Probably Overrated

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2012)

I was inspired to watch this movie by all the positive reviews it has received, and the high rating here on IMDb. I was expecting something epic beautiful and captivating. I was however disappointed.
The problem with this movie is that it is a martial arts movie that tries to be 'Gone with the wind'. However martial arts has no place in a serious drama about the cruelty of the Japanese occupation of China, and human tragedy is probably too angsty a backdrop for a movie that seeks to entertain you by kicking people in the groin. The genres are fairly incompatible, so they can only be held together by a story that is so contrived and stupid that you might as well just fast-forward through it to the next fight scene.
In this film the universe seems to revolve around martial arts. Everyone cares way too much about it. Even though it has zero practical applications, and they all have more pressing concerns like war and famine.
As a martial arts movie it holds up quite well. The first 20 mins has some of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in any movie. The cinematography is also excellent. It is really just the awkward, nonsensical wartime narrative that makes it blow.
As a historical wartime drama, it is obviously just shallow and silly, not to mention overly long and boring. Movies like Full Metal Jacket, Schindler's list, Empire of the sun etc... explore this subject properly. Ip Man really only scratches the surface, and I kind of wish it didn't bother.
I would give this film a 6 because that is a realistic representation of how much I enjoyed it. It was okay, but I doubt I would watch it again or recommend it to anyone (apart from the first 20 mins which are unquestionably awesome). I'm tempted to give more because it is quite epic, and has that rich epic quality too it. But 7 is probably too high, for all it's qualities, it is just not that interesting.