The Grandmaster (FILM REVIEW)
The Grandmaster
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Majestic Costume Drama Chronicles Career of Legendary Martial Arts Fighter
Yip Oi-dor (1893-1972), aka Ip Man,
was a legendary martial arts teacher perhaps best remembered for some of the prominent
protégés who attended his kung fu school, most notably, Bruce Lee. But this
influential icon has finally been getting his due in recent years as the
subject of several reverential biopics.
The latest,
The Grandmaster, directed by Wong Kar-wai (In the Mood for Love), is a majestic
epic chronicling Ip Man’s life from the womb to the tomb. He’s very capably played
by Tony Leung who just happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to President
Obama, for what that’s worth.
At the
picture’s point of departure, we learn that Ip hailed from Foshan, a city in Guangdong province where
he started studying martial arts at an early age. By the time he was a young
man, he had already developed a reputation as a formidable fighter, and was
enlisted by his region’s elders to represent all of Southern
China in a match against Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang), the best
from the North.
Yip
prevails in a showdown more mental than physical by employing an innovative combination
of his trademarked “Spade,” “Pin” and “Sheath” techniques which prove to be far
simpler than the 64 moves relied upon by his aging opponent. Soon thereafter, Gong
finds himself dealing with dissension in the Northern ranks, between betrayed
by an aggressive heir apparent (Zhang Jan) and being disappointed by his
daughter’s (Zhang Ziyi) decision to practice medicine rather than follow in his
footsteps.
That
enables Yip Man to fill the void and eventually emerge as the greatest
grandmaster in all of China.
Director Kar-wai resorts to flying harnesses, slow motion and other
state-of-the-art trick photography to showcase his hero’s considerable skills.
If you’re familiar with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, then you have a decent
idea what to expect in terms of gravity defying kick and fisticuffs.
The
overly-ambitious production’s only flaw rests with its occasionally-confusing editing,
which unnecessarily resorts to flashbacks in recounting the decades-spanning
tale when the movie might have worked just as well if allowed to unfold
chronologically. Regardless, this comprehensive combination history lesson,
love story and action flick features all the fixin’s necessary to entertain any
fan of the martial arts genre.
Yip Man
lives!
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated PG-13
for violence, profanity, smoking and brief drug use
In Mandarin,
Cantonese and Japanese with subtitles
Running time: 108 minutes
Distributor: The
Weinstein Company
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