SYNOPSIS:
This movie serves as a prequel to Ip Man's life before becoming the Master of Wing Chun. It depicts Ip Man's younger days in Hong Kong as a student and returning to Foshan, China where he spends his formative years training training to become the ultimate martial arts legend. The movie stars Ip Chun, the eldest son of Master Ip Man, as Leung Pik, Ip Man's second Wing Chun master, Dennis To Yu Hang, the youngest World Kung Fu Champion of Hong Kong who plays the young Ip Man and Fan Siu Wong who also performed in the Ip Man series.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Perhaps
one of the reasons why producer Checkley Sin picked Herman
Yau as the director of "Ip Man: The Legend Is Born"
is because Yau is an efficient worker. In fact I believe he
is one of those rare HK filmmakers left in the industry. He
shoots cheap. He shoots fast and he can attempt any genre,
be it horror (Troublesome Night), gruesome thriller (Human
Pork Chop), comedy (All’s Well End’s Well 2010),
drama (True Women For Sale) and now martial arts to his long-running
resume. And did I say he is also an accomplished cinematographer.
Despite his capabilities, Yau is not exactly known for his
magical cinematic touch. "Ip Man: The Legend Is Born"
is a serviceable prequel to the wildly successful Donnie Yen/Wilson
Yip’s franchise. Although touted as a true story detailing
the roots of Wing Chun, one must watch this with an open mind
as the filmmakers has taken one too many unbelievable liberties
with the real Ip Man.
The movie opens with a young Ip Man being accepted under the
tutelage of Wing Chun master Chan Wah-Shun (Sammo Hung). However,
Chan has grown feeble as a result of an illness. His second
oldest disciple Ng Chung-Sok (Yuen Biao) thus took over the
reins after his passing. Years later, when Ip Man left Foshan
to further his studies in HK, he met Leung Bik (Ip Chun),
the estranged second son of Chan’s teacher, Leung Jan
who taught him another form of Wing Chun, a move that greatly
upset the traditional Ng.
A certain Erica Lee is credited for the story and I believed
she at least did a credible job adapting the semi-biographical
account to the big screen for the first half. Unfortunately,
this unofficial prequel has to include a clumsy love
triangle and a subplot that feature "Ip Man" regular
Fan Siu Wong as the stepbrother of Ip Man which greatly deter
the essence of this martial-arts movie.
It doesn’t help that Dennis To’s acting is as
stiff as a wooden dummy and lacks the emotions to portray
a man that is dealing with both an enemy and a love affair.
Despite that, if you are keen on the action sequences, you
shouldn’t be too disappointed. Although lacking the
fancy moves seen in the Donnie Yen’s version, the moves
here are swift and decently choreographed. Dennis To might
need to brush up his acting but when it comes to the action
department, he is more than equate to spar with veteran action
star Yuen Biao, Master Ip Chun and the underrated Fan Siu
Wong.
Strictly speaking, the production values here are closer to
a period TVB drama serial than a proper theatrical release
if you compare this to the original Ip Man franchise. Herman
Yau might not be exactly the man who is up for the job but
in the end, do give the man some credit for at least delivering
a watchable martial-arts movie on such a short timing and
budget.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The Making of runs at a brief 13 minutes and covers
some behind-the-scene shots and mainly cast interviews. The
DVD is round up with a Trailer and a Photo
Gallery.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The overall visual transfer is of acceptable level, not exceptionally
detailed but can be better for such a new title. The sole
Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack offered here lacks a
certain level of oomph especially during the sparring sequences
though the dialogue is listenable.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Posted on 1 September 2010
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