Ip Man

As a fan of Martial Arts Films in general and Donnie Yen's brand of frenetic action scenes in particular, it wasn't hard to convince me to give this film a look.  I've stated in the past that any film with Donnie Yen in it has my attention, regardless of how potentially awful other aspects of the movie may be.  Honestly, I would have been happy with 90 minutes of Donnie punching people for no discernible reason.

But with Ip Man, I was treated to so much more.

The film opens in the mid 1930's in Foshan, the hometown of Chinese Folk Hero Wong Fei-Hung, and a well known center of Southern Chinese martial arts schools.  We are introduced to the unassuming, independently wealthy Wing Chun practitioner Ip Man.  He is a humble man who has mastered his fighting style, but has not opened a school because he is uneasy with the idea of having students answer to him.  His privileged life is spent discussing martial arts with his friends, the occasional friendly duel with locals or masters from other provinces seeking to make a name for themselves, and family time.  As humble and selfless as he is, his martial prowess is unequaled in all of Foshan.

The idyllic first act comes to disheartening close, as in 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, and Foshan falls in Japan's invasion.  Ip Man, now destitute as his home and possessions were confiscated by the occupying Japanese forces, is forced to work sifting coal to feed his wife and child.  One day, a Japanese Colonel comes to the coal mine and announces that General Miura is staging martial arts competitions between his soldiers and local Chinese citizens, and with a bag of rice promised to any man who wins, several men accept the invitation.  When one of Ip Man's old friends from before the War never returns from one of these tournaments, he volunteers himself in order to learn what may have happened to him.  Once there, he witnesses another Master and friend fight and defeat a Japanese soldier.  They toss him his bag of rice, but he boasts that he wants to fight three more men.  The General is pleased to acquiesce to this request, and three more fighters take on Master Liu.  It becomes clear that Liu is over-matched and he yields.  When he picks up the rice he won for his first fight, Sato, the Colonel, shoots him dead on the spot.  All Ip Man can do is scream at the interpreter "Why!?  Why did they Shoot him?"  General Miura twists Sato's arm to point the gun at his own face and demands an explanation.  Sato explains that he shot Liu for taking the rice even though he lost the match.  The general forbids him to use deadly force again, but the cold blooded murder goes largely unpunished.

At this point, Ip Man forces himself to the front of the crowd and volunteers to be the next to fight.  When he comes to the center of the ring, he coldly demands Ten Opponents.  The general is intrigued by Ip Man's gall to challenge so many men at once, and obliges.

Ip Man calmly brutalizes all ten opponents into submission, shock due to broken bones, or unconsciousness due to broken skulls.  From there, his legend only grows and the film culminates with an honor duel of epic proportions.

The plot is epically good, telling several touching stories against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods in Chinese history.  Westerners were seemingly blissfully ignorant of the attrocities being commited in China at the time, and seeing what the twisted bastardization of the Japanese Warrior Code of Bushido let bubble to the surface in Japan's society prior to the end of World War II is a sad reminder of the grim realities of the first half of the Twentieth Century.  When you really look at the sequence of events leading up to the Cultural Revolution, the rise of communism in China begins to feel less like a sinister reversal for a free and happy culture, and more like a tragic inevitability.

That said, this film is pro China and celebrates the culture that existed before the march of time and endless war swept it away forever.  Donnie Yen's character demonstrates the best virtues of old Chinese Culture perfectly.  He is level headed, selfless, forthright, humble, and strong willed.  This film is also loaded with a lot of very talented actors and impressive martial artists.

Sound is handled extremely well, with no trace of cheesy Foley sound effects and an excellent score.

If there is one term I would choose to describe every fight in the film, it is "One-Sided".  Whether it's Ip Man effortlessly defeating Master Liu before the war, or Jin pounding a reputation out of several Foshan Martial Arts instructors, it is always fairly evident which man is the superior fighter early on.  This actually adds a sense of realism to this film based on the real Ip Man's life.  There are no feeling out processes, no shifting advantages, no second winds, no come from behind victories.

Overall, this film is absolutely solid.  I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.  It more than deserves to be mentioned in the company of such genre classics as Hero, Huo Yuanjia, House of Flying Daggers, Drunken Master, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and should be on anyones watch list, even if you don't enjoy martial arts movies.  And Donnie Yen continues to build his legacy as a Film Legend.

10 Karate Guys broken in Half out of 10.  Seriously, instant classic.