a superb martial arts movie

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2012)

This is the most enjoyable martial arts themed movie that I have seen for a long time since Kung Fu Hustle. Although Ip Man is not comedic it does have some lighter moments especially early on (love the ass whoopin scene and the bit where his baby son comes in on the tricycle mid fight). Before that I would need to go all the way back to Bruce Lee to find a movie as good as this
Ip Man is better than most movies of this genre because not only is it brilliantly acted and made, but it is something more and loosely tells the story of Yip Man, creator of the Wing Chun school of martial arts (and one of Bruce Lee's teachers), and his life during World War II and the Japanese occupation of China
Admittedly I would not like to be Japanese and watching this movie, but if you leave your politics and nationality at the door and just enjoy Ip Man as a good martial arts movie you will really enjoy this
A very special nod to the soundtrack which is brilliant. The fight scenes are very loud generally but the sound design is first rate, every main impact sounds fresh and different and there are some very nice double impacts and weapons sounds which really add crunch to the fight scenes
Very impressive!