There's also some really corny dialogue after the last fight between Gong Er and Yutian about how Gong and Ip were fated to meet each other, etc, etc.
That's why I think the films Donnie Yen did are so much better. But if that was the endgame, then the film should've focused more on Gong Er instead of Ip Man. And I thought that was a nice little twist to the story. I thought this was, actually, among the better parts of the film's story as the real heroine of the film happens to be Gong Er and not Ip Man himself. This film doesn't really do much of that and, hell, by the end, the film is more about Gong Er's relationship with her father and her desire to keep her family's legacy in the right hands. While I'm sure the first Ip Man, because the second one is like Rocky 4 in a kung fu setting, has its heavily dramatized moments it feels like a proper film about the man's life. It's certainly more artistic than those two films I've mentioned, but it's not even close to better. But this isn't better, or more compelling, than the two Ip Man films that Donnie Yen did. The story definitely takes a backseat to the visuals and to the fight sequences themselves, and in some ways it succeeds as I did find the film to be pretty good. The fact of the matter is that the film goes all over the place and, for the most part, it feels like the story is just there to get you to the next fight scene. These would all be great themes in a more tightly-scripted story. There's themes of loyalty, adapting with the times versus staying in the past, the importance of family, etc. It's a shame, however, that the film has absolutely no story to speak of. There's this dance-like quality to the moves and how they go back and forth, it feels very much like a dance and I found these scenes to be beautifully choreographed. That might sound like a negative to some people, but I found it to be a positive. The film is absolutely beautiful to look at and the fight sequences themselves feel more like very tightly choreographed dance sequences. Just the way everything is shot, even the choreography of the fights itself, feels like a product of one person's vision and ideas, without any creative interference from anyone else. However, he is all too mute when being forced to encapsulate Liming Li's vision of Ip as a rallying cry for Chinese unification.This is definitely a kung fu film done by an art house filmmaker. Dennis To seems to work best in those intimate moments of combat when his feet and hands clap with power.
Ip Man: Kung Fu Master plays out in a series of barely-connected events and bland kung fu battles. Is he a master? A student? Police? A masked man? There is no cause, only action as a form of reaction, which certainly does not make a compelling narrative. As Ip Man, To brings honor to the role but the storytelling certainly does not give much to play with. He moves with precision, fights with a smile, and has range enough to show loving care for his burgeoning family. Dennis To is a great martial arts action star. Kung Fu Master is as haphazard as the drunken boxing style with considerably less grace. Even the time period is largely obscure timelessly in limbo somewhere between the 1930s and Morpheus' Matrix. Characters are introduced, and then rudely dropped, without reason or development. The plot cannot decide what it wants to be: a historical action piece or a silly crime drama. Torn between his duties as a police officer and his responsibilities as a martial artist committed to the Foshan community, Ip fights a wronged clan, and eventually the Japanese themselves. He becomes involved with a hostile Japanese agent who is seeking to pave a way for the oncoming invasion. Set during his time as a police captain, Ip Man is on the path to become a full-on Wing Chun master. Dennis To plays the role with charisma and honor, which is unfortunately wasted on this Saturday afternoon Kung Fu Theater special. This might also be the weakest of depictions full of sloppy choreography, unnecessary wire work, and a fragmented story that should have been Ramen-noodle-simple but was instead as complex as fugu preparation. Ip Man: Kung Fu Master is the latest entry in a number of various series chronicling the life of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man.