This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
"Ip Man 3" continues (and, perhaps, concludes) star Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip's martial-arts saga, complete with appearances by a faux Bruce Lee and the real Mike Tyson.
Ip Kai Man (Yen), whose students included Lee, was the real-life master of the Wing Chun martial-arts school — and the movies are loosely based on his life.
In "Ip Man" (2008), he battled Japanese invaders in the late 1930s; in "Ip Man 2" (2010), he struggled to establish his school in Hong Kong after World War II and battled an evil Western boxer.
"Ip Man 3" picks up in 1959 with a brief appearance by Bruce Lee (Zhang Jin), who is still trying to get Ip Man to accept him as a student. Which he did as a child at the end of "Ip Man 2."
(In reality, Lee began training with Ip Man in 1957 and moved to America in early 1959.)
Ip Man is living a low-key life with his wife and young son when local thugs — working for an evil developer (former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson) who is in league with corrupt British authorities — try to force the principal of his son's school to sell the land on which the school is built.
Ip Man takes on a variety of cartoonish villains, but the fight scenes — choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping — make this well worth watching. The contrast between Yen's calm, almost placid demeanor and his unbelievable fighting skills makes him the coolest guy in Hong Kong and a force to be reckoned with.
Yes, there's a fight scene between Yen and Tyson. Yes, it's pretty amazing.
But so are all the other fight scenes. Particularly the climactic battle between Ip Man and Cheung Tin-chi (Zhan Jin), a rival martial-arts teacher who very much wants to supplant Ip Man in the hearts and minds of Wing Chun adherents.
In Cantonese with English subtitles.
Twitter: @ScottDPierce —
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'Ip Man 3'
Master Ip is forced to take a stand when brutal gangsters try to take over the Hong Kong.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Friday, Feb. 19.
Rating • PG-13 for scenes of martial-arts violence and brief strong language