Riding on the heels of Ip Man 1 & 2's success, this prequel is an alternate version of the earlier years of Ip Man's life in Foshan, China when he was just learning the art of Wing Chun. Under the tutelage of Chan Wah Shun (bizzarely played by Sammo Hung with the same look and cloth as his Hung Gar character in Ip Man 2), Ip Man went through rigorous Wing Chun training, while building friendship with two other classmates and a stunted courtship with his future-wife-to-be.
The narrative suffers from overtly fictitious setup, with a strange concept of Japanese youth spies sent to China to infiltrate the society ala Infernal Affairs. Then there is the pleasantly quirky encounter with Leung Bik in Hong Kong, played by Ip Chun himself, the character Ip Man learnt non-orthodox Wing Chun techniques including high kicks, wrestling and trapping movements.
It was nice to see Yuen Biao again on the silverscreen, in a limited role as Ng Chung Sok. The production value of the movie is certainly on par with the previous two movies, but little can be said of the story, acting and fight sequences.
They border on the mediocre and superfluous, although one would welcome the toned down nationalistic sentiment which plagued Ip Man2.
Overall, it was a fun movie to rent, but falls flat when compared to its predecessors. Director Wilson Yip wisely declined directing this prequel for a good reason. How many times can they milk the cow?
The narrative suffers from overtly fictitious setup, with a strange concept of Japanese youth spies sent to China to infiltrate the society ala Infernal Affairs. Then there is the pleasantly quirky encounter with Leung Bik in Hong Kong, played by Ip Chun himself, the character Ip Man learnt non-orthodox Wing Chun techniques including high kicks, wrestling and trapping movements.
It was nice to see Yuen Biao again on the silverscreen, in a limited role as Ng Chung Sok. The production value of the movie is certainly on par with the previous two movies, but little can be said of the story, acting and fight sequences.
They border on the mediocre and superfluous, although one would welcome the toned down nationalistic sentiment which plagued Ip Man2.
Overall, it was a fun movie to rent, but falls flat when compared to its predecessors. Director Wilson Yip wisely declined directing this prequel for a good reason. How many times can they milk the cow?