Review of Ip Man (2008) by Charles R — 12 Nov 2013
A beautifully rendered psuedo-historical piece on the legendary "Ip Man" featuring Donnie Yen and his stoic, dumbfoundingly fast martial arts bad-assery. Gentle and serene, but also brutal and bloody - this is a martial arts film that perfectly strikes at the core of what so many men have devoted their entire lives to learning - the philosophy behind the heart of the fighter.
Lots of skilled fighters take to the mat (though many of the biggest fights did not happen in real life, since this is obviously a Hollywood film...) but each fight brings to life the amazing Wushu style with an array of amazing techniques, blending fight choreography that most kung-fu/karate/martial arts fans want to see in a Bruce Lee/Jackie Chan/Jet Li joint with amazing amounts of FX that brings all those blisteringly fast punches and bone breaks to visceral reality.
Donnie Yen's execution is even above an A+ effort, and I'm just going to stop here -- just watch the damn thing! 5/5 Sad side note: don't bother with the various sequels (although I haven't seen the newest iteration, 'Final Fight'), as they are supremely lame and nothing like this masterpiece in the slightest.
This review of Ip Man (2008) was written by Charles R on 12 Nov 2013.
Ip Man has generally received very positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
