Ip Man

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2010)

The film was about a martial arts master of wing chun, Ip-man, who defeated a Japanese martial arts general in combat. The plot was set during the Second Sino-Japanese War in Foshan, China, when military weaponry was rising and martial arts remains a shadow. The storyline is like this. In the beginning before the war hits Foshan, Ip-man always had his friend telling him to train his son. He refused because he thought it was unnecessary as it was a time of peace. He practiced wing chun everyday and those good times didn't last long. When the war finally hits them, Foshan became a place of impoverty. Everyone was out of jobs and food was scarce. Ip-man had to stop practicing wing chun and managed to get a job hauling coal because the boss liked martial arts masters. The Japanese men came and took one of his friends to fight in a tournament. The reward for defeating each man in the tournament is a bag of rice. Sadly, his friend got killed, and then Ip-man joined the tournament to invoke vengeance for his fellow countrymen and country. After he defeated the men, the general wanted him to come back again to fight. In the finale, Ip-man defeated the general and opened up a school for wing chun in Hong Kong after the war. The actor for Ip-man was Donnie Yen and I believed he did a fairly good job. His skills in wing chun was realistic and fast. The way he talked was coherent and calm. The dialogue was in cantonese and this was apt for the plot because it was set in Foshan, China. The music was original and was well matched to the mood in the scenes. For example, after Ip-man defeated the general, there was the music of victory playing. The camera movement created much excitement that nearly knocked me off my feet because the martial arts moves were so quick and enticing. The sound created drama and emotion because when Ip-man's moves made contact with the enemies, there were loud cacophonic sounds that indicated bones being cracked and broken.