I reviewed the first (recap here) so how can I not review the second. Truth be told, I'd become a fan after the first hence I do not need to think twice about watching the sequel in the cinema. And indeed, Ip Man does not disappoint.The 2nd installment picks up where the first left off i.e Ip Man escaped the Japanese occupation and fled to Hong Kong. Still believing in his passion to spread the awareness for Chinese culture through the art of Wing Chun, Ip Man decides to open up a martial art school there. However in a mostly poverty-stricken Hong Kong back in the days under the ruling of the British empire, everything goes smoothly only when there are money exchanging hands. Being a man of principles, you can bet Ip Man does not bow to such intimidations (also because he's broke to the core, practically giving free lessons to his disciples!)
It's not an action movie if there are no fight scenes involved. Once again the fight scenes are great, the humors are not out of place, the plot engaging, the scenes - happiness, sadness, laughter, tears, loss, triumph - moving and well captured. Best of all the final fight is so much more satisfying this time around. The soundtrack is mesmerizing and goes well with the story too.
Also Donnie Yen brings so much into the character. His expressionless face portrays the hidden pain that his humble character suffers and he lets his actions speak for him. Honestly, I cannot think of any other actor out there who can fill in that shoes. However I just read that Tony Leung is working on a film "The Grand Master" and guess what, he will be playing Ip Man too. For someone without martial arts background but nonetheless a talented/hardworking actor (he broke his arm learning Wing Chun!) I wonder if he will be able to meet the high expectation already set by Yen. We shall have to wait and see...
But Jay Chou playing Bruce Lee in Ip Man 3? That I don't want to be seeing. Regardless how I look forward to an Ip Man trilogy, I would rather they end it right here and now rather than spoiling it by bringing in Jay Chou just to churn more money. What do you think?
Lastly, compare to the first movie Ip Man 2 is a bit more unrealistic with some gravity-defying stunts though it still manages to have the audience gripping the edge of their seats.
My Rating:
17 tots:
like i said, i rather not watch the movie if jay chou is being cast to play bruce lee. beh khi la :P
yea, i enjoyed watching ipman2 but i still prefer the 1st installment though... hehe
i enjoyed watching ip man 2 too.
hhaha i totally agree..jay chou as bruce lee beh khi la XD
Ip Man 1 was more intense perhaps coz it was based on the actual autobiography of the master himself. Ip Man 2 is more like for entertainment purposes d :P
Oh pulez... No Jay Chou pulez...
Too commercialized then.
Heard Donnie might not taking the sequel if the script is not up to his expectation! Which is good for all of us & himself~
yeah, maybe its good if it ends at 2. not easy to come out with a storyline to beat the first 2 while at the same time not repeating..
I love love love Ip man and Donnie Yen. And it's really refreshing to watch a good, hard-core, real Chinese martial arts movie after all those "artsy flying in the air" fake martial arts movies lately.
If they take away Donnie Yen from Ip man 3, i don't think i'll watch it leh. Especially if Jay Chou is in it. He cannot act ler.
haha yes mindy, I know you too had been a fan since the 1st movie..still remember you comment ;)
yup, I guess lots of ppl have the same views when it comes to Jay Chou and acting kekeke
i suppose they're gonna show bruce lee as a really young useless punk if using jay chou in Ip Man 3. maybe its only a cameo role with like only 3 seconds of bruce lee as a 'keh le feh'. will the sequel be by the same director? coz he's good, so sure have his reasons for choosing jc.
i bought the original dvd for Ip Man. good martial arts films are rare. so gonna start collecting. when i've more money, gonna buy Once Upon A Time in China series and Fong Sai Yuk too.
have you watched Ip Man 2? If you did, you'd already know Bruce Lee made an appearance as a really young useless punk for a 3 seconds 'keh leh feh' d :P
trilogy is not confirmed yet though, jst speculations...
ooh yeah Wong Fei Hung and Fong Sai Yuk are great. Another one of Jet Li as Fok Yun Kap is good too..add that to your collection ;)
(then pinjam me nxt time LOL)
Hmm... Consider taking BD as collection, though...
Won't disappoint u with a 42" TV.
I pretty much agree with you on Jay Chou as Bruce Lee... Jay is not even close to represent Bruce Lee. If they must bring the legend onto the screen again, get a new face!!! (Technically should be a face with at least 90% resemble to Lee but he should be a fresh guy!) I like when the young Bruce Lee appeared at the end of the movie.
DalphinuS, what is DB?
meiying, Fok Yun Kap = Huo Yuan Jia / Fearless ? eh.. that show is terrible lar. too much CGI makes it less believable.
Jet Li's older ones are better. also considering to collect taichi master, last hero in china, my father my hero, and bodyguard in beijing. Donnie Yen's Iron Monkey is good too. There was also movie with scorpion style kungfu that came out about that time, but i can't remember who was in it n whats the name.
Ip Man 2 isn't gonna come out in Aust, so will have to wait for DVD when i'm back in Malaysia. Maybe all this talk about Jay Chou is intentional just to create hype lah. End up all tipu orang wan. After all, who dare to act as Bruce Lee? Pressure loh.
I'll lend you Ip Man DVD when I'm back. Interviews with Donnie, Sammo Hung etc are interesting.
BD I dunno but DB I know-lah :P
haah terrible meh? I tot the story and the actions were pretty good. can't really remember the CGI portions d.
huah so many to add to your collection haha..but yeah, worth rewatching ;)
Yup, pressure to be the face of Bruce Lee. Apparently there's a guy in HK who resembles him and even played him in the Legend of Bruce Lee series. Danny Chan is the name. He appeared in the recent Ice Kacang Puppy Love too and indeed, ada high resemblance..but I dunno abt his fighting skills though. Plus if the title is still Ip Man, then quite difficult if you wanna focus on Bruce Lee all of a sudden. Also Bruce Lee is famous for his own Jeet Kune Do which evolved from Wing Chun.
There was one comment in the yahoo article I linked above suggesting having someone to play the older Ip Man while Donnie Yen becomes Bruce Lee himself! LOL, a bit weird. Do check out the clips about the Ip Man - Bruce Lee legacy. Quite interesting and that master's moves are pretty cool too :)
Wong: Yeah, I liked the ending part too. My dad said the kid ada sikit resemblance to Bruce Lee in fact hehe
aiyah... then what's BD?
it would be weird for Donnie Yen to become Bruce Lee and someone else Ip Man. I think my brain may get confused while watching!
Bruce Lee didn't really get into developing JKD till later on in America, I think. So I assume in the context of Ip Man 3, the focus would still be on Ip Man teaching Bruce Lee wingchun and maybe showing Bruce Lee leave followed by Ip Man's frustration over Bruce's character, development and martial arts?
I saw the video in your link. Interesting ;-)
Soo Huey + Catherine,
Oops... BD for Bluray Disk. It's worth collecting with HD detailed graphic!
lol! i was thinking 'BD' is name of film or actor! now i get it :P
is it still worth getting BD for old films? coz the old film's quality is cacat-ed anyway, so not going to get much better? plus i thot its still unclear if BD technology can establish itself as mainstream. if i wanna collect, would like it to be relatively timeless...
First movie was awesome, beating up 10 Japanese opponents is great. But I heard that the second movie was a rehash of the first one, and that Ip Man is now beating up the British.
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