Great Movie

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2018)

Ip Man is a Cantonese action movie created in Hong Kong about a kung fu master called Ip Man in the 1900s, and how he and many others were affected by the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Ip Man is best known for teaching Bruce Lee. This movie teaches people about Wing Chun, a sect of Chinese kung fu. He is played by Donnie Yen who also played the blind person in the Star Wars movie, Rogue One.
You should definitely watch this movie. There are many really good kung fu scenes. Including one where he fights against ten black belts at the same time and comes out victorious. Although most came at him one by one, there was a point where he was simultaneously punching and defending against four of the black belts at one time. The motive and emotions behind him doing that was also really strong. He did it as he was pissed that the Japanese killed not only a fellow Chinese, but a friend that had a wife and children. There is also the final scene where he fights with a really good Japanese martial artist. He is like the final boss of the movie.
It also shows how the Chinese were affected by Japanese occupation in World War II. There was a before and after scene of this and you could really tell how bad it was. Families were struggling to survive. Many sacrifices were made in order to keep their family alive. Many families were also torn apart as the occupation often times led to many deaths. They were forced do hard labor for the Japanese, like shoveling coal, to earn food. The rich were turned poor from this and some were forced to resort to violence in order to survive.
There could've also earned food by fighting with black belt people in a dojo that the Japanese general setup in the middle of war. But I'm pretty sure this was created just to show how good the main protagonist was at Kung Fu and did not actually exist at the time. Other than that, the depictions of history in Ip Man was really accurate I think. I think it was pretty worth it that they had this inaccurate scene as it did result in a epic battle between him and the ten other black belts.
It also showed the strong nationalism the citizens of China felt. Families continued to support each other despite the difficult times. Many risked their lives to help their fellow comrades.

However, many believe that this movie is not worth watching. For example, someone gave a 1/10 review of Ip Man on IMDB. He states that the "film is a testament to a lack of writing". Although, the creation of the dojo seemed to have been done due to a lack of ideas, the rest of the storyline was great. It contained a lot of strong emotions and conflicts that perfectly depcits the situation occruing in China during World War II.
The review also mentioned that the film is "predictable to the extreme". Although you know that he would win all the fights, this is true of most movies where the protagonists always win. The point of a fight scene is to see how the protagonists win. Furthermore, the other plot lines and mental tension of other characters were definitely not predictable.

Overall, this is a great movie with a lot of action. The fight scenes were choreographed beautifully and displayed the sect of Chinese martial art, Wing Chun. Although the events of the movie may have been false, it perfectly depcited the thoughts and emotions of the citizens due to Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Citizens worked together as a group to support each other and oppose the Japanese. It really showed the Communist ethics the Chinese had as they worked to ensure everyone in their community survived instead of working to ensure their own safety. It also displays the deep hatred many people held for the Japanese at that time. The acts the Japanese commited, such as the murder of innocent civilians, were unforgivable.