Good evening to all, hope all of you are doing well. Been a while since I've pen down a film review. The last I did was for Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring. Today, I am going to do a review on another film that is of my mother tongue language.

The film that I am reviewing today is Ip Man, the first of series of 4 movies, which was released in the year of 2008, directed by Wilson Yip. This film also stars the action star Donnie Yen and to me, this is the film that propels his career further after the likes of action stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan reducing in the number of films they shoot in recent years. This film gives a glimpse to the life of legendary Wing Chun master Ip Man.

Other in cast include: Simon Yam, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi, Lynn Hung and Gordon Lam

Plot
The film sets in 1930s in Foshan, China and this was the time when China is in the midst of Japanese invasion. Ip Man starts off in the film living a comfortable life and a man well respected within his community. He was being addressed by many as Master Yip and admired by fellow martial arts practioners because of his martial arts prowess. However, instead of opening martial arts school like many others, he prefers to keep a low profile and mainly focus on his family. When the Japanese invaded Foshan, Ip Man's peaceful life took a big change due to a widespread of suffering to the people living in Foshan.

Amidst the new occupation by the invading Japanese, there were many instances of injustice and suffering experienced by fellow countrymen and this didn't sit well with Ip Man who initially did not want to be involve in any conflict. The woes of the war also brought additional challenges to Ip Man in aspects of finances and family relationships. However, Ip Man did not bow down and remained committed to honor, integrity and also the spirit of Martial Arts.

The Japanese General wanted to showcase martial arts prowess over the Chinese. They setup a gauntlet in a dojo for Chinese whom wish to compete for a sack of rice for defeating one Japanese warrior. And this scene is one that saw someone that Ip Man knew fall at the hands of Japanese warrior. And this was the famous scene that many people remember where Ip Man called to challenge 10 Japanese warriors at one go and returned victorious. And this excited the Japanese General to personally challenge Ip Man. In that final showdown, where both Ip Man and the general display their very best in their own martial arts expertise, it was Ip Man that come up on top after displaying sheer determination and the willpower to defend the spirit of Chinese Martial Arts, reclaiming the pride and dignity for the Chinese.

Source - Ip Man vs 10 Warriors Scene

Love and Hate of The Movie
Another amazing movie that I have much more love than hate.

What I like

• The actions scenes were really exciting and well choreographed to perfection.
• Showcase of various forms of Martial Arts and also some improvision of household items that can be used as weapons such as the feather duster
• Comical scenes from Ip Man's son as good intervals during fight
• Massive scene with loads of people showcasing the Wing Chun when thugs raided the cotton factory

What I didn't like

• I personally thought more time in the movie can be dedicated to the family time of Ip Man and his family than mostly fighting scenes everywhere from Dojo, Factory, Ip Man's house and other martial arts school

Lesson Learnt
This is a real good film that allowed us good lessons that can be picked up from it. Below I will share 2 things that I've learn from the film.

• Resilience during adversity: This is something that is displayed throughout by not just Ip Man himself when fighting a strong foe and living under oppression but also how his fellow countrymen.

• Seeking Righteousness/Redress for others whom are suffering: The way Ip Man uses his capabilities to help his fellow countrymen who are being bullied such as teaching all the workers at the cotton factory Wing Chun to defend themselves and also how he defended the pride of his fellow acquaintance when he fell to the hands of the Japanese warriors in the dojo.

Verdict
One of the best martial arts film I ever watched that has a background story to defend the spirit of martial arts. There is a good mixture of light hearted and heart warming scenes that run in good sequence and easy to follow. The film also showcase the patriotism and how people remained their ground even in times of oppression and adversity. Donnie Yen's action scenes also leaves a strong impression with the rapid fire punches and powerful strokes like hitting on a wooden mannequin. Overall, a movie that is a must watch and even catch the sequels that followed.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you for your time in reading my review.

Posted using CineTV