Ip Man 2 (2011) is a worthy sequel that continues to bring the same charisma as the first. In a familiar fashion, this movie brings thrilling action while also having an emotional side to it. We also get to see more amazing fight choreography. While I did enjoy this movie a great deal, it felt a lot like the first one. The structure, the directing, the way dramatic events unfold, etc. It didn't feel unique, nor did it feel as enthralling as the first one was. Still, it was undeniably exciting, there was some great acting, the plot was pretty good, and I was never bored. I understand that this movie was "based on true events", but there are a striking number of similarities to the first one when it comes down to the narrative. As a whole, it isn't as good as the first one, but 'Ip Man 2" still brings charm, emotion, and excitement.

Ip Man 2 is a huge step backwards from the original Ip Man. It lacks the compelling drama and the excellent characterizations that made the first film so successful. Instead, the filmmakers decided to focus a little more on the action and it shows as the fight scenes here are a lot more over-the-top and fantastical this time around. But is it a still a good movie? Let's take a look, shall we?First, let's take a look at the story. The story here... just isn't too great. I'm not going to do a plot synopsis since this is IMDb so you can easily find it on this site. Besides, you've probably already seen this film. But the story here is just too far-fetched and exaggerated. Sammo Hung's disciples in this movie feel like comic-book villains because they are so ridiculously violent and meat-headed, it's ridiculous! I know that you need villains in a kung-fu movie but these guys are just ridiculous! But surprisingly, they aren't the most over-the-top thing about this movie. There's an English boxer named Twister in this movie who is our main antagonist and he is so over-the-top, so cartoonish, it's downright racist! This is another one of those martial arts movies where it paints Chinese people as good and English people as scum. It's really sad how this movie goes back to all these kung-fu movie clichés that the first film avoided. There's also a billion sub-plots here that don't have any real purpose. Ip Man's wife is pregnant, Ip Man's business friend got shot in the head so he now has amnesia, Ip Man's teenager friend becomes a hit in writing newspaper, Ip Man's former enemy has now settled down and became a new man etc. These sub-plots are just random and they don't add much to the film so I have no fricking idea why they are even here.There are a few things I like about this story, though. I like how proactive Ip Man is now since he learned his lesson about using his martial arts for good in the first film. I like how Sammo Hung's character isn't one-dimensional. He's a bit of a jerk but we also see him slowly learn to accept Ip Man so there is something that's refreshing about his character. There's also a really cool Bruce Lee cameo at the end of the film.The acting is pretty good here with the exception of Darren Shahlavi as Twister who's just hamming up his performance to absurd degrees. Lastly, the fight choreography is probably the best of all the Ip Man films. Here, Ip Man is in a lot more danger than he was in the first film. He gets attacked by 20 people with knives, he fights Sammo Hung who is probably the most equal of all his opponents, and he fights Twister who is probably his most dangerous foe yet. Yes, even more dangerous than the Japanese general in the first film.Overall, it's not a very good story but it has some good performances, amazing fight choreography, and it's pretty entertaining. It's not a must-watch but if it's on television or Netflix, I'd say check it out. I'm gonna give it a 5/10.

While watching this movie I barely kept myself from calling the paramedics and telling them I need an ambulance NOW - I am in mortal danger of dying from a boredom stroke in the central cortex.Where to begin... The movie looks good as far as camera-work goes, choreography is decent, but so much for the little that is good about this "movie".The current review that is on the film's main page speaks of "a good ol' fashioned moral tale and lots of exceptional fight sequences that will leave you breathless." Let me decrypt this for you: "moral tale" means "stereotypical corrupt western capitalist corrupting poor Chinese" and "people rising up against capitalist injustice" and "underdog kung- fu teacher becoming an everyday hero" and "poor people suffering under this and that". Yes, believe me, all that is contained in this cryptic pair of words. Or - to put it even more clearly - it is a classic genre of commie Chinese propaganda with the usual dash of nationalism. The "exceptional fight sequences" is not cryptic however, it is a lie. This movie is no better or worse than your average kung-fu movie. It is just that - tasteless, standard issue fighting flick that has nothing to show for. Not saying the fighting is bad, but it is just so flat and generic that watching this movie is like drinking tap water - you know it is tasteless, and you should thus not expect anything from it. The plot is also just as predictable - you got your basic underdog hero, the fight start up gradually, taking on bigger and bigger enemies, and eventually climax in the "good vs evil" fight at the end. Add to that the above mentioned "twists" and some usual afternoon soap drama and a bit of tearjerking, and that's it. There's nothing that is really a buzzkill about this movie, but that's only because these is no buzz to be killed. If there's anything that's putting nails in the coffin of Chinese cinematography then it's useless nonsense like this movie. I'd rather watch a perfectly honest North Korean propaganda film praising the Fat Leader instead of watching more of the modern trash that China produces, at least North Korean movies are so bad they are of bottom-of-the-barrel-bad category that they become fun again, like Bad Taste.For real, good old-school kung-fu movies that do not try to shove down your throat the age old Chinese communist propaganda, or that don't bore you to death with completely stupid and stock plot, better watch some of Jackie Chan's work from the early 80's to mid 90's.

Ip Man (Donnie Yen) immigrates to Hong Kong after the Communists take over mainland China. Here he hopes to set up a Wing Chun martial arts school, but soon encounters difficulties with gaining students, with the main obstruction the lack of acceptance by other such institutions led by Master Hong (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo) as well as with the British authority.The first instalment was an overreaching take on the legend of Yip Man, whereas the sequel flings us even further away from recreation of past events and deeper into fictionalised accounts. The story itself is unfeasible and clichéd to an extreme, offering little in emotional reward, but a lot of unflinching kung-fu pummelling, unfortunately extrapolated to almost wushu type flying in the air. Not enough of what happens seems to actually be biographical, more of it can be deemed as mythical glorification, which in the end actually decreases Ip Man's achievements (the necessity to sugar-coat his biography is a double-edged sword). As expected the worst performances in a Hong Kong movie is privy to British nationals, who are adequately cringe-worthy in true local cinematographic tradition.Nonetheless Donnie Yen is pretty endearing in his role and does his best to win the role, despite not being offered much dramatical context. Still a far cry from "Once Upon a Time in China" or the similarly biographical "Fearless" (even has a similar white foe), which managed not only to delivers spectacular fight sequences, but also tell a story deeply laden with Chinese history, the ignominies of foreign occupation and the pains of victory.