With the heavy handed cinematography and ceaselessly drawling expository, The Grandmaster has some stylish moments but is otherwise tiresome.
Yet another Ip Man movie, but this one is really confusing, i couldn't tell who's who and what's going on most of the time, i was like:
"Wait.. who's fighting? oh another scene.. is that ip man old? oh no that's his master.. oh that guy is ip man.. wait who's that guy suddenly barging in and talking about the north style? who's the girl? ip man's wife? and why does she have an army? oh cool a scene that looks like ip man 2! oh great.. i'm lost again.."
Also there's a LOT of (boring) talks.. after one long hour (the movie is over 2hours long) of random talks and overlapped scenes with no indications of dates and locations that kept me in my confusion, i prefered skipping them and only watch the fight scenes.
Too bad the movie is probably too historical especially for a foreigner like me, it reminded me when i watched Lincoln, lots of talks.. couldn't tell what's going on..
At least there are awesome and detailed kung fu scenes to save this one! The whole movie is beautiful and very artistic, a must to watch in HD, the fight scenes and kung fu movements are very detailed and sometimes in slow motion, great to watch if you are interested in martial arts.
Let's get this out of the way. The Grandmaster isn't about Ip Man, the grandmaster who allegedly trained Bruce Lee. It isn't a martial arts action film. It has far less action than even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a film most martial arts fans dismiss as being too artsy. If martial arts is what you are after, look no further than Donnie Yen's Ip Man trilogy. The Grandmaster is as much action film as 2046 was a science fiction.
The film uses the backdrop of Japanese invasion and martial arts to contrast (1) China's longing to hold on to the past (Ziyi Zhang's Gong Er), (2) abandoning the past and move forward (John Zhang Jin's Ma San), and (3) the middle ground that seeks the discipline and understanding of both sides, and sharing the past with the future generation (Tony Leung's Ip Man).
I am a great fan of Kar-wai Wong, one of few successful poetic Asian directors working today. His films are often disjointed and thus hard to follow, but you will be immediately rewarded with rich visuals and sounds. And most importantly, many of his films stay with you for days, as you process the film and appreciate its complexity and subtleties.
The film is filled with amazing performances, most notably Ziyi Zhang who really surprised me. I was never a big fan of her work, but her performance is sophisticated and understated. Music is also quite atmospheric, most effective being rework of Ennio Morricone's music from Once Upon a Time in America and How I Learned to Love Women.
Finally, there's cinematography. It starts wobbly with over styled and frankly overrated fight scene that reminded me of The Matrix Revolutions, and in a bad way. Just as soon as I was ready to give up, Gong Er enters and the film takes a whole new turn visually. From then on, the cinematography becomes confident, showcasing the very best of Kar-Wai Wong.
My favorite scene is the last meet between Gong Er and Ip Man. Set against Ennio Morricone's music, the dialog and performances are simply electrifying.
A romanticized biopic of the kung fu master known for training Bruce Lee. The showy showdown in the rain during the opening minutes might mislead you, but the film largely adheres to the stylistic elements of Wong Kar-Wai's festival films, delivering languid romanticism, vintage nostalgia, and platonic love amidst the backdrop of the Sino-Japanese war and the dawn of the age of martial arts masters, with the same kind of lyricism you would expect from Sergio Leone.
I found the first part with the three minibosses a bit superfluous; everything could have easily been condensed into a brisk ninety minutes without missing anything. In addition, the reflective phases felt fragmented, with Wong’s stylistic mannerism not always able to compensate for the lackluster plot and action sequences. There are some decent fights sprinkled throughout, but the director's trademark choppy slow-motion often feels out of place and detrimental to fruition.
To avoid if you just wanted a kung fu movie, and not even a must-see for Wong Kar-Wai’s fans either.
"The martial arts should be open to all, everyone should walk the same route. It all comes down to two words: Horizontal, Vertical."
This felt like a traditional Chinese martial arts movie with great cinematography. The fight scenes felt more artistic than action, but still pretty to look at. Although after watching Donnie Yen's Ip Man movies, other similar stories just feel a little less exciting.
Image and sound 4.75 / 5. That way of seeing the fights, those fights, that assembly, was very good
Donnie Yen version was way better. I'm kind of mad to have wasted my time on this one...
a "light" version of Ip Man, made easier for Americans to follow. decent, but way far from the others.
How many Ip Man stories can a person get in so little time? :p
Shout by BenVIP OG 13BlockedParent2013-03-23T19:11:52Z
I am a sucker for Wing Chun Kung Fu, I practice it myself - you can say I am a Wing Chunkie ;D
But this one... this one is trash.
It's not even anywhere near the first 3 movies - thumb's down.
The fight scenes are totally overexaggerated (cleary the were some wires involved) and not only that, they are speeded up & the camera is too close so you nearly can see $#!+.
The exploitation of the name "Ip Man" has to STOP!
He doesn't deserve this.
http://trakt.tv/user/BenFranklin/lists/wing-chun-kungfu