Life is never easy when you're a martial arts master: there's always someone on your case, insisting that you prove your skills. Take Ip Man for example
Having been wounded by the Japanese, Wing Chun expert Ip Man (Donnie Yen) escapes to Hong Kong where he sets up a school to teach his style of kung fu. The first potential pupil to show up is Wong Leung, who says he will only pay for lessons if Ip Man can defeat him, which he does; ashamed, Leung runs away. Leung returns later with several of his friends who team up to try and beat Ip Man, but to no avail. They realise that Ip man is a true master and beg for him to become their sifu.
Word soon spreads and Ip Man's class grows steadily larger, but when Leung is kidnapped and held to ransom by the students of a rival school, the Wing Chun master must once again prove his worth, by freeing Leung and beating the rival students. This brings him to the attention of master Hung Chun-Nam (Sammo Hung), who runs the local guild of martial arts schools. Ip Man is told he can only continue to teach Wing Chun if he takes a test against the other masters. Yet again, Ip Man has no choice but to show what he's made of, beating several masters and matching Hung in a one-on-one.
Ip Man is accepted by the guild but is told that he must pay a monthly fee of $100; he refuses to accept their terms, but continues to teach, which causes more friction that results in a massive street brawl.
Ip Man goes to smooth out matters with Hung, and earns the guild master's respect. Hung makes a peace offering in the form of tickets to a western boxing match being organised by Superintendent Wallace, a corrupt British officer in the Hong Kong police force. At the match, star boxer 'Twister' Miller (Darren Shahlavi) insults the Chinese fighters who are demonstrating their skills, saying that kung fu is no match for boxing. Hung enters the ring to defend his culture and accepts a challenge from Twister. Sadly, Hung is killed during the match. During a press conference to try and placate the Chinese, Twister once again boasts that he can beat any of their fighters. Guess who accepts the challenge
This sequel to the hugely popular Ip Man (2008) once again blends fact with fiction to tell the exploits of the Chinese national hero who would later go on to train superstar Bruce Lee. Taken with a pinch of salt, it proves to be hugely entertaining stuff, with Yen exercising both his acting and his fighting muscles to the fullest. The fish market fight against the rival students is a little far fetched, and the martial arts scenes rely a little too much on wire-work for me to find them fully satisfying, but with Sammo Hung as action director, and super fast moves and incredible athleticism from star Yen, there's still plenty to make the jaw drop.
Sammo Hung also shows that he's still got what it takes in front of the camera, with his fights against Ip Man and Twister being a lot of fun, but it is the Wing Chun master's fight against the Ivan Drago-style bad guy in the final act that inevitably proves to be the highlight-a brutal smack-down guaranteed to please all but the most fussy of martial arts fans.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
Having been wounded by the Japanese, Wing Chun expert Ip Man (Donnie Yen) escapes to Hong Kong where he sets up a school to teach his style of kung fu. The first potential pupil to show up is Wong Leung, who says he will only pay for lessons if Ip Man can defeat him, which he does; ashamed, Leung runs away. Leung returns later with several of his friends who team up to try and beat Ip Man, but to no avail. They realise that Ip man is a true master and beg for him to become their sifu.
Word soon spreads and Ip Man's class grows steadily larger, but when Leung is kidnapped and held to ransom by the students of a rival school, the Wing Chun master must once again prove his worth, by freeing Leung and beating the rival students. This brings him to the attention of master Hung Chun-Nam (Sammo Hung), who runs the local guild of martial arts schools. Ip Man is told he can only continue to teach Wing Chun if he takes a test against the other masters. Yet again, Ip Man has no choice but to show what he's made of, beating several masters and matching Hung in a one-on-one.
Ip Man is accepted by the guild but is told that he must pay a monthly fee of $100; he refuses to accept their terms, but continues to teach, which causes more friction that results in a massive street brawl.
Ip Man goes to smooth out matters with Hung, and earns the guild master's respect. Hung makes a peace offering in the form of tickets to a western boxing match being organised by Superintendent Wallace, a corrupt British officer in the Hong Kong police force. At the match, star boxer 'Twister' Miller (Darren Shahlavi) insults the Chinese fighters who are demonstrating their skills, saying that kung fu is no match for boxing. Hung enters the ring to defend his culture and accepts a challenge from Twister. Sadly, Hung is killed during the match. During a press conference to try and placate the Chinese, Twister once again boasts that he can beat any of their fighters. Guess who accepts the challenge
This sequel to the hugely popular Ip Man (2008) once again blends fact with fiction to tell the exploits of the Chinese national hero who would later go on to train superstar Bruce Lee. Taken with a pinch of salt, it proves to be hugely entertaining stuff, with Yen exercising both his acting and his fighting muscles to the fullest. The fish market fight against the rival students is a little far fetched, and the martial arts scenes rely a little too much on wire-work for me to find them fully satisfying, but with Sammo Hung as action director, and super fast moves and incredible athleticism from star Yen, there's still plenty to make the jaw drop.
Sammo Hung also shows that he's still got what it takes in front of the camera, with his fights against Ip Man and Twister being a lot of fun, but it is the Wing Chun master's fight against the Ivan Drago-style bad guy in the final act that inevitably proves to be the highlight-a brutal smack-down guaranteed to please all but the most fussy of martial arts fans.
7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.