Ip Man (Blu-ray)

No, Ip Man is neither a superhero nor the king of internet protocol addresses. He was the first master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun openly (rather than just passing it down to a select band of apprentices), with his most famous student being Bruce Lee.

The movie opens in the mid 1930s, where Ip Man (played by a wonderfully cool and collected Donnie Yen) is regarded as the foremost martial artist around, which makes him a magnet for those hoping to prove they are greater than the master. However when the Japanese invade China, Ip Man finds himself forced into poverty when the occupying forces throw him out of his house and onto the streets. Soon the Japanese become interested in Ip Man’s skills, although he refuses to help them and will only train the Chinese against the interlopers, which leads to a massive bout to prove whether Chinese or Japanese martial arts are best.

Although many martial arts movies have a rather cheap and cheerful feel, Ip Man is handsomely mounted with a great period feel and a very expensive look. In fact it makes the fight scenes seem slightly odd, as while the drama between fights is realistically handled, taking you into the horrors of the Japanese invasion, the Sammo Hung choreographed fights are hyper-real, with speeded up movements and some wirework. They are supremely well filmed and choreographed – I particularly liked Ip Man beating someone up with a feather duster – but don’t quite seem to fit with the downbeat realism and historical drama of the rest of the movie.

Even so, it’s a good film, with lots of drama and plenty of kick-ass action. The movie may take a lot of liberties with Ip Man’s life (and in proper Chinese movie style, completely fails to mention he actually became a Kuomintang officer against the Communists), but with its quality feel, decent acting and superb fight scenes, it’s not surprising that the movie won Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

It also means that it’s well worth martial arts fans seeking out Ip Man on Blu-ray, as it looks absolutely gorgeous. The picture is crystal clear, showing off the beautiful sets and period details, as well as every super-fast flash of the action. While on DVD fight scenes sometimes descend into a bit of a blur, here it’s looks amazing, with every move sharp and perfectly rendered in HD. It really is a magnificent looking movie, and almost three-dimensional in hi-def.

To round things off is an impressive selection of special features, including extensive interviews with the cast and crew, several featurettes about the making of the movie, as well as footage from the gala premiere. Exclusive to this release is the documentary ‘From Ip Man To Bruce Lee: Tracing The Legacy’, which takes a look at what happened after the movie ends in the mid-40s. One of Bruce Lee’s students talks about the relationship between Lee and his mentor, Ip Man, and how the master’s Wing Chun fed into Lee’s development of Jeet Kune Do.

It’s a very full Blu-ray for a pretty good movie. The fight scenes may be a little OTT compared to the rest of the film (to western eyes anyway), but they’re extremely well filmed and choreographed, while the rest of the film holds more to keep you interested than most martial arts flicks.

And if you want to know more about Ip Man, you’ll have to wait for the sequel, which is filming now and will concentrate on a young Bruce Lee, up to the point where he starts training with the master.

Overall Verdict: The action may feel a bit hyper-real compared to the rest of the movie, but the fights are exciting, the drama well handed and it all looks gorgeous in HD.

Special Features:
Interviews With Cast and Crew
Making Of Featurettes x3
Location/Set Design Featurettes x3
‘Gala Premiere’ Featurette
‘From Ip Man To Bruce Lee: Tracing The Legacy’ Featurette
Deleted Scenes
Trailers

Reviewer: Tim Isaac