Film Review: Fight scenes add punch to ‘Ip Man’ sequel
“Ip Man 3” is the latest in Donnie Yen’s series of films about the real-life martial arts master who is best known in the West for having been Bruce Lee’s teacher. Yen previously appeared in “Ip Man” (2008) and “Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” (2010). On the release of the latter, Yen insisted that he was through with the character, but here he is again in a third entry. That’s fine by me.
Yen’s first two Ip features sparked what might be called Ip Mania. Within five years, Ip Man became the subject of a TV series and three other movies: “The Legend Is Born: Ip Man” (2010); “Ip Man: The Final Fight” (2013); and, most famously, Wong Kar-wai’s artier “The Grandmaster” (2013), with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in the lead.
Yen and director Wilson Yip stick to the formula that worked so well for them in the earlier films. This time around, we encounter Ip Man in Hong Kong, circa 1960. (The real Ip would have been pushing 70 by then, but no one ever praised the “Ip Man” series for fidelity to the facts.) Ip’s martial arts school is a success, but he seems to spend more time helping the downtrodden than looking after the school or his wife and kid.
There’s a huge gang of thugs, bullying the honest citizens, at the bidding of evil Westerners: one is a local Brit police honcho on the take; the other is Frank, a land developer, played by — hold your breath — Mike Tyson. You don’t hire Tyson for his nuanced thespian talents, so you can rest assured that his few scenes in the first hour are just a buildup to a big fight between Frank and Ip.
That fight is a three-minute challenge that, amazingly, transpires in three minutes of screen time. Its central gag is the difference in size — considerable — between the two men (sort of a less extreme version of the famous Bruce Lee vs. Kareem matchup in “Game of Death”). Ip manages to escape with both ears intact.
The biggest fight, the climax, emerges from a major subplot about a rival master (Jin Zhang) with moral conflicts. The two men go at it with long staffs, then short knives, and finally hands and feet.
The fights are, of course, one of the main attractions of Chinese action movies. Here they have been choreographed by the venerable Yuen Woo-ping, whose credits include “The Matrix,” “Kill Bill,” “Kung Fu Hustle,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Nobody does it better.
Yip and Yen seem to want this to be more “serious’ than a mere action film. The result is a tear-jerking subplot about Ip’s family, accompanied by overblown music.
Be sure to carefully check the listings before buying tickets. Some venues are presenting it in Mandarin with English subtitles; others are showing it in a dubbed version.
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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).