Only great for the martial arts

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2012)

It seems like these days true classical style martial arts films are far and few between. Ip Man is one of these modern day rarities that chronicles the life of Ip Man, the founder of the Chinese martial arts style Wing-Chun. It's a dramatization of the Japanese takeover of Man's city of fo Shen and it tells the story of how Man used martial arts to hold his own against the Japanese and give the Chinese people the strength and courage to stand up to the Japanese oppression that had befallen the city. Quite the epic tale for someone with such a strange name.
If you like martial arts films you should really enjoy Ip Man. I'm not a huge fan of them, but I can appreciate the art because it is films like this that really do display it as that, an art. The fight scenes in this movie, as anyone could guess, are the highlight of the film and that's not just because the rest of the film is slightly lacking. The martial arts action in this film is awesome. There are some great fight scenes with mind blowing choreography. They are uniquely directed and showcased beautifully. We see and hear every move and every hit and it's quite the experience to watch. Watching this film doesn't make me doubt for a second that Ip Man was one of the greatest Chinese martial artists who ever lived. Of course, the film isn't exactly designed to make you think otherwise.
If you want anything juicier than great fight scenes then you won't really find it in Ip Man. I give the story plenty of credit as it does the world of martial arts justice as well as tell a historically relevant story. However, if you're looking for any emotional backing you will find none. There's room for some and the story has the potential to well up great emotion in its audience, but it falls flat on that front. This is due to a mediocre script and one dimensional characters that don't invest you in what is going on. The story itself is thankfully interesting enough, but it doesn't deliver in dialogue or characters.
Of course, what we want most out of Ip Man is what we get, and that is beautifully choreographed martial arts action. The film is packed with that from beginning to end, so to say that this is a bad film because of a few problems it has connecting to the audience would be a lie. It's not a great film, but it's a very fun watch and well worth your time.