Ip Man 3

Try the stoic actor’s face looking like a mix between love and loss.

Christian Toto said in his review, “The third film in the quasi-biographical franchise doesn’t disappoint on the action front. It dazzles, plain and simple, even with a new fight choreographer (“Kill Bill’s” Yuen Woo-Ping) calling the shots.”

What starts as a classical action film gets emotionally changed so dramatic it almost makes you forget the greatest stunt work in recent years.

Donnie Yen reprises his role as Ip Man, the Wing Chun grandmaster known for his flawless fighting technique. This time, he has to defend his son’s (Yanshi Wang) school, which is being eyed at by a shady property developer (Patrick Tam).

Have you heard of any other type of real estate worker in movies today?

This will have Ip Man use all of his skills to fight against the gang of crooks attacking the school. I also should mention who is the one who is telling the developer the roar: Former boxer Iron Mike Tyson.

That’s not the entire plot of the movie. A subplot has Ip Man’s wife diagnosed with cancer through a lot of the movie. On top of that, there is jealously from a fellow Wing Chun fighter, played by Max Zhang.

“Ip Man 3,” released in 2015, awkwardly brings everything together, often staying true to the genre this film belongs in. So much fighting and waiting until the boring exposition is done.

Toto mentioned, “It doesn’t help that Tyson is best served in micro-cameos like his “Hangover” franchise chores. He’s given a few lines here, both in English and Cantonese, and gets KO’d by each. He’s still a hulking presence, so the inevitable battle between his character and Ip Man is almost worth the stunt casting.”

The real Ip Man taught Bruce Lee, and Danny Chan plays the martial artist as a dance instructor, which is weird.

This brings everyone to a moment where it shows Donnie Yen being more than an action actor. Toto said, “The sequence is tender and true, a summation of love that’s more beautiful than most rom-com finales.”

However, I should also mention the kinetic fight scenes where Ip Man takes on a criminal in a congested elevator early in the movie. The fighting does eventually go into the building, but the fast pace only increases with more room to fight.

Of course, there’s a great fight in a warehouse, where Tyson’s pawns attack Ip Man in classic, one-on-one fighting. Of course, no genre is perfect.

Director Wilson Yip doesn’t use shaky cams or really fast edits. Toto noted, “He trusts the chaos enveloping his stars. He employs sly camera angles and wide shots to make sure we see every fist and foot.”

Toto continued, “Tyson’s battle sequence is a hoot, if only for the physical contrast between the combatants. It’s like watching Freddy vs. Jason, a grudge match that works because the two weren’t meant to share the same stage together.”

Toto went on, “Yen’s Ip Man is a throwback in more ways than one. The story is set in the late 1959s, which lends the film an old-fashioned sheen. It’s the character’s selfless spirit that permeates the production. He’s violently humble and kind, a reluctant warrior happiest when he can praise anyone but himself.”

This will make people want more real-life Ip Mans both in pop culture and reality.

I guess this film isn’t as good as the first two, but I still think it’s a good one to check out, for those who are fans of the franchise. You will absolutely love this, especially with the emotional moments in this film. Check it out and enjoy the film with more at stake.

Look out next week when I wrap up “Ip Man month” with the last film in the franchise.