"Ip Man 2" Movie Review

Director: Wilson Yip Wai-Shun
Cast: Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Lynn Hung, Huang Xiaoming, Simon Yam, Kent Cheng, Fan Siu-Wong, Darren Shahlavi

"Ip Man 2" picks up after the events of the first film with Ip Man (Donnie Yen) leaving Foshan and relocating to Hong Kong in 1949. While the previous installment is a sensationalized semi-biography of the martial arts master, the sequel is far more historically inaccurate. I estimated almost 70% of the events in this movie are fictional.

The first half of the movie follows Ip Man setting up his own school in Hong Kong to teach Wing Chun and faces rivalry with the local martial arts master (Sammo Hung). Those of you who saw the trailer will know that the highlight of this film is the showdown between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung. This is the duel everyone is paying to see and as expected, the fight choreography is both intense and fantastic.

The second half of the movie deals with the evil British who looks down upon the Chinese people of Hong Kong. The plot is nothing new and is quite common among Hong Kong-mainland China co-productions nowadays and is meant to appeal to the nationalist pride of the mainland China audience. However, the filmmakers went overboard with their attempt as the British in the film are so obnoxious and racist that it is hilarious. The main offender here is Darren Shahlavi as Twister, the British boxer who spends most of his screen time shouting how much he hates the Chinese. His overacting is so over-the-top that it risks being cartoonish. This is in contrast to Hiroyuki Ikeuchi's portrayal of the honorable General Miura in the first film.

If you overlook the historical inaccuracies and overacting bad guys, "Ip Man 2" is a satisfying martial arts film thanks to Donnie Yen's calm and charismatic performance, and Sammo Hung's excellent fight choreography.

Score: 8/10