For the first 45 minutes, "The Grandmaster" is exquisitely beautiful, perfected composed and edited production; the likes of which I have rarely seen since the Sergio Leone films and "The Godfather" Parts 1 and 2. Then, when Japan invades China, the movie crumbles in the same tragic manner as the fortunes of the Chinese elite. While the film remains exquisitely beautiful, the storyline becomes so disjointed as to become completely uninvolving. Scenes requiring dramatic impact are summarized in voice-over and scenes which should have played in parallel are presented in flashback. The proper title for this film should be "The Grandmasters," as there are two grandmasters in the foreground; Tony Leung's "Ip Man" and Ziyi Zhang's "Gong Er". Zhang is missing from the film for far too long to care much about her fate. Yet, when we finally do learn what happened to her during the war, Leung's character is missing long enough for us not to care about him, either. The closing scenes are flat and unnecessary. Both my wife and I found ourselves squirming, waiting for the movie to end. This is a shame; as, had "The Grandmaster" been edited in a coherent fashion during the last hour, it would be one of the great martial arts films. Instead, it winds up barely being good. I give "The Grand Master" a weak "6".
Review of The Grandmaster
