Must see martial arts action

Rating: 9/10 (7 March 2019)

This film is loosely based on the life of Chinese martial arts master Ip Man during the Japanese occupation. It opens in 1935 in the city of Foshan. The city is famed for its many martial arts schools but Ip Man doesn't operate a school despite being a more proficient fighter than all the other kung fu masters. He lives a comfortable life with his wife and young son but all that changes in 1937 when the Japanese take the city. The martial arts schools close and the various masters find themselves working at a local coal mine. Word of their presence gets back to the Japanese general and he has them fight his men for bags of rice. After the death of a friend Ip Man gets involved and defeats ten Japanese fighters at once; the general wants him to train his men in the Wing Chun form of Kung fu, but he refuses. The only people he trains are Chinese workers who are being attacked by bandits. Ultimately though he will have to face the Japanese general who is an expert fighter himself.
Certain liberties may have been taken with the facts but that doesn't matter too much as this is a good story with lots of great action. It opens well with pre-war scenes that introduce Ip Man, his family and various other major characters, notably a policeman who later works for the Japanese as a translator. There is some action in these scenes but most of the action takes place after the Japanese arrival. These later fight scenes are fairly bone crunching and while it is clear that that is some wire assistance nobody flies across the room and the fights feel more real than the beautifully choreographed fights in Wuxia films. That doesn't mean these fights aren't choreographed though; Sammo Hung did a really great job setting up the fights so they feel natural. Donnie Yen is great as Ip Man; a restrained character who avoids violence when he can but is just about unstoppable when forced to fight. The supporting cast are impressive too. The villains are suitable menacing but not too obviously evil; the sadistic Japanese colonel may be bordering on a pantomime villain but the general is more honourable even if he is one of the bad guys. Overall I'd definitely recommend this; it is definitely a must see for martial arts fans.