Director: Wilson Yip
Cast: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Lam Ka Tung, Fan Siu-Wong, Hiroyuki Ikuechi
I finally got the opportunity to watch the much anticipated "
Ip Man" last Friday and am happy to report that I absolutely enjoyed it. It is one of the best martial arts movies I've watched since Jet Li's "
Fearless" two years ago.
The film is marketed as an adaptation of the life story of
Yip Man, the grandmaster of
Wing Chun style kung fu, who also happens to be Bruce Lee's martial arts master. However, just like the biopic of
Huo Yuan Jia in "Fearless", I can't help but notice that half of the film is historically inaccurate.
The film's biggest selling point is of course the fight choreography by Sammo Hung. All the fight scenes involving Donnie Yen, who plays the titular character, are choreographed to highlight the specialties of Wing Chun - lightning fast chain punches and kicks. Unlike most martial arts films, Hung kept the usage of wires to a minimum. It also helps that all the actors involved in the fights such as Yen, Fan Siu-Wong and Hiroyuki Ikuechi have martial arts background.
In "Ip Man", we get to see another side of Yen. As we all know, he is known more for his ass-kicking skills than his acting abilities. In most of his films, Yen plays flamboyant characters and usually overacts. Here, his performance is quite subdued as he embodies the character of the great Wing Chun master.
The film portrays Yip Man as a wealthy martial artist who is contented with his life and is not interested in setting up a martial arts school. It is during the Japanese occupation of China that he realises the need to spread his knowledge of Wing Chun to help his people defend themselves against oppressions.
So, after watching this film, do we get to know who Yip Man really was? Not really. The film fails to chronicle an accurate version of his life and should only be considered as pure entertainment. Below are some of the historical inaccuracies in the film:-
- Although he is from a wealthy family, Yip Man worked as a police officer while in Foshan, whereas in the film, he doesn't work at all.
- During the Japanese occupation of Foshan, Yip Man was indeed offered the job to teach martial arts to the Japanese troops. He refused out of principle but unlike in the film, he never challenged a Japanese general to a duel.
- Yip Man only fled to Hong Kong after Wold War II when the Communists took over mainland China. In the film, he is shown fleeing Foshan to escape the Japanese army. I believe this change is made to please the Chinese film censors.
On the other hand, the film offers solid martial arts choreography and a good balance between action and drama, so who really cares about historical accuracy?! All the previous collaborations between Yen and director Wilson Yip (SPL, Dragon Tiger Gate, Flash Point) have been very successful and this film is no exception as well. If he keeps this up, Yen may well be the new king of Hong Kong martial arts films. "Ip Man" is highly recommended to fans of martial arts films.
Score: 8/10
