Ip Man 2 (2011)

Too much of everything

the audience applauded

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Ip Man 2 is a 2010 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film loosely based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun.International megastar Donnie Yen reprises his iconic role as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in this martial arts spectacular. After escaping the Japanese occupation of his hometown of Fo Shan, China, Ip Man and his family have arrived in Hong Kong, which is living under the iron fist of British colonial rule. Ip wants to support his family by opening up a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. But a corrupt cabal of Hong Kong martial arts masters, led by Hung Chun-nam (the legendary Sammo Hung), refuses to allow Ip to teach until he proves himself - and prove himself he does, in an intense series of fights against the masters showcasing a dazzling variety of martial arts styles, culminating in a highly anticipated brawl between Ip and Hung atop a rickety table. But even after gaining the respect of the masters, Ip's troubles are far from over. Hong Kong under British rule is a world of corruption, and when a Western- style boxer named Taylor "Twister" Milos comes to town to entertain the British upper-class, and insults both Chinese martial arts and the native citizens in a horrifically violent way, Ip must step up and fight for the honor of both his kung fu and the Chinese people. Forced by honor to enter a brutal "King of the Ring" boxing match against Twister, it's East versus West in an amazing, knock-down drag-out fight to the finish, the likes of which have never been seen on-screen before. Presented in the original, un-dubbed and uncut, international version that's been breaking box-office records across Asia, Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster is a throwback to the golden age of Hong Kong martial arts cinema that will delight kung fu fans and newcomers alike.

I'm not really a fan of martial arts movies , but I liked the first one , so I had to give this one a chance too. The movie is kinda less interesting than first one , because it's not set during the war (which made the first movie so interesting). It feels more like a standard kung fu movie , yet the story has some interesting twists that make it interesting to watch. Since this is the sequel it does follow the familiar path sometimes and obviously isn't that fresh.This movie is based on real story , yet I'm not sure if the portrayal of Brits in this movie is accurate . They are here very one dimensional, arrogant and evil. Simple villains. Just like Ivan Drago in "Rocky 4" . Actually the movie quite easily turns into a cousin of "Rocky 4" near the last 40 minutes. Since I like the Stallone movie I didn't had any problems with that.The fight scenes are just as impressive as in the first one. There is a good portion of drama and some well placed humor moments . The music is still epic and acting is good. The ending is predictable , but cute.I give it 7/10.

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.

Continuing from where the first film ended, Wing Chun master Ip Man and his family move to Hong Kong in the early 1950s after their escape from Foshan. There, Ip desires to open a school to propagate his art, as well as to make his living, but he has difficulty attracting students due to his lack of reputation in the city. One day, a young man named Wong Leung appears and promptly challenges Ip to a fight, but is easily defeated. Wong leaves humiliated, only to return with some friends to gang up on him. Ip beats them as well. Stunned and impressed by his skills, Wong and his friends become Ip's first students, bringing more disciples to help the school thrive.Wong is later caught posting promotional posters for the school by some Hung Gar students. One of them challenges Wong to a fight and loses, but his friends take Wong hostage in revenge and demand a ransom from Ip. Ip goes to the local wet market as directed, but the meeting ends in a confrontation with a growing mob of Hung Ga students. Ip and Wong fight their way outside to meet Jin Shanzhao — the martial artist and former bandit in the first film — who comes to their rescue with his own gang. The students' master, Hung Chun-nam, arrives to break up the fight. Ip introduces himself, and Hung informs him that before setting up a school, he needs to attend a special fighting ceremony to test his skill. Ip, Wong and Jin are subsequently arrested by Officer Fatso for disturbing the peace but are later released on bail. Hung and Fatso are then shown to be acting as reluctant collectors for the martial arts schools (including Hung's) as part of a protection racket headed by Superintendent Wallace, a corrupt officer in the Hong Kong police.Ip attends the ceremony and defeats his first challengers, and then strikes a draw with the last challenger, Hung. Ip is allowed to keep running his school on the condition that he pay the monthly protection fees, but he declines. Hung thus has his students loiter in front of the Wing Chun school and harass anyone interested, causing a street brawl between them and Ip's disciples. Ip is thus forced to close up and move the school nearer to home. Ip soon confronts Hung, who blames him since he wouldn't pay the protection fees, with Ip telling Hung that he chose to work with the Westerners. Hung insists that they finish their fight, but during this last encounter, Ip stops Hung from accidentally kicking his son as he suddenly appears, earning his respect from Hung. Ip leaves, and the next day, Hung invites him to a British boxing match he had helped to set up, quietly coming to terms with him.The boxing competition begins with the various martial arts schools demonstrating their skills. However, the event's star boxer, Taylor "The Twister" Milos, a Chinese-hating sociopath, openly insults and attacks the students, causing chaos as the masters try to restore order. Hung accepts Twister's challenge to a fight so that he can defend his culture.The fights are superb. The boxer won against Master Hong because he was old and taking medication (mostly probably for the heart). Therefore Ip Man begged Master Hong to give up the fight(same as Rocky Balboa did to Apollo Creed in ROCKY IV). The white boxer nicknamed "Twister", has a truly awesome physique and uses sheer muscle-power to beat his opponent.Next we see Ip Man challenging Twister. Now we see the effect of technique against power. Ip Man's Wing Shun provides him a counter-tactic against the strength of his opponent. Ip man is no longer young in this sequel, so he takes a lot more punishment from Twister. Had he been younger than Twister wouldn't even had a chance to touch Ip. However the sheer willpower, courage and perseverance see Ip through as he exposes Twister's weaknesses and wins the match(again I am reminded of Rocky IV match of Balboa Vs Drago).Ip Man's closing statement to the audience is powerful and though-provoking. He says that he didn't accept Twister's challenge to prove which style was better but to prove that one person's integrity or worth is not OVER that of another. He wanted also that the English and Chinese respect each others customs.This then is Ip Man 2 a worthy sequel that stands shoulder to shoulder with the original Ip Man. The ending scene shows a young Bruce Lee at Ip's door. Ip inquires as too why young Bruce wants to study Wing Chun. Bruce calmly replies: to beat up people I don't like.Ip smiles and tells him to see him when he is much older and the rest as we say is history.