Another Ip Man movie? That's just not hip, man.

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man
葉問前傳
Not a review.
I know what you're thinking.
"ANOTHER Ip Man movie?"
"So soon after the Ip Man 2???"
"Wah really shameless hor?"
"Samore no Donnie Yen, WTF!!??!!??"



But this is more than jsut another copycat.
It's a prequel, for one.
And it's got IP CHUN in it for gods sake.
That old man's really got it.
That fight he has with Ip Man inside a medicine shop is AWESOME.
His acting? Er, not so awesome.
But he's IP CHUN for god's sake!



Oh, that Dennis To kid not too bad.
Acting a bit kayu.
But his fighting is bloody good.
World champion Wing Chun master ok don't play play.
His Wing Chun is actually BETTER than Donnie Yen's!
He was in Ip Man 2, BTW.
He was Sammo Hung's student, the one with misai.



Not bad, this movie also got Yuen Biao
He looks damn old now though.
But that fella still can fight.
Sammo Hung also in it.
But only for a while.
But he fights Yuen Biao! Awesome!



Also got that Jin Shan Zhao guy from Ip Man 1 & 2
The one that got beaten up by Donnie with a feather duster.
Here he's some step-brother of Ip Man.
Tipu one lah, Ip Man never had a step-brother.
The story is half true half fake wan.
Make it more drama konon.



But who cares, the fighting is AWESOME.
When they're not fighitng it's a bit boring.
But when they start fighitng its pretty awesome.
I liked the fighting here more than in Ip Man 2.
But movie -wise, not so great lor.



So now what? Wong Kar Wai's Ip Man?
More Ip Man movies?
Ip Man video games? Board games?
Movies where he fights giant human centipedes?
(Yes I'm looking at you, Wong Fe Hong)
Enough already!
Too much Ip Man makes him not Hip, Man.

Close Encounter With The Son Of A Legend

Yesterday, I went for an interview with a couple of actors. I thought it would be a fairly routine interview, with the same old questions "How was it like working on the movie" "What does your character do" "Did you flirt with the lead actress" kinda shit.

Then while I was waiting for the interview outside the room, a frail looking old man came out and sat next to me quietly on the couch. So there we were, sitting quietly there not saying a word. I had no idea who he was, for all I know he was just some random old guy with a bodyguard.

After a few minutes, the PR girl came over and invited BOTH of us into the room. That was when I realized who he was:



See those three people with me? The hot chick's name is Rose Chan, and she's pretty much unknown right now (she was nice and sweet and very talkative - a sure sign she's still new and still not jaded from years of reporters questions). The guy on the far right you might recognise: he's Louis Fan Siu-Wong (樊少皇), that Kam Shan Zhao (金山找) guy from IP MAN 1 and 2 (you know, the dude whom Ip Man beat up with a feather duster...).

And that old guy in front of me? That's Ip Man's REAL LIFE SON Ip Chun (葉準).

All three of them were in town to promote the upcoming movie THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN (葉問前傳), a sort of prequel to the first two movies, starring Ip Chun's real-life Wing Chun student Dennis To as a teenage Ip Man; and will be released on 24 June.

Yes, I know, this movie coming out so soon after Ip Man 2 DOES smack a little of striking the iron while it's hot and milking the franchise dry, but one thing is for sure - the fighting in this new movie should be fucking awesome. Why? Because EVERYBODY is fighting using Wing Chun, and not just Ip Man alone.

Another reason to watch it - Ip Chun (who wasn't even born yet during the period this movie is set in) will be playing one of Ip Man's three Wing Chun teachers. Yup, the real Ip Chun will be playing the master of his father Ip Man, who is played by one of Ip Chun's real students. Geddit?

But more on the movie when I not review it later. For now, Im a little upset that I sat next to Ip Chun all that time and never once tried to talk to him. If I'd known he'd be there, I'd have asked for an individual interview to grill him about his father. Sigh...

Oh well, at least I got that picture....


----------------------
(Update, 11am)

Ooooh, I just found out that I WILL have a chance to interview Ip Chun tomorrow after all. Quick, tell me: If YOU had a chance to talk to the son of the legendary Ip Man, what would YOU ask?

Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung! HELL YEAH!

Ip Man 2
葉問2: 宗師傳奇
Not a Review.
WAAAAY better than any other kungfu movie this year.
Eat your heart out, True Legend!
It's like the first movie,
Got great parts, got not so great parts.
The first movie had better set pieces,
But the flow of the film was much better here.
But as usual, the FIGHTING is AWESOME
Huh? Story? Who cares?



Like I said before, Donnie Yen always kicks ass.
And boy does he kick a lot of ass here.
He even uses KNIVES here ok.
(ok, just the flat of the blade, no slash here slash there)
But add SAMMO HUNG into the movie,
And you've got one heck of a kungfu movie.



HOLY SHIT
SAMMO HUNG VERSUS DONNIE YEN!
ON A TABLE!
FIGHTING! (Don't get the wrong idea, folks)
So cool you don't really want it to end.
Now THAT is REAL kungfu showdown.



OK, so there's a Mat Salleh bad guy again.
Yes, that bloody old Chinese kungfu movie cliche again.
But at least this fight wasn't as bad as most other movies
Especially when you compare it with True Legend's LOUSY finale.
This one was damn brutal ok.
But you really need to see how Donnie Yen takes him out.
(OF COURSE he takes him out, DUH)



There's ONE move Donnie used on the Mat Salleh,
That was SO COOL I wished they would repeat it,
IN SLOW MOTION.
Just so you could see the beauty of that move.
It was THAT awesome.
You just have to see it to believe it.



OK I have a few complaints.
WHY did they edit the fights so closely?
I know they are supposed to look damn fast,
But sometimes you just wanna see the moves properly.
A lot of the fighting was spoilt by the blurry jerky camerawork
And what's with all the pointless characters.
What was the point of Simon Yam?
Oh well, not that I really cared.
Like I said, story? Who cares?
JUST KEEP FIGHTING! YEAH!