Watches
July 22, 2013
The second part in Yau's confusing Ip Man alternative. Clearly he figured Kar-Wai's take and the Wilson Yip films weren't quite enough, so he added two films of his own. While pretty fun genre fare, they do pale somewhat compared to the more prestigious projects of his peers. Confusing branding in the West certainly didn't help these films either (with many thinking they were part of Yip's series).
After the war Ip Man is looking for an easy retirement, but he is about to face another big challenge. He is summoned to perform some routine martial arts demonstrations, but before he knows it he finds himself knee-deep into Triad business, and he has no alternative to take on a gang of dangerous criminals yet again.
If anything, this film gives you Anthony Wong battling it out with Eric Tsang, which is something I could never have dreamed up. The performances are decent, the martial arts scenes are solid and the somewhat shorter runtime a blessing. It's decent enough action filler, but it's difficult not to compare it to its illustrious predecessors, and Yau doesn't come out a winner.