Set in 1930’s Foshan—a town in South China famous for its martial arts— Ip Man tells the story of its namesake, famed Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, who lives a comfortable life with his wife and child as a rich, yet modest martial artist winning duels and preserving the town’s reputation. When the Japanese invade in 1937, their occupation transforms the prosperous town into a place of abject poverty where even Ip, after being forced to relinquish his property, must struggle to put food on the table for his family. After taking a job at a coalmine, he hears about the Japanese Colonel Miura, a karate master who establishes a venue for Chinese fighters to earn bags of rice after duels with Japanese. Initially, Ip does not want any part in it, but when one of his friends goes missing, he decides to investigate further.
And so Ip Man becomes less of the biopic audiences expected and more of a Wong Fei-hung type folktale with evil Japanese antagonists to be defeated by our righteous hero. But despite the rampant patriotism, the script still works very well, pacing fights at the right intervals and providing dramatic scenarios for the Wing Chun to shine. The good and evil characters may be too simple and the patriotism sometimes becomes ridiculous (the epilogue seems to suggest China singlehandedly defeated Japan in the war), but at the very least, the writing does its job and rouses up the viewers for the inevitable showdowns.
Between Sammo Hung’s choreography and Donnie Yen’s lightning-quick punches, the action scenes are the main attraction. The movements are fluid and beautiful; the camera and editing capture it all comprehensively; and there are plenty of fun, surprising moments. Crowds will be cheering after the many stylish takedowns and Donnie Yen’s rather subdued performance helps make these scenes even more pleasing.
It’s impossible to consider this film a successful in-depth look into the historical figure, but Wilson Yip sure makes up for it by simply using the story as a jumping off point for a solid return to form for Hong Kong action. Viewers who enjoyed SPL should be satisfied. Everyone else can wait for Wong Kar Wai’s version. It should be out in five years.
Reviewed by Tarun
