Wing Chun in Film

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Part 2). SO VERY GOOD WAS THE FILM IP MAN AND SO EXCITED FANS WERE TO SEE MORE OF THEIR NEWFOUND SCREEN HERO, IP MAN 2 WENT INTO PRODUCTION ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, RELEASING EARLY IN 2010. IP MAN WOULD ALWAYS BE A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW; IT WAS A VERY, VERY GOOD FILM, BUT IP MAN 2 IMPRESSED AUDIENCES AND WAS A SUCCESSFUL FILM, BOTH COMMERCIALLY AND CRITICALLY.

- David Peterson

However, as good as it was, there was something missing, and it seemed to be the lack of a cohesive script. Ip Man 2 started well, but lost momentum halfway through. It also suffered from blatant over-acting by the actors playing the non-Chinese protagonists and from the obvious anti-foreign overtones and patriotic breast beating on display.

The action was outstanding, with the Wing Chun on display superior to what had been seen in the original film, but after the first hour, it degenerated into a poor version of Rocky 4, complete with a death in the ring, a loud-mouthed and seemingly unbeatable anti-hero, and a pleading speech for brotherhood and understanding from our hero at the end. It’s still a stirring movie and one you don’t mind watching again, but it’s not quite the near-perfect film that Ip Man was. It’s not necessarily a bad film, but it’s not a good film either. It takes quite a few liberties with real history, which is something diehard Wing Chun aficionados don’t take lightly.

Which leads us to what is arguably one of the bad Wing Chun films in this discussion, the 2010 film, The Legend is Born: Ip Man. Talk about distorting the facts and making up a load of rubbish. This film was a disappointment from start to finish, referring to ninjas, Japanese spies, non-existent adopted brothers, and an insulting representation of other people of historical importance in Wing Chun history. Despite having quality actors, such as Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao in the cast, nothing could save this film. Not part of the official Ip Man franchise, The Legend is Born: Ip Man is a total work of fantasy, and a bad Wing Chun film. This one definitely can be thrown into the ugly basket!