Simply A Masterpiece

Good concept, poorly executed.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

THE LEGEND IS BORN: IP MAN is a prequel to the two widely successful IP MAN films starring Donnie Yen. I absolutely love those movies, finding them a delight with strong storytelling and outstanding action, so I wasn't quite sure how this prequel - which DOESN'T feature Yen - would stand up.The answer is that it's worth a shot, although not of the same calibre as the other two films. It's an amiable enough martial arts story, mixing biographic storytelling with some action sequences that don't disappointment. Dennis To is an exact lookalike for a young Yen, but he doesn't have the same level of acting ability although his martial arts skills are quite good.The film is well shot by Herman Yau, the notorious bad taste director of the 1990s, who puts every penny of the budget up on the screen. The story is familiar and contains some rather generic and stereotypical villains, but that's par for the course for a martial arts flick. The supporting cast is exemplary, however, and where the movie really shines. Fan Siu-Wong (THE STORY OF RICKY) excels as Ip Man's adopted brother, and Sammo Hung has a nice opening cameo as a martial arts master. Better still is Yuen Biao, off our screens for too many years and still cutting it where it counts. There's even an important role for Ip Man's real-life son, Ip Chun, which can't be scoffed at.

This is actually a prequel to Ip Man and Ip Man 2. A different actor is used but the story is still interesting. Ip is taught Wing Chun by a couple of masters and travels to Hong Kong to further his skills. He is walking one day and is taunted by a Westener with racist slurs and they fight, but afterwords then become friends. He learns to improve by utilizing different styles of kung fu. He marries the mayor's daughter and is arrested and jailed in a politically motivated murder case.More secrets are revealed as the story unfolds and Ip continues to fight after his wife's provides an alibi to free him from prison. The Legend is Born isn't as good as the previous two films and a different actor is used in the lead role, but it is still not bad for a Saturday night viewing.

This prequel is better than the sequel. Martial arts world champion YO Yu-Hang in no way suffers in comparison with Donny Yan in skill, and is more authentic. Yan's Wing Chun is serviceable at a distant shot but falls apart in close-ups. A close-up in the first Ip Man showing his wife treating his bruised fist reveals all too clearly how completely ignorant (or inattentive) the movie makers are to the glaring fact that Wing Chun and karate use entirely different parts of the fist to strike opponents.The screenplay is penned by Erica Lee, prolific romance author, best utilizing her forte in handling that department of the script. The story is very much fictionalized which actually works to its advantage, making the script more self-contained than the previous two movies.Participation of 86-year-old IP Chun, the Masters own son further brightens up the movie, in both the role he plays and the way he delivers it. Despite the turn-of-20th-century setting, female lead HUANG Yi is pretty in a very contemporary way and great to watch. The familiar support cast is good, particularly FAN Siu-wong, veteran martial art actor playing Ip Man's adopted brother.Ip Man fan are no doubt eagerly awaiting WONG Kar-wai's rendering of the Master's legend starring LEUNG Chiu-wai, scheduled for release in December 2010.

With cult Hong Kong director Herman Yau at the helm, The Legend is Born predates the Ip Man films we've seen thus far, seizing the window of opportunity in exploring Ip Man's life as a teenager before he became the master we're all familiar with Donnie Yen's portrayal. While it's less flashy than the two earlier films, Yau will pique your curiosity with the shrewd casting of veterans such as Sammo Hung in a different role this time as Ip Man's master Chan Wah- shun, Yuen Biao as the next generation leader Chung Sok, and even getting Fan Siu Wong back as Ip Man's foster brother Ip Tin-chi, making him the only actor to feature in all three Ip Man films thus far. Credibility for the film is even enhanced with the presence of Ip Man's real son Ip Chun as the elderly but sprightly Leung Bik who teaches Ip Man (played by Dennis To) a thing or two about his brand of Wing Chun.That scene alone opposite To is one of the action highlights of the film. And action is something this film has no lack of, ranging from friendly and playful exchanges, to fending off petty street thugs and the Japanese – yes, again, but I suppose it's set in the era before the Sino-Japanese war that this in the narrative is somehow unavoidable. While the earlier film versions had tried to stay rooted in reality with the fight scenes, for this version there's the inevitable and obvious wirework being used from time to time, which takes you into the realm of fantasy unfortunately.But almost everyone here has a fight crafted for them, and some of the better ones include the mouth-watering duel between Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao executing Wing Chun moves while blindfolded, imparting a key philosophy about pre-emption, Fan Siu Wong's battle against Japanese exponents in the Jing Wu premises, Dennis To against Yuen Biao when the former returned from Hong Kong, and of course the brawl involving Dennis To against many ninjas, which we now associate Ip Man with (fighting against impossible odds in headcount). Various martial arts like Judo and Karate also get thrown in even if they're used fleetingly, and there's also glimpses of the variation of Wing Chun involving weapons like the 6 inch pole (well, we know the damage what Ip Man can do with a humongous one from the first film), and the staples like the wooden dummy practices and the rapid fire punches. If there's any fight scene which is a let down, it'll be the final one which was short, and the opponent never really threatening our hero at all.Dennis To, the current Hong Kong martial arts champion, probably has his close physical features resemble Donnie Yen to thank for in winning the title role of Ip Man, since audiences all over are currently associating the Master with Donnie's portrayal. Incidentally To had a role in Ip Man 2 as Sammo Hung's disciple, so how's that for having everyone associated with the earlier films, to chip in for this one? The pressure is on for To, but granted he cannot hold a candle to Donnie Yen's charisma yet, and because Ip Man the character here is in his early days, he gets whupped a bit more here as expected since he's nowhere near the grandmaster status. Credit to To for trying, though his acting is a lot more wooden, and his fighting moves executed for the film also having a raw feel than the fluidity we've come to know the Ip Man for.On the other hand, I thought this was more of a Fan Siu Wong breakthrough role, where he'd make you sit up and take notice of his gentlemanly portrayal of Ip Tin-chi. In Ip Man 1 he's the ruffian from the North, and shows that he's quite the chameleon in changing his outwardly appearance for a different character here. His character also seemed to be more fleshed out (for a reason of course), and action-wise given the opportunity to shine a lot more with the various styles utilized, as well as those which Ip Man had picked up from Leung Bik, putting them two on almost equal terms.Erica Lee's screenplay transports us back to the life and times of a young Ip Man and his life in the Wing Chun martial arts school, as well as his education in Hong Kong. Unfortunately it also meant having to put in a clunky romantic web weaved between the characters, though it didn't go beyond the surface and had plenty of "jealous fits" coming from Rose Chan's fellow martial arts student with whom Ip Tin-chi is interested in, but for her to prefer Ip Man, who in turn is in love with Huang Yi's rich girl character to probably align this to the Ip Man films.The story also contain shades from the earlier ones, such as those involving corrupted officials, arrogant foreigners who have to be put in their place, a jail term (this makes it 3 in a row that Ip Man gets thrown into one), and having enough twists in the story to include a short murder mystery, espionage, and a turn that will make Infernal Affairs proud as well.It's a prequel done by another production team, so don't expect the narrative to gel so nicely into Mandarin Films' Ip Man universe since there are elements here that obviously clashes with what we treat as canon. But what you can expect, as a martial arts action film, is plenty of rapid fire, hard hitting action, and of course more of Ip Man's character being portrayed on the big screen. You'd still feel compelled to applaud when Ip Man comes to the rescue, but soon realize that it doesn't exude the same emotional intensity, but makes up for it in its variety of fights showcasing the lesser seen Wing Chun moves.