Ip Man: The Final Fight

A rash of biopics has come lately about Ip Man, the grandmaster of Wing Chun whose most famous pupil was Bruce Lee. Tonight I went to see "Ip Man: the Final Fight." Interested though I am, I probably wouldn't have gone to see the movie, in part because of high movie prices, but I won a pair of tickets through the blog Ashevegas by knowing the name of an obscure style (xingyi).

The movie is full of known names in the HK film world. It portrays the last years of Ip Man's life, from the time he arrives in HK and begins to teach (late 1940s) to his death in 1972. There's a lot of time spent eating and smoking and teaching, and there are a few set pieces of martial arts battles. The real purpose of the film is to impart Ip Man's philosophy of life, especially as a martial artist.

I enjoyed the film very much and thought the lead actor (Anthony Wong) did a really fine job of portraying the nuances of the character. As a recreation of a particular time in Hong Kong, it was excellent.

One jarring scene was when Ip Man met with "Bruce Lee" in a restaurant. This was after Lee had gone to the States and started teaching his own version of a martial art and also teaching non-Chinese. I don't know who decided that the guy they had playing Lee was suitable, but I'm here to tell you that he didn't look anything like Lee or move like him. In short, the whole scene rang false. But it was only one scene in an otherwise good movie.