Ip Man (2008)

I had to buy this movie.  It was too good not to.  This time, I think I was paying more attention maybe.  I don't know.  People seemed more familiar and I don't think I can claim that because I saw it once three years ago and remembered everything.  I'm good but I don't think I'm that good.  If you haven't seen this, the third film is coming out on video soon if it's not out already.  Obviously, I am going to buy it as well.  Originally posted 10 Mar 13.    I got a snow day on Wednesday this week even though it didn't really snow.  It was too cold to go to the mailbox, however, so I stayed in and watched one from my Streaming queue.  I had been looking forward to this one for a while now and it totally delivered.

Ip Man (Donnie Yen) is the number one kung fu master in all of the province of Fo Shan.  He doesn't have a full-time school, he just basically swans around his big-ass house and fights polite duels with any requestors.  All that changes during the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.  Stripped of his wealth and possessions, Master Ip takes a job hauling coal with all the other out-of-work martial arts masters.  An old colleague, now a translator for the Japanese, comes around offering the fighters a chance at a sack of rice if they are willing to fight Japanese karate experts for the amusement of General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi).  Ip isn't interested until one of his friends goes and doesn't come back.

Then it is serious ass-kicking time. 

There have been several movies where the hero wanders in and beats the shit out of an entire room full of people:  Jet Li in Fist of Legend, Min-Sik Choi in Oldboy, Jet Li again in Kiss of the Dragon.  It never gets old, people. 

Plot-wise, this reminded me a great deal of the second half of Fearless, which may have been the only criticism I could lay against it.