This movie will appeal to all, not just martial art movie fans. It follows the life of Yip Man, the grandmaster of the Wing-Chun martial art style of combat. Wing-Chun was originally invented in southeastern mainland China by techniques devised primarily by women for self defense. Part of this is mentioned in the movie. Yip Man is played by Donnie Yen in, without a doubt, his best performance on screen. Donnie Yen's acting skills shine throught this film. I should mention that, Donnie Yen is an established martial artist, trained in Wing Chun by the son of Yip Man himself! Yip Chun. Yip Chun (84 years old at the time) was a supervisor to the movie and was very pleased with the outcome. He praised Donnie and the studio. By the way, this is not a Hollywood movie, it's a Hong Kong / Chinese production and it is AMAZING. The sound design is top notch. The musical score is excellent, composed by Kenji Kawai (a master composer of other great Eastern cinema movie scores, such as Ghost in the Shell). It is so memorable it will stick to you for years to come. The main soundtrack theme also returns -expanded- in the sequels. Cinematography, setting, costumes, atmosphere will immerse you into the time period. Acting is very good overall. Donnie Yen's acting though is impeccable. You will see Yip Man in the face of Donnie Yen from then onwards. The choreography is of the highest tier. The kicks and punches are pummeling with an audio impact that sounds so real they will make you touch your limbs to see if they are still in place. There is of course some subtle cgi in the movie, which is there only to augment the story and the fights. The movie isn't gory, or bloody but it does a perfect job at conveying the proper feelings at the right time. The villains are powerful and relentless, both the chinese northeners and the japanese general. The movie is not that historically accurate. Indeed Yip Man didn't officially start a school in Foshan, but he did occassionally teach people. Yip Man wasn't staying home all the time, as depicted in the film. He had a job, soon after returning to Foshan he was appointed as the chief of police, due to his unprecedented honor and honesty. When the Japanese arrived (in 1941 and not 1938, they didn't sieze Foshan until 1943) he joined the rebellions against them. It is true that word of his incredible skills has reached the japanese chief of police in Foshan and he was requested to teach his art to Japanese students. But Yip refused. A fight was later arranged between Yip and one of Japanese masters, in which Yip threatened promised that if he loses he will teach the Japanese his style. Yip won with ease (as in the film) but he wasn't shot, nor left Foshan until after WWII in 1949, when the communists won the civil war and confiscated Yip's estate. Yip initially left alone for Hong Kong, leaving his wife and 3 young songs behind. When he established his place in HK, opened a dojo he brought his family along as well. Now the film's genre isn't documentary, but action and martial arts. These historical inaccuracies were inevitable, as a certain drama level has to be reached in order for profit to be made. HOWEVER the changes are not significant and in actual fact, this movie captures the spirit and character of Yip Man perfectly, which is the film's most important achievement. Yip Man was a family man, incredibly gentle and ever-smiling. He cared for his compatriots and loved them all deeply. He trained mostly alone with his Mu ren zhuang (wooden man post) perfecting his skills, which ultimately helped him to find balance and lead a happy and healthy life. This is clearly portrayed throughout the film by the masterful acting of Donnie Yen. There are multiple moments throughout that your eyes will tear. It is likely that Donnie Yen must have drooled when he was presented with the role. He loved Bruce Lee and Yip Man, his primary influence as a martial artist was Bruce Lee. Donnie Yen's performance is so authentic, it may seem otherwordly to (very-)Westerners. The other actors are all very good. The acting of Yip's wife Cheung (played by Lynn Hung) isn't the best, but it's decent and mostly fitting the real personality of his wife. You will never notice the few flaws of the film in the first viewing. You will be completely blown away. It has to be seen more than 2 times to start noticing negatives. I saw it once on cinema when it was released and two times in BluRay ever since to review it. I always loved martial arts movies, like my dad who grew up with Bruce Lee movies. This is probably my favorite martial arts movie ever. Others include Bruce Lee's movies (Bruce Lee's moves will always of course be unparalleled - no cgi involved), Hero and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as far as i can recall right now. One real disadvantage of the movie can be the excessively and totally unnecessary dramatic fight scenes at the near start of the film involving swords and lances. That was unrealistic and never needed. Note that the director placed heavy emphasis on the fight sequences, as expected, which may bother some of the audience who will find the movie simplistic. The action of the movie is immensely entertaining. The movie is riveting. I bet that even non martial arts fans will be pleasantly surprised and engaged with it. I definitely recommend Yip Man. Rating: 9/10 - "Amazing"

The film Ip Man follows the story of a rich martial arts enthusiast in the Chinese city of Foshan in the 1930s and 40s. Although he is the best in all of southern China, he doesn't run a martial arts school, like many of the other enthusiasts. He simply practices it because it's his passion. A northerner comes into town and beats all of the schools in the area in an attempt to show the superiority of northern fighting styles, open his own school, and get rich. He ends up challenging Ip Man and loses. Shortly after, Japan invades China in 1937. This marks the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and later WWII. Ip Man's estate is confiscated by the Japanese and turned into their headquarters in Foshan. He, along with his family and friends, is forced to live in decrepit apartments and abject poverty. Ip Man manages to find a job in a coal mine and helps defend a cotton mill his friend invested in from a group of Chinese bandits lead by the northern martial artist from the beginning of the film. General Miura, the Japanese general in charge of Foshan holds daily martial arts duels between the Chinese citizens and Japanese trainees. If the Chinese participant wins, he is granted a bag of rice. Ip Man eventually challenges Miura after he is ordered to teach the Japanese trainees his superior form of martial arts. Ip Man defeats Miura and is later shot in the shoulder. He survives and successfully escapes to Hong Kong with his family as the war ends. Overall, I liked almost every aspect of this film. It was action packed and although the storyline was a little cheesy and cliché it was still captivating. Not once did this movie manage to bore me. The only time the movie was hard to watch was during the one or two sad scenes where someone would die. One thing I noticed is that the death scenes were very emotional and somewhat exaggerated. The cinematography and choreography were very impressive as all of the fight scenes appeared very well practiced and professional. I expected it to be a less serious, more fun movie being about martial arts and such, but it ended up being really good. Also, this movie opened my eyes to the Japanese atrocities towards the Chinese in WWII. I had always heard of them but never really researched them at all and I think this movie did a good job of at least portraying what the typical life of a typical Chinese man was during the second world war. I had heard of this movie before multiple times but never came around to watching it. I'm glad I picked it for my final.

The 2008 "Ip Man" was a rather good movie, and one that turned out to be somewhat better than I had anticipated. Many of these Chinese historic epic dramas tend to be over the top and exaggerating on many levels, but "Ip Man" turned out to be rather down to earth and a rather enjoyable movie.Donnie Yen was really well cast for the role of the legendary Ip Man, and he performed quite well, both in his acting performance, but most certainly also so in his martial arts performance. So fans of Donnie Yen will be more than pleased with "Ip Man", but also fans of the martial arts genre should find enjoyment in this movie.The story, briefly summarized, takes place in 1937 when China is being invaded by Japanese troops, and Ip Man is forced out of his wealthy manor and forced into a poverty, where he has to turn to teaching Wing Chun in order to survive the harsh times.The martial arts sequences in the entire movie were all very well choreographed and equally well executed by the performers. But more importantly, it was filmed in a very dynamic way, making the audience feel like they were in the fights themselves. It was a true pleasure to watch the fight scenes in the movie, and they alone actually make it worth sitting down to watch "Ip Man"."Ip Man" is one of the more important movies in Donnie Yen's career, I think, because he really managed to portray the legendary Wing Chun master in a very graceful manner.The story of the movie is entertaining, and it most definitely is spiced up by the impressive martial arts. However, the atmosphere of the movie is also quite impressive and one to take into consideration. They put a lot of effort into the details to create a believable atmosphere, and it really works quite in favor of the movie.Aside from Donnie Yen, then "Ip Man" also has big Hong Kong names such as Simon Yam on the cast list. And actor Xing Yu also did put on a very good performance in the movie.If you enjoy martial arts movies then "Ip Man" is a definite must watch. And if you are a fan of the Asian cinema, then "Ip Man" is a well-worthy addition to your collection.

In FoShan, southern China, Master Liu challenges Ip Man (Donnie Yen) and gets beaten. Ip Man promises to keep it private but loudmouthed Yuan tells everyone. Jin from the north challenges every master in FoShan. He wins in every match except for Ip Man. In 1937, war starts between Japan and China. Ip Man loses everything. Japanese General Miura has organized fight tournaments. Yuan's older brother Lin is killed. Ip Man fights to avenge his death. Meanwhile, Jin leads his bandits including Yuan. They steal from Ip Man's friend Zhou Qingquan.The start is well-done kung fu movie and a good solid story. Donnie Yen has great dignity. The movie is essentially extended into two parts. The war scrambles everybody and everything. The second part is also good. It introduces whole new villains. I would have preferred having two separate movies. The fight action is fun, and energetic. This is a solid kung fu action movie.