Ip Man delivers the goods

Rating: 9/10 (2 November 2014)

I was not expecting anything too special from "Ip Man" (2008). After watching countless martial arts movies with Steven Seagal and JCVD, I was convinced that this genre could not offer anything new except a worn out formula plot and some special effects-generated martial arts sequences. After all, Steven Seagal movies are not creating the same kind of buzz that they did when "Under Siege" was in theatres.
Yet what a difference good acting, a fine script, and a great soundtrack makes. Donnie Yen (who plays the martial arts master Ip Man) is not only very good at martial arts, but he is also a brilliant actor. Yen delivers a completely believable performance as the martial arts master who loves his family and lives his life according to Confucian principles, but then becomes so enraged by Japan's wartime atrocities in the late 1930s that he takes revenge against the Japanese. In addition, Yen is joined by other actors who are just as talented, such as Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as the malevolent Japanese general Miura (who grudgingly admires Ip Man) and Tenma Shibuya as his sadistic, cowardly sidekick Colonel Sato (who, in my opinion, is an even nastier villain than the general).
The plot in many ways resembles past martial arts movies, but also contains several fresh elements. To begin, "Ip Man" focuses considerable attention on human nature, including Ip Man's close relationship with his family and friends. As a result, the characters in "Ip Man" come across as multidimensional and authentic human beings rather than as cardboard personalities. We even end up caring for the characters in "Ip Man," which is why we understand Ip Man's feelings of rage against the Japanese (for killing a few of his friends). This movie also features a big fight right at the end. I have big fights before in the Rocky movies, the Karate Kid trilogy, and the Bloodsport films, but this one is more exciting than all them. I think part of the reason why is because this movie achieves the rare effect of making us understand why the big fight at the end matters so much to Ip Man and his arch nemesis General Miura.
Lastly "Ip Man," in addition to being great entertainment, is also a nationalist picture and arguably anti-Japanese. The first scenes with the Japanese are deliberately manipulative. The Japanese soldiers' faces are not shown as they shoot down unarmed Chinese civilians. Yet crucially the faces of the victims are in full view. Scenes like these are designed to make the audience sympathize with the Chinese, while viewing the Japanese soldiers as less than human. Another scene with strong nationalist connotations shows Ip Man telling General Miura defiantly, "I'm just a Chinese man." A loud drum beat is heard in the background to emphasize this reply as simultaneously an act of defiance and national affirmation. Yet although Chinese nationalism and anti-Japanese bias are fully exploited here, these elements do not undercut the film. Only right at the end, when the narrator's words are beamed on the screen, does the nationalist propaganda truly get silly -- though fortunately those sequences are in the last two minutes of the film.