Action Filled Dramatization of Legendary Yip Man

Rating: 9/10 (3 October 2009)

"Ip Man" is quite simply one of the best modern martial arts films made. Not unlike Jet Li's terrific Fearless, "Ip Man" delves into modern history for its subject matter. This time to deliver the story of Ip Man from 1930s China, a peaceful Chinese gentleman in the town of Foshan during Japanese occupation. There is a considerable amount of dramatic invention in the movie "Ip Man," but that is what we are recommending it as – a movie – not an actual biography of Yip Man (who was a policeman and soldier).
Ip Man is a well known in the town as being a master of Wing Chun kung-fu. He lives a somewhat solitary existence with his wife and son desiring mostly to practice his martial art. He refuses students and (most) challenges. The one challenge exception is due to an arrogant master that travels to Ip Man's home and insults him and his kung-fu until he agrees to fight.
The eventual Japanese occupation is brutal to these rural Chinese townsmen. Eventually even the wealthy Ip Man is forced out of his home and into a day labor camp where he sees the continual abuse of his countrymen. Ever a practitioner of non-violence, Ip Man struggles to find other ways that he can help the people who so greatly look up to the great master.
Starvation becomes prevalent and rumor begin to spread that the Japanese Colonel Miura is giving rice as a reward to Chinese who fight his Karate trained soldiers and win. Ip Man is disinterested in this offer until a friend disappears after agreeing to a fight in an attempt to obtain rice. Curious as to his friends disappearance, Ip Man goes to one of the fights and observes how the Chinese are treated as less than dogs or vermin and suffer great humiliation for little rice. For the first time Ip Man begins to lose his cool and his national pride is stoked. He guesses his friend is dead in addition to his people being treated as sub-human inferiors. He accepts a challenge and then demands to fight ten Japanese.
Anyone familiar with Yen and nationalistic Chinese films knows that something very kick ass is about to happen. And it does. And the movie changes gears.
After his victory, Ip Man refuses the reward rice and stalks off, point made. Colonel Miura, intrigued by the Wing Chun master and confident in his own Karate skills, spends a good amount of the rest of the movie trying to track down Ip Man and his family. He wants to put down Ip Man's pride and crush who is a symbol to the people of Foshan. Ip Man is then provoked to fight for his family, for his friends, and eventually in a match against Colonel Miura.
Each element of "Ip Man" works as both a traditional nationalistic kung-fu movie and as a modern example of its kind. The fight choreography is mostly tight, face paced, and realistic with only one or two scenes where there is obvious wire work. Donnie Yen and the choreography team are so good that there are moments that make one's spine tingle in appreciation of badassery.
But who can blame the filmmakers? Not only are they making a heavily dramatized film about a National Icon, but they are telling the story of man much like Wong Fei Hung and Huo Yuanjia (heroes of the Jet Li films "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Fearless" respectively) who has transcended historical boundaries and become a folk hero. Additionally, Ip Man later became well known as the master and trainer of the iconic Bruce Lee. It would have been difficult at best for the filmmakers to treat Ip Man's story in a staunch biographical affair.
See "Ip Man." And then look forward to Ip Man 2: Legend of the Gandmaster. As dramatized as "Ip Man" was to skew it towards action, I expect nothing less than Ip Man and a young Bruce Lee working together at kicking ass during some point in the next film. The thought brings shivers.