Ip Man

This movie has been on my watchlist for many years and last night I finally got to see it. I never knew the Ip Man series were based on a true story. The fact that it is makes the movie even more impressive. This movie puts the Art in Martial Arts. The movie is well written, funny and at time somewhat dark and raw. Can't wait to watch part II.

A martial arts biopic. I really enjoyed this but it has it's problems. At times laughable, cringe and melodramatic but at other times rightfully emotional and bleak—thankfully it was more of the latter! The story is ultimately predictable but it at least kept me captivated with how Ip Man would react to everything happening around him. I like his character and character arc. The martial arts action sequences are THE reason why this is elevated to 'great' though. Watching Donnie Yen kick the shit out of overly confident bad guys is so satisfying. Amazing creative choreography and impressive stunts and I think those scenes were well shot and edited. At other times it has some weird editing and overall it's a very ugly looking movie, I don't know why they went with that color grading. The acting is hit and miss also but it rarely misses in the physical scenes. I enjoyed all the villains. Great ending.