Ip Man (2008) Review

 

Ip Man (2008)

Ip Man follows Master Ip, who must take a stand for his people and his family after the Japanese army invade during World War 2.

I remember back in high school, my buddy Jacob and I would sit there and just marvel at the fight scenes in these movies, always being mind blown at the sheer tenacity and speed with which everything was executed (perfectly I might add). But stepping back and actually watching the film as a whole gives those scenes so much perspective. Ip is a man who is good, and knows he’s good, countless times winning back the honor of his village from outsiders. He utilizes the legendary Wing Chun style of Kung Fu, which emphasizes defense and fast offense in a very technical and relaxed manner. This style, mixed with his mastery makes him virtually unbeatable, often taking on many men at once. What makes those scenes so powerful aside from the phenomenal choreography and realness to them, is the emotional weight that they carry. The deaths of Ip’s friends or the in-fighting by outsiders forces him to take a stand against those with power, something he strongly detests at the beginning.

The draw of this movie though is Donnie Yen and boy is he awesome in this. There is so much passion and emotion that he puts into Ip, very much embodying the Wing Chun master in an almost mystical status, with him being for myth than legend here. His mastery of the style and the fight scenes are also second to none, being perfectly timed and executed, and depending on their person, often times very brutally, but in a pure way. We don’t often get genuine heroes anymore, but Donnie’s portrayal of Ip is the closest we’ll get to that in a long time.

Ip Man, based very loosely off the legend of the real life man who was the first to openly teach Wing Chun, is a phenomenally well shot and emotional journey of one man who defies an entire empire in the midst of war, bringing honor and motivation to his people when they needed it most. We don’t get traditional Kung Fu movies anymore and having one in the form of this John Wick style fight for honor is just an absolute treat.

8.7/10