Ip Man 2

'Ip Man 2' is really spectacular. No wonder that this movie has tons of actions scenes. Even though you're not Chinese, this is a really great Chinese movie you have to watch.

The story is pretty normal since it's a part historical movie where you can't change a lot of the original story. For a historical film, the story is not the real factor for it to be good.

After seeing 'Ip Man', I have to say that it was good. It was very astonishing! After hearing the announcement on this sequel, I decided to check it out! Honestly, it was beyond my expectations! The fighting scenes were long enough and awesomely shot. The movie had so many fighting scenes that I say this movie is much better than it's predecessor. All those scenes were beyond my thoughts.

The kungfu moves were also well directed. They were amazing and far cooler than the first movie.

With a lot of action scenes, I think that 'Ip Man 2' is one of the greatest Chinese action films in history.

Well done 'Ip Man 2'! 8 stars for this sequel!

Much cornier and more emotionally broad than the first, this sequel doesn't care much about story or character logic. Luckily, the fight scenes are still the saving factor; Ip Man fighting all the masters on the wobbly table is outstanding and the main reason to watch this thing.

Overall, Ip Man's series has been a very inspirational trip for me. I grew up with Bruce Lee and from the direction of the director, I see where the movie is going to, whether it's historic or not. Before anyone else say anything about the western boxer in this movie, I lived through the end 70's of Asian martial arts world and I must say it has has it's share of "to the death boxing matches". Growing up in asia, we have had our share of nonregulated matches where contestant signed papers which declared their fight to the death. So it is no surprise that in this movie such a scene would occur. Not having TV at that time, the thrill of hearing such a match from radio (I remember my first Ali match and it was also on Radio, not TV) I can sympathise for the director's broad representation of history.

On the whole, when Ip Man told his disciple Leung, that he wasn't trying to teach him how to fight but to teach him the values of "martial morals", reminded me of my martial arts training under my master. Movies reflect life and in this moment of the film, I totally understood what the movie was going to.

I can only say, seek the truth and not be blinded by what is presented.

The most impressive thing about Ip Man was its action choreography, not because it was expertly carried out but because after a long time, martial arts in cinema didn't look like a joke that went way too over-the-top. Instead, it had a very realistic feel, something that I'd been waiting for so long. There's no denying that the film had its storytelling issues but most of those complaints were simply brushed aside by its adrenaline-fueled, high octane & wildly spectacular action.

Now as for Ip Man 2, almost everyone who went in expecting the same thrilling experience that the original delivered didn't really come out feeling exactly the same. The film had an opportunity to be a worthy sequel to Ip Man but it exhibits such a massive downgrade in all aspects that it turns into a disappointment quite easily. Even its action choreography discards that grounded feel & ends up taking the same over-the-top route we've seen so many times in so many martial arts actioners before.

Following the events after the first film, set during the early 1950s & very loosely based on the life of Chinese martial artist Ip Man, Ip Man 2 presents the Wing Chun grandmaster's life in Hong Kong under British colonial rule where he opens a school to teach his discipline but soon faces opposition from local practitioners. After managing to earn their respect, things go extremely wrong when a cocky British boxer makes fun of the Chinese tradition & throws an open challenge to anyone, thus forcing Ip Man to step into the ring.

Directed by Wilson Yip, there are a handful of positives in this film such as its good pacing, an enjoyable plot & another charismatic performance from Donnie Yen. But that's all there is to this picture for it is marred by dull characters, horrible dialogues, poor performances, fractured storytelling & the most heartbreaking of them all, lacklustre action. What was done so amazingly well in the previous film is completely forgotten here although there are a few glimpses of such moments when the filmmakers aren't trying too hard.

On an overall scale, Ip Man 2 lacks the elements that made Ip Man such a terrific example of its genre & feels like those sequels which are made to cash in on the success of the original rather than trying to push forward what it achieved with the first film. Replacing the authentic martial arts choreography with eye-candy moments full of gravity-defying stunts in slow-motion within the first act of the film, Ip Man 2 is a massive disappointment in every manner, lacks the kinetic energy of the original & falls remarkably short of its expectations.

I don't think I have seen the film that this is a sequel to, so early on I was a little lost with the flashback montage in the credit sequence and I felt a little unsure of some of the characters. Within about 5 or 10 minutes though this really doesn't matter because mostly the film is happy with very basic motivations and plotting, in favour of frequent fight sequences. The overall plot sees Ip Man coming to Hong Kong to continue the spread of his teaching but coming up against resistance from other schools in the area and the interference of a corrupt British chief. Although we also have money problems, a pregnant wife and relationships from the first film, that is pretty much all you need to know.

This is undeniably a disappointment – not so much because I wanted lots of dialogue and character development, but more because the moments of the film where we do have them tend not to work particularly well because they are just lip-service and not done well. How much of a problem this is though is minimised by just how much action there is and also how good it is. Whether it is an intense fight in a fish market against a gang of others, or the one-on-one boxing match of the finale, all of the fight sequences are exciting and very well choreographed. Although it has pace, the editing is not so frantic and rapid that it masks the action and it is impressive to see all the moves and skills of the performers. Donnie Yen is impressive in all of them.

Where Yen is less effective is in the acting side; the film doesn't give him much to work with and he also plays it very quiet and still, respectful perhaps but he is a lot less of a presence when he is not fighting. Fortunately others are more lively in terms of performances and the film benefits from plenty of nice characters and light comedy from the other masters and the students. Sammo is solid in all regards and he gets some good action too.

Yip Man 2 may carry characters and story from the first film, but very quickly it gets down to the action and pretty much delivers action sequence after action sequence, all of them engaging and intense. The lack of character and development is a weakness, but the strengths do more than carry it through this.