "officer" wearing sunglasses and (in 1945) Vietnam campaign ribbons -- and a beard -- has no "dolphins" on his chest, but let's stop there.And considering how the Chinese have always treated each other worse than any "outlanders" ever have (you ever hear of the "Cultural Revolution"?), making Americans look like pigs seems gratuitous, particularly in Hong Kong where the British were the unloved white devils. Must have been some modish politics at work when this turkey was written.The choreography is unconvincing, Mr. Li's vigorous execution of same notwithstanding. This is just another uninspired actioner the script of which could not have stood on its own merits.

BA_Harrison Jet Li directs and stars in Born to Defend, a fight-packed martial arts movie set in China shortly after the end of the second world war. Li plays Jet, a soldier returning from the war who begins working with his pal (and ex-lieutenant), Zhang, helping with his rickshaw business. But when his wartime buddy is hospitalised in a fight with an American, and the rickshaw is trashed by a gang of US Navy bullies, Jet seeks revenge…I love the majority Jet Li's movies, so it is a shame to report that this one is a bit of a letdown action-wise, and also extremely xenophobic; every American is portrayed as a drunken, brawling, womanising, murderous thug without any redeeming features whatsoever, whilst the Chinese are (mostly) seen as hard-working and honourable people. I realise that foreigners are often used as bad-guys in this kind of movie, but the 'racism' in Born to Defend is taken to a ridiculous level which is totally unacceptable (and I'm not even an American).The fight action, although plentiful, doesn't live up to the standard that fans have come to expect from a Jet Li movie, and the fact that the hero gets his butt kicked for the majority of the running time makes the film even more disappointing. Jet's incredible martial arts skills take a back seat, with most of the early fights being boxing matches (with only a few kung fu kicks thrown in to occasionally spice things up).The finale sees events improve somewhat with a terrific showdown between Jet and his enemies in a factory, but it is a case of too little, too late.Jet handles the direction well and it is a shame that he hasn't tried helming a movie since; maybe his debut's lack of business at the box-office knocked his confidence—a shame, since he shows promise behind the camera, with an impressive explosive battle at the beginning and some lovely rain drenched scenes later on.Die hard Jet Li fans will probably want to check this out regardless, but casual viewers beware—this is not one of his better efforts.5.5/10 (which I will generously round up to 6 for the IMDb rating).

kelsci I stumbled onto this film being shown 5/14/2006 on Spike TV. The stunning production work caught my eye in the opening battle scene. The color photography throughout this film is first rate. The film is entertaining from beginning to end. According to IMDb, this is the only film Jet Li has directed. His direction is first rate. This is a Chinese version of a film of soldiers fighting and coming home from the war, in this case World War 2. The film primarily focuses on the exploits of one soldier returning to a town where his buddy, a lieutenant in the marines, lives. He becomes involved in the life of his friend, the friend's daughter and the goings on in their town. The town is occupied by some American sailors who like to run roughshod over the Chinese occupants. Conflicks take hold. There is a style in this movie of words that I cannot find, but it is entertaining and at a very high level than the few pictures that I have seen out of China. There is a wonderful "gritiness" throughout the movie. Two scenes that demonstrate this is the group of Chinese soldiers playing their little wind instruments marching down the street and the fight scene in the driving rainstorm in the bar. Great movie!(added 05/15/2006-The style of this film for some reason reminds me of GUNGA DIN).