To start off, this movie was alright. It isn't as spectacular as the Ip Man films portraying Donnie Yen as the lead character, but it does capture the stories I've read about Ip Man in his teenage years.
Most of Ip Man's life as depicted in this movie seem accurate. Of course, the love triangles and plot of a Japanese spy are probably theatrics.
When I say accurate, I mean how Ip Man lived. As a teenager, he wasn't the wise and self-composed, reserved grandmaster displayed by Donnie Yen. Rather, he was hotheaded and fought with foreigners in school fights using a more aggressive form of Wing Chun. Dennis To's presentation might have been a bit too stoic, but I think it wasn't that bad.
As to how he met Leung Bik, if the records were correct, he was introduced by a friend to Leung Bik after hearing about Ip Man's wing chun and challenging him. When Bik defeated Ip Man with his softer Wing Chun skills, that's when Ip Man became more humble.
It was fun to see Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao play a role in the Wing Chun film world again, especially together after nearly 20 years since Prodigal Son.
In any case, the point of my review is that this movie will be different from Ip Man and Ip Man 2. Don't expect the same characteristics of Ip Man that Donnie Yen played. This is Ip Man's teenage years, the times where we rebelled against authority and wanted to show off when we were teenagers.
There wasn't really a scene sad enough to make you cry, but there is one that makes you feel like sympathizing with the enemy. He's a tragic character.
There is one loop hole I can't understand. How does the tragic character know Karate and Judo if he's been training under Wing Chun for most of his life? We would have to assume he's been sneaking out of the school to learn these arts from elsewhere.
Most of Ip Man's life as depicted in this movie seem accurate. Of course, the love triangles and plot of a Japanese spy are probably theatrics.
When I say accurate, I mean how Ip Man lived. As a teenager, he wasn't the wise and self-composed, reserved grandmaster displayed by Donnie Yen. Rather, he was hotheaded and fought with foreigners in school fights using a more aggressive form of Wing Chun. Dennis To's presentation might have been a bit too stoic, but I think it wasn't that bad.
As to how he met Leung Bik, if the records were correct, he was introduced by a friend to Leung Bik after hearing about Ip Man's wing chun and challenging him. When Bik defeated Ip Man with his softer Wing Chun skills, that's when Ip Man became more humble.
It was fun to see Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao play a role in the Wing Chun film world again, especially together after nearly 20 years since Prodigal Son.
In any case, the point of my review is that this movie will be different from Ip Man and Ip Man 2. Don't expect the same characteristics of Ip Man that Donnie Yen played. This is Ip Man's teenage years, the times where we rebelled against authority and wanted to show off when we were teenagers.
There wasn't really a scene sad enough to make you cry, but there is one that makes you feel like sympathizing with the enemy. He's a tragic character.
There is one loop hole I can't understand. How does the tragic character know Karate and Judo if he's been training under Wing Chun for most of his life? We would have to assume he's been sneaking out of the school to learn these arts from elsewhere.