Ip Man

Ip Man (Yip Man) (2008)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Wilson Yip

Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Lynn Hung, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi

From: Several different Hong Kong and Chinese companies

I am not sure if I'll be seeing Ip Man 3 on the big screen (it's showing at two locations around me), but in case I do, I decided to see the first two movies in the series. This movie-but not the second one-is on HD for a dollar on Amazon so for that reason alone it was a good idea to see this. Turns out, this motion picture was worth seeing. The Letterboxd review is below: 

Everybody Wing Chun Tonight! Sorry, I had to get that obvious joke out of the way.

While I do not know if I'll be able to squeeze in a showing, Ip Man 3 is playing at two different theatres in the Orlando area. I had never seen the first two films in the series but I figured I should in case I do decide to see 3 now rather than waiting for streaming. I heard strong things about the films from a wide variety of people all across the Internet.

I know that this plays loose and fast when it comes to the actual facts; I am not always a fan of that but I'll excuse it here. It is all about Yip Man, the Wing Chun master who is best known for being Bruce Lee's master. It covers the period of his life from the mid to the late 1930's, where he started off a successful man who doesn't train anyone but when there's trouble from outsiders he is able to defend his city of Foshan, China. When Japan invades and the second Sino-Japanese war begins, though, things change and Yip has to work in a coal mine. The Japanese love watching the Chinese fight, and when a cocky general loves humiliating them... Yip has to defend his martial art and his country.

It's a story which has cliches for sure; you'll recognize them if you've only seen a few martial arts movies. People defending themselves against an evil enemy, cocky foes, someone fighting for honor & respect, a climatic one and one showdown, etc. That was fine by me, as it was a greatly entertaining story (albeit one with some rough moments; that was expected given the subject matter of war) w/ entertaining martial arts action, and a tremendous performance from the incomparable Donnie Yen. Yip's children were involved with the production so at least his legacy wouldn't be misrepresented and it wasn't. He is a wise and stoic man who loves his family (he'd drive a million miles just to be with them) & only uses his tremendous talents when necessary and he feels remorse that he couldn't do more during the war as he's “only a martial artist”. It is not just the impressive Wing Chun action on display that is notable.

It is a movie I am glad I finally saw. I think it's a film that I, you, and everyone we knew should check out, especially if you are a fan of the genre. One of these days I'll watch the competing film about Yip Man, known as The Grandmaster.