Ip Man 2

Umm originally my first choice of movie for this weekend is Dear John. But after the exceedingly exhausting OSLER, I need something stronger to cheer my mind up, so finally I resorted to the Ip Man 2. (By the way, I wonder why the inflation is going so mad here, now $9 for renting a VCD? Gosh I would go broke very soon...)

Frankly, films on Chinese kungfu have quite limited themes, and among them, national spirit is definitely the top. This truly gives film-makers a headache, how are they suppose to generate something fresh and new to satisfy the already-desensitized audience?

Right, Ip Man 1 has done quite a great job. Though it is not an innovative idea to play tricks on the hatred between us and the Japanese, the character of such a gentle kungfu master is indeed attractive. And with the skewed portrait of the nasty Jap commander, the contrast of course generated more echoes when we saw the Japs being hit hit and hit until they bled.

Here come to the second episode, knowing the background of Ip Man immigrating to Hong Kong, I have no expectation for an overwhelming atmosphere of national spirit - and I got it right. This time, the actions are still equally amazing (Both DonnieYen and Sammo Hung are my favourite martial artists - no way comparable to Jackie Chan), but the storyline is just too superficial. Comparing to the last film, this time, the reason for going on the final combat with that stupid English fighter appears too far-fetched, the distinguishing point lies on the difference in nature of insult/conflict: nation-to-nation last time, but individual-to-nation here in Ip Man 2.

Another mistake is the fragmented storyline development. It appears odd to me seeing the abrupt unity of all the kungfu masters, only minutes after they fight with each and others. And probably this is why the ending became so artifically educational, even to an unrealistic degree.

Still, taking away the thin plot, it is quite enjoyable to watch an action kungfu movie at the weekend, particularly after I got so much bruises in the clinical exam, it rocks to see others being hit, bang bang bang!