Ye Wen 2
Ye Wen 2
Directed by:
Wilson YipComposer:
Kenji KawaiCast:
Donnie Yen, Xiaoming Huang, Sammo Hung, Lynn Hung, Kent Cheng, Darren Shahlavi, Dennis To, Simon Yam, Terry Fan, Meng Lo, Hak-on Fung, Carlson Cheng, Cindy Yuan (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Master Ip, a new arrival in British-occupied Hong Kong, wants to open a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. A corrupt group of martial arts masters, led by Master Hung (Sammo Hung) refuses to allow him to teach in peace until he proves himself as a kung fu master. Ip s troubles continues when he is forced to enter a brutal King of the Ring boxing match against Twister, a Western-style boxer who insults the Chinese locals, in a East versus West knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
At least in the first one the Japanese had manners, but in Ip Man 2 the Westerners are portrayed as spineless assholes who deserve nothing but defeat. The ridiculous epilogue only confirmed the fifth.
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We've fallen from a relatively complex and multi-themed action flick into a second film full of the classic vices of most sequels in general. It tries to copy the good stuff from the first one in an even more over-the-top fashion, and anything new has to be better, bigger, noisier. Unfortunately, the film is also much more straightforward and flat, like a Rocky IV from the East, where, instead of ideological hyperbole, everything is taken almost deadly serious. A worse average.
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Considering that it's more or less a biographical film, it's incredibly action-packed and lively. The fights are simply excellent, whether it's kung fu masters battling each other or a kung fu guy against a boxer, as in this case. Yip Man moved to Hong Kong to escape Japanese hostility, but here he also encounters misunderstanding, this time from Westerners who essentially did something similar to what the Japanese did in China. They think they're so tough, so they need to be put in their place. The confrontation between Wing Chun martial arts and boxing is absolutely fascinating. Social issues are not overlooked either, so it's definitely a thumbs up from me.
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