Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen are a golden duo for Hong Kong cinema. The turn of the millennium wasn’t easy for Hong Kong action flicks and for a long time there wasn’t much out there to strengthen the believe in a hopeful feature. But when SPL hit the screens things took a turn for the better and Yip and Yen turned into the hottest HK action duo almost overnight.
Ip Man marks a change of scenery for Yip and Yen. Rather than set up their film in modern day society they flip back in time a good hundred years or so. Yip Man is China’s main representative of the Wing Chun style and a true hero of the people, standing up against the Japanese when they invade China. If you’re somewhat familiar with HK cinema two titles will probably pop up into your mind immediately. And if you’re wondering why the film isn’t called Yip Man then, it is because Wong Kar-Wai is holding that title for his own bio-epic about the man.
The film plays like a mix between Fearless (Li’s latest big martial arts epos) and Fist Of Legend (one of Li’s most notorious films), which should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. The storyline and fighting style is close to that of Fist Of Legend, the setting and focus on the hero is very similar to Fearless. Together they make for a compelling film while just a little lacking in the action department.
Donnie Yen is made to play a role like this, especially in the beginning of the film when he remains untouchable. His Wing Chun style is strong, fast, controlled and to the point. He likes to toy with his opponents but never gives the impression of not being in control of the fight. There are some cool moves to showcase too but it is simply not as impressive as other styles. Yen might hit harder and faster but the choreography feels less like ballet. In the end, it all comes down to personal taste of course.
The film looks very detailed and a lot of attention was paid to the props and setting. It looks pretty expensive and probably was, on the other hand, it feels less energetic than Yip’s previous films. Not that the film calls for an in-your-face approach, but it would’ve been nice to get some more landmark shots in there and even though the action is well translated to the big screen, it could’ve used a little more oomph.
There’s also some humor to be found in the film and for a change it is pretty subtle for HK standards. There’s a little scene with Ip Man’s kid coming in on a tricycle to pass a message from his wife that caught me quite off guard. It’s little extra touches like these that liven up the film a bit. The proceedings of the film are pretty typical beyond that and those who are expecting some exciting twists and turns should probably lower their expectations. Ip Man is a typical martial arts hero type film.
The acting is all around strong for a film like this. Yen knows how to make a role like this work and a special mention goes out to Simon Yam who seems to be getting better and better at picking out his films. Add to that a solid final battle and as an action fanatic you can’t really go wrong with a film like Ip Man.
It is not as exciting and grand as similar films, but Ip Man turned out to be an extremely solid entry in the ever growing list of Yip and Yen collaborations. If you liked Fearless, you will probably like this one too. Which one you like best is probably dependent on what martial arts styles you prefer. 4.0*/5.0*
It seems I put my review in the wrong part of the forum, so I’m quoting it here:
Ard Vijn - January 6, 2009, 3:07pm
My job took me from (-15 degrees C) Netherlands to (+32 degrees C) Malaysia, so I took the opportunity to meet fellow Twitchwriter The Visitor and we decided to go watch “Ip Man”.
First, the cinemas in Kuala Lumpur are very high quality when compared to the Dutch ones. THX-sound, the works. Also, English subs can be found on most non-English movies to my pleasant surprise!
And “Ip Man” was quite good too. Donnie Yen won’t win the oscar anytime soon but playing someone who is humble, elegant, quietly dignified and UNBELIEVABLY FAST when the need arises surely suits him better than other recent roles I’ve seen him in. And the fighting is all-round fantastic in this film, not just Yen’s but everyone just shines here.
Some hilarious patriotism at the end (the viewer is generously invited to conclude that Ip Man’s fight against the Japanese started an uprising which sort-of jumpstarted the Japanese losing WWII) doesn’t hurt the film as you’d expect, because each badguy actually has something to say and gets shown as a pretty good fighter in his own right. This saves them from becoming standard caricature villains although the henchmen don’t escape from that fate.
But you’ll watch it for the fights, and man does this movie deliver! Sammo Hung does stellar work with the stunt teams involved here, and each kung-fu master shows his own distinct style. Topping them all of course is Donnie Yen (although how much of that is due to the script is never clear) and that flurry of punches he does that you’ve seen in the trailer must surely become a special move in each martial arts game to come! He does it several times in the movie and every time it left the audience gasping for air. Damn!
Actually, faults and all, those sequences make me want to see the movie again, like NOW! Bring on the special edition DVD, and quick…
i’m still wondering how they did that slo-mo scene during the fight in Ip Man’s house with that northern guy ... when that guy rushes forward and the sword is flying through the air, then he catches it and swings it across Ip Man.
I’ve heard other wing chun practicioners say exactly the same thing. Again hats off to Wilson Yip, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung for daring to keep the styles distinct in this film, and not making it a wire-fu kicking contest as usual.
I’m still trying to determine whether or not you’re part of our recent spamwave, and remarks like the one above are NOT scoring you points on the plus side!
You’re kidding, right? Name ONE Chinese actor who is obviously a better martial artist than Donnie.
Also, name ONE famous stunt Donnie has done. Any movie, your choice.
I’m still trying to determine whether or not you’re part of our recent spamwave, and remarks like the one above are NOT scoring you points on the plus side!
You’re kidding, right? Name ONE Chinese actor who is obviously a better martial artist than Donnie.
Also, name ONE famous stunt Donnie has done. Any movie, your choice.
Ard, I need a violin tutorial, not a guitar tutorial…
Mark, sorry about that, in hindsight I should have posted something here warning the other mods that we actually had a pleasant conversation this afternoon about films, martial arts and site maintenance.
To all other mods:
I know it’s hard to distinguish one new-guy-with-a-link-in-his-profile from the next, but Mark here happens to be a legitimate contributor who just had a rotten bit of luck with his timing when he created his profile.
He’s not spamming or trolling, at worst he is slightly misguided about Donnie Yen.
Mark, can you change your name back to what it was? Or make it “Mark who gives guitar lessons” or something? Otherwise we might get confused. New guys with numbers in their names put us on edge a bit lately…
I couldn’t get into it, myself. Liked some of the fighting, particularly the rowdy challenger from the countryside, but as a film it left me utterly cold. I simply couldn’t ignore the nationalist sentiment/xenophobia, and found it dramatically laughable and bordering on outright poisonous. I expect this from a main melody film - not a flagship HK production.
Just before Kaiju Shakedown got hit by the recession I remember Grady Hendrix called it “a joyless bit of cinematic thuggery”... I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I pretty much know what he means.
I couldn’t get into it, myself. Liked some of the fighting, particularly the rowdy challenger from the countryside, but as a film it left me utterly cold. I simply couldn’t ignore the nationalist sentiment/xenophobia, and found it dramatically laughable and bordering on outright poisonous. I expect this from a main melody film - not a flagship HK production.
Just before Kaiju Shakedown got hit by the recession I remember Grady Hendrix called it “a joyless bit of cinematic thuggery”... I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I pretty much know what he means.
I felt pretty much the same way—but even disregarding the nationalistic element for a moment, the story itself is dull as hell, and the cinematography uninspired. Comparing Ip Man to SPL, you wouldn’t even know they were by the same director. The exciting use of color, the sets, and the fight choreography on SPL are all superior to those of Ip Man. Not to mention that those qualities are abundantly apparent on the superb SPL Blu ray, which blows away the washed-out looking Ip Man. And as I’ve said before, I prefer the bad attitude Donnie to the cringe-inducing family guy he portrays here.
Both SPL and Ip-Man were touted to me as being the best things since sliced bread, and both left me bitterly disappointed as narratives.
Yet I own them both, and the reason for that is simple: the fights are friggin’ awesome, in both. Trying to determine which film has the better fights is moot as both go for entirely different vibes.
For gritty, “realistic” there is no topping SPL (although bits of the last half of Flashpoint, not surprisingly, reach the same level…).
For seeing a demonstration of different styles, most of which not seen all that often in movies, there is no topping Ip-Man.
Yes, the nationalistic idiocy in Ip-Man had me laughing out loud at the end. Especially grating was the text slide stating that Ip-Man basically started the end of the Japanese empire, as it showed the Chinese they could fight back (and we all know that it was the Chinese who won World War II in the Pacific arena…).
Then again, I also laughed at the tired and clichéd melodrama in SPL, and the utter predictability of the whole endeavor (although, granted, I didn’t expect the sick joke at the end).
Both movies have been seriously overhyped at this site. Yet both will remain classics for the ages, because of their fights.
