The Chinese Rocky V: Ip Man 2

Having had major success from it's predecessor Ip Man, Kung Fu enthusiasts had demanded for the sequel of the Wilson Yip sensation.  Loosely based on the actual life of Bruce Lee's teacher, the story picks up where the first movie left off.  Ip Man (played by the kungfu star Donnie Yen), having to abandon the Japanese occupied Foshun province, moves to the British ruled Hong Kong.  Ip Man tries to establish a Wing Chun martial arts school to make ends meet, yet is not well received by the other local schools.  Thus, Ip Man is faced with not only with the challenge to maintain a home for his wife and kids, and teach unruly disciples, but also to prove Wing Chun is a respected martial art.  Things quickly spiral out of control when a British boxer, Twister (Darren Shahlavi) publicly insults martial arts as a whole, and Ip Man is forced to fight not just for Wing Chun's legitimacy but for all Martial Arts.

Ip Man 2 though having it's shining moments, (primarily all of Donnie Yen constantly proving why he considered the best among chinese actors), the sad reality is that the expectations set in place for the sequel ultimately effected the end product in a negative way.


The story line itself was well crafted, and in theory has great potential.  The Ip Man series as a whole follows the Chinese injustices through the 1930 - 1950s, yet the film is spoiled through the miss direction of the british actors.  Most notably the british Champion Twister (played by Darren Shahlavi). I understand Yip's intentions to show the British Imperialist in a negative light, but Yip's attempt to contrast the arrogance of the English Boxer to the disciplined modesty of Ip Man, makes Shahlavi's performance over-the-top, and ruins the film as a whole.  Part of this reason was due to Yip's decision to have voice overs for his english actors, and the decision to portray them as screaming lunatics without any class or decency.  I found myself unintentionally laughing at the majority of the scenes showing any of the white counterparts, and I had a hard time trying to believe Ip Man would feel any humiliation given the utter ignorance of the ruling Britians.  I would expect that government officials would have to some degree the ability to control their own emotions.  I'm just surprised Twister didn't end up riddled with bullets, given his racism against the Chinese while in the heart of Hong Kong.

However, Ip Man 2 had some pretty awesome fight scenes, and after a long days work, it's an easy movie to watch if thinking hard and deep is not on the top of your priority list.  Watch if you want to wet your appetite for buttkicking.

Seen this movie?  What are your thoughts?

-冯