The Grand Master

The Grand Master is the story of Ip Man. Ip Man is the man responsible for training Bruce Lee in the art of Wing Chun. A great story I hear you say, you are right and that story was successfully produced into a film, that film is The Gra…’Ip Man' the 2008 film.

   For those who haven’t seen it, go out and find a copy now. It is really good. the sequel wasn’t too hot but still fun. I believe there is a TV show of him as well. So why after so much coverage has visually stunning film maker Wong Kar Wai decided to make this film?

   As I have said Wong Kar Wai is known for making his movies look amazing and this is spot on. Every shot is a picture and some scenes could be straight out of Koyaanisqatsi, some amazing slow motion rain in the opening sequence should be enough to let you know you about to watch something special.

   Now Ip Man himself seems a little ‘come and ‘ave a go mate!’. Which is odd because you would think he would be a little more self restrained. The film starts telling you the story of Ip Man but by the end we are following a woman that he loves (not his wife, but whatever I wouldn’t say anything to him). We have a kung fu movie, a love story and a biography which is a little confusing at some points. It feels like the original cut had a lot more involved but someone came in and made a Hollywood movie out of the footage they had shot. There are parts which seem to be from a different movie and when we come back to Ip Man we have missed some important information.

   Over all a very nice looking film with a slightly matrix soundtrack. It feel like it is trying to get everyone back into ‘Hero’ and ‘Crouching Tiger’. If you have seen and liked the Ip Man movies then stick with them if you like Wong Kar Wai films then go for it, if you like a biographical love story with very technical arse kicking that is over 2 hours long, well looks like it is your lucky day.