Ip Man 2 (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #66

"Although people have different statuses in life, everybody's dignity is the same. I hope that we can start to respect one another".

This is the second Ip Man film starring Donnie Yen, made in 2010, two years after "Ip Man". One thing that's obvious when you watch the four Ip Man films is that each film was supposed to be the last. Each film reaches a logical conclusion, and if the series had ended there, nobody would have complained. Of course, in the fourth film Ip Man dies, so it really must be the end. Unless, of course, there's a "Ghost of Ip Man" or "Franken-Ip-Man".

Donnie Yen claims that "Ip Man 2" is the best film in the series. I disagree. I find the first film better. It depends on what you want from a film. Maybe Donnie prefers the second film because of the fight scenes. There are fighters with different styles fighting against Ip Man, in particular the three masters who Ip Man has to defeat in Hong Kong. Maybe someone who knows more about kung fu than me can tell me the name of their styles. The third master, played by Sammo Hung, uses the Hung Kuen style, but the styles of the other two masters aren't named.

Ip Man's fighting style is Wing Chun. It's claimed that it was invented in the 18th Century by a woman called Ng Mui who observed the martial arts while working in a Shaolin temple, and then passed on her knowledge to a young woman called Yim Wing Chun. Many scholars doubt this story and dismiss it as a legend, but the film states it as fact. The martial artists who give interviews in the Blu-ray's extra features also accept it as fact.

Marie Sia Lonero has no doubt that Wing Chun was invented by a woman. It's not just because of her sympathies as a woman, it's because of Wing Chun's nature. She says that it's particularly useful for fighters who are smaller and lighter.

As in the first film, it's interesting to see Ip Man eating. He isn't as poor as he was during the Japanese occupation, but it's still a simpler meal than what he was used to in 1935. He never regained the wealthy status that was ripped away from him by the Japanese.

Maybe we should be glad that he lost his riches. Before the war he refused to found a martial arts school. In 1950, when the film takes place, he needs to open a school in order to pay his bills. If Ip Man had remained rich there might never have been a Bruce Lee.

One interesting thing about the Ip Man films is to see characters from previous films return under different circumstances. One example is Jin Shan Zhao, who was an adversary of Ip Man in the first film. When they meet again they become friends. Jin dismisses his former actions as the folly of youth. Now he's older and wiser.

Master Hung, played by the legendary Sammo Hung, doesn't need another film to change his ways. He begins the film as Ip Man's enemy, but he becomes his friend as the film progresses.

Ip Man reaches Master Hung's heart by impressing upon him the value of family. He certainly has a beautiful family: six daughters and a son. He's wealthier than Ip Man, but he still has to use newspapers as a tablecloth.

All four of the Ip Man films are excellent, but only the first two films have made it into my top 100 films list. Nevertheless, I'll try to rewatch the other two films soon, when I have time.

Success Rate:  + 1.9

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de