Well, here is a thread where you can talk about the last movie you saw and tell if you liked it or not.
IP MAN (2008)
This is a semi-biographical movie about the life of Ip Man (1893-1972), a kung-fu Master who was Bruce Lee's master. I heard some good review about this movie, so I watched it with high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed.
The movie starts in the 1930's in Foshan, Ip man, an aristocrat who spends most of his time developing and perfecting his Kung-fu, is already the best martial artist in the town. He managed to gain the respect of his peers, who often challenge him to get their ass kicked test their strength. Fortunate to them Ip man, following Confucius's teaching, is a very humble man who don't brag about his victory because he doesn't want to damage their reputation. The first part of this movie talks mostly about Ip's daily life, the occasion to see some good fight scenes and an interesting relationship with his wife and child who aren't that happy he seems to prefer improving his Kung-fu to taking care of them. Too bad this promising subplot was badly solved…
The movie became really interesting with the second part and the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. It's really great to see how this martial artist who probably never worked in his life try to survive in this new situation. This historical setting let us also see the miserable conditions of living the Chinese known at that time and how the Japanese managed to divide them in order to establish their authority. In the movie, the martial arts will be used as some kind of force which will unify the inhabitants of Foshan, and throughout this second part Ip Man will grow as a symbol of the Chinese resistance.
So, it's a really good martial arts movie. The fight scenes, though not the best I've seen, are awesome and the historical setting increase a lot the interest of the movie.
Rating: 7.5/10