Good drama, not just martial arts

Rating: 8/10 (5 November 2010)

I came across this film On Demand. I was intrigued because the film was supposed to be about the mentor/tutor of Bruce Lee and, even though I know next to nothing about martial arts apart from what the average American has seen in mainstream movies, everyone's familiar with Bruce Lee so I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did as the film turned out to be a very fine drama. To me, the martial arts seemed secondary to the more important story concerning the title character's efforts to survive in Japanese-occupied China.
Unlike most martial arts films, this one actually had a linear plot, believable dialog, good acting, character development, and realistic fight scenes. Although one of the thugs portrayed in the film comes dangerously close to being buffoonish, for the most part the villains-- the Japanese soldiers-- are realistically drawn as ruthless occupiers, with only one coming across as sadistic. The fight scenes seemed more grounded in reality, without all the flying around on wires or gravity-defying twists and turns. Seeing the proud former Kung Fu masters reduced to sparring (sometimes to the death)in a darkly-lit room against the karate-trained Japanese soldiers for a bag of rice to feed themselves and their families was far more dramatic and emotionally engaging than watching some hero battle a cartoonish villain in a mythical dungeon or fortress.
I've never seen Donnie Yen in another film, so I can't compare this performance to others. One other reviewer mentioned that Yen hasn't achieved the status of Jackie Chan and Jet Li because of his looks. I'm not exactly sure how to interpret that, except to say that in my opinion the tall, elegantly handsome Yen has a far more aristocratic bearing than the typical martial arts action superstar. One could imagine him playing the title character in The Last Emperor.
But for all its strengths, the film does have weaknesses. Unfortunately, the title character is almost too perfect to believe, and we are not provided enough background information to get some sense of where he came from and what molded him. The ending of the film is also too abrupt. Although I now know that there's a Part II, this film should have gone a little further in depicting Ip Man's transition from wounded man on the run from the Japanese to legendary martial arts master and tutor to such disciples as Bruce Lee. But, overall, a real find.