Perfunctory story, derivative plot, cliché characters, but who cares. When I stepped into a cinema showing Ip Man (the 5th movie), we only want to see Ip Man go mano a mano against bad guys the size of mountains.
I like Ip Man, the man. He is a simple man with even simpler needs. His moral compass never wavers and points true north. He is our oriental superhero.
In Ip Man 3, I find myself unspooling the entire story from the first frame. There is nothing new here - another secret society comes a whacking, another gongfu dude comes a knocking and wants to better Ip Man. I found myself going on auto-pilot but somewhere in the middle, a super awesome fight scene in an elevator and my movie suddenly appeared. A simple gesture, a reassuring look, the silent communication and trust between a husband and his wife. The heart and soul of the movie appeared and it beat all the way to the end. The simple love story was well portrayed but it treaded on thin ice with a lot of preachy dialogue. But really, what do I know, the Malay lady sitting to me was crying softly away.
I like Ip Man, the man. He is a simple man with even simpler needs. His moral compass never wavers and points true north. He is our oriental superhero.
In Ip Man 3, I find myself unspooling the entire story from the first frame. There is nothing new here - another secret society comes a whacking, another gongfu dude comes a knocking and wants to better Ip Man. I found myself going on auto-pilot but somewhere in the middle, a super awesome fight scene in an elevator and my movie suddenly appeared. A simple gesture, a reassuring look, the silent communication and trust between a husband and his wife. The heart and soul of the movie appeared and it beat all the way to the end. The simple love story was well portrayed but it treaded on thin ice with a lot of preachy dialogue. But really, what do I know, the Malay lady sitting to me was crying softly away.