Ip Man 2 Hits LA Theatres This Friday

Los Angeles gets acclaimed indie film Ip Man 2, Legend of the Grandmaster. If the film does well at the box office, Orange County is next!

Synopsis
International megastar Donnie Yen reprises his iconic role as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in this martial arts spectacular. After escaping the Japanese occupation of his hometown of Foshan, China, Ip Man and his family have arrived in Hong Kong, which is living under the iron fist of British colonial rule. Ip wants to support his family by opening up a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. But a corrupt cabal of Hong Kong martial arts masters, led by Hung Chun-nam (the legendary Sammo Hung), refuses to allow Ip to teach until he proves himself- and prove himself he does, in an intense series of fights against the masters showcasing a dazzling variety of martial arts styles, culminating in a highly anticipated brawl between Ip and Hung atop a rickety table. But even after gaining the respect of the masters, Ip's troubles are far from over. Hong Kong under British rule is a world of corruption, and when a Western-style boxer named Taylor "Twister" Milos comes to town to entertain the British upper-class, and insults both Chinese martial arts and the native citizens in a horrifically violent way, Ip must step up and fight for the honor of both his kung fu and the Chinese people. Forced by honor to enter a brutal King of the Ring boxing match against Twister, it's East versus West in an amazing, knock-down drag-out fight to the finish, the likes of which have never been seen on-screen before.


See the movie's iTunes page at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/ipman2legendofthegrandmaster

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Here is a review courtesy of Andy Klein of the Los Angeles Times.  

As the title “Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” (opening January 28) suggests, this new martial arts spectacle is a sequel — one whose predecessor, the 2008 “Ip Man,” went essentially unreleased in the U.S., despite huge enthusiasm from everyone in the target audience who caught it on DVD imports. (Apparently, there was a limited, token release — not including Los Angeles — a few months ago, after the American DVD had already come out.)

In some ways, this oversight is beneficial: The main complaint one could make about the new film is that it too closely repeats the story and structure of the first one (which itself followed the template of Jet Li's “Fearless” and numerous others). Thankfully, it also repeats all the same strong points.
 

Donnie Yen (“Hero,” “Blade II,” “Iron Monkey”) once again portrays the title character, a real-life martial arts master, who is best known in the West for having been Bruce Lee's teacher. In the first film, he upheld Chinese honor during the Japanese occupation before and during World War II. This time around, he's upholding Chinese honor in the face of demeaning treatment from the Brits running Hong Kong.

Following a montage of moments from the first film, we meet Ip Man in 1950, as he tries to open his own school to teach the Wing Chun style of kung fu. He quickly learns that he must satisfy the demands of a group of other masters, led by the imperious Hung Chun-nam (Sammo Hung, who is also the film's action director). This includes managing to stay atop a precariously balanced table, while taking on any challengers within the group. Eventually Hung himself — despite his age, failing health, and portliness — leaps into the fray.

What follows is a great example of the brilliant, tricky fight staging that has long been the pride of Hong Kong films. The fight doesn't resolve much, but soon Ip and Hung become allies in facing an arrogant Western boxing champ (Darren Shahlavi), who spews racist insults.

As is frequently the case in HK action films, the worst element is the over-the-top portrayal of the wicked Westerners, made even worse by horrible acting — which may be the result of bad looping (but is probably just bad acting). Outside of that, returning director Wilson Yip makes no missteps; and the film looks great, thanks to the presence of ace cinematographer Poon Hang-sang (“Peking Opera Blues,” “A Chinese Ghost Story,” “Kung Fu Hustle”).

Yen matches his contemporary Jet Li (whom he notably battled in both “Hero” and “Once Upon a Time in China II”), but it's just as big a thrill to see Sammo Hung — one of the truly great figures in Hong Kong film, both behind and in front of the camera — still flying and kicking at the age of 58. The whole thing just rocks.


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Los Angeles gets acclaimed indie film Ip Man 2, Legend of the Grandmaster. If the film does well at the box office, Orange County is next! Synopsis International megastar Donnie Yen reprises his iconic role as the real-life kung fu grandmaster Ip Man in this martial arts spectacular. After escaping the Japanese occupation of his hometown of Foshan, China, Ip Man and his family have arrived in Hong Kong, which is living under the iron fist of British colonial rule. Ip wants to support his family by opening up a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. But a corrupt cabal of Hong Kong martial arts masters, led by Hung Chun-nam (the legendary Sammo Hung), refuses to allow Ip to teach until he proves himself- and prove himself he does, in an intense series of fights against the masters showcasing a dazzling variety of martial arts styles, culminating in a highly anticipated brawl between Ip and Hung atop a rickety table. But even after gaining the respect of the masters, Ip's troubles are far from over. Hong Kong under British rule is a world of corruption, and when a Western-style boxer named Taylor "Twister" Milos comes to town to entertain the British upper-class, and insults both Chinese martial arts and the native citizens in a horrifically violent way, Ip must step up and fight for the honor of both his kung fu and the Chinese people. Forced by honor to enter a brutal King of the Ring boxing match against Twister, it's East versus West in an amazing, knock-down drag-out fight to the finish, the likes of which have never been seen on-screen before. See the movie's iTunes page at http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/ipman2legendofthegrandmaster Here is a review courtesy of Andy Klein of the Los Angeles Times.   As the title “Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” (opening January 28) suggests, this new martial arts spectacle is a sequel — one whose predecessor, the 2008 “Ip Man,” went essentially unreleased in the U.S., despite huge enthusiasm from everyone in the target audience who caught it on DVD imports. (Apparently, there was a limited, token release — not including Los Angeles — a few months ago, after the American DVD had already come out.) In some ways, this oversight is beneficial: The main complaint one could make about the new film is that it too closely repeats the story and structure of the first one (which itself followed the template of Jet Li's “Fearless” and numerous others). Thankfully, it also repeats all the same strong points.   Donnie Yen (“Hero,” “Blade II,” “Iron Monkey”) once again portrays the title character, a real-life martial arts master, who is best known in the West for having been Bruce Lee's teacher. In the first film, he upheld Chinese honor during the Japanese occupation before and during World War II. This time around, he's upholding Chinese honor in the face of demeaning treatment from the Brits running Hong Kong. Following a montage of moments from the first film, we meet Ip Man in 1950, as he tries to open his own school to teach the Wing Chun style of kung fu. He quickly learns that he must satisfy the demands of a group of other masters, led by the imperious Hung Chun-nam (Sammo Hung, who is also the film's action director). This includes managing to stay atop a precariously balanced table, while taking on any challengers within the group. Eventually Hung himself — despite his age, failing health, and portliness — leaps into the fray. What follows is a great example of the brilliant, tricky fight staging that has long been the pride of Hong Kong films. The fight doesn't resolve much, but soon Ip and Hung become allies in facing an arrogant Western boxing champ (Darren Shahlavi), who spews racist insults. As is frequently the case in HK action films, the worst element is the over-the-top portrayal of the wicked Westerners, made even worse by horrible acting — which may be the result of bad looping (but is probably just bad acting). Outside of that, returning director Wilson Yip makes no missteps; and the film looks great, thanks to the presence of ace cinematographer Poon Hang-sang (“Peking Opera Blues,” “A Chinese Ghost Story,” “Kung Fu Hustle”). Yen matches his contemporary Jet Li (whom he notably battled in both “Hero” and “Once Upon a Time in China II”), but it's just as big a thrill to see Sammo Hung — one of the truly great figures in Hong Kong film, both behind and in front of the camera — still flying and kicking at the age of 58. The whole thing just rocks. Share © The Dragon Institute | 34241 Pacific Coast Highway #105 | Dana Point, CA 92673 | ockungfu.com