Notable Cast: Dennis To, Yoko Wang Wan-Zhong, Zhang
Tingfei, Zhao Jingzhuyu, Pan Yuanjia, Steven Dasz, Yan Yanlong, Lee Yiu-King,
Zhou Xiaofei, Wu Xinzun, Tong Xiaohu, Philip Condron
“We in the martial arts community kneel to heaven, to earth,
and to our ancestors, but never to hardship.”
Say what you will, but that quote from Ip Man: Kung Fu
Legend exemplifies the Ipsploitation genre to a ‘T.’ No matter what, the
resilience of how the industry will continue to craft a cinematic myth around
Ip Man will defy all hardships - including poor reception or budgetary
restraints. This is a genre that absolutely, positively will not kneel to
hardship.
To be fair, while Li Liming’s Ipsploitation flick, Ip Man: Kung Fu Master, was low-key fairly fun (you are welcome to read my article on the film over at the 36 Styles website HERE), I’m not sure I expected that one to start a new Ip Man franchise outside of the Donnie Yen series. It was entertaining enough; Dennis To returned to the main role after playing him in the prequel Ipsploitation flick, The Legend is Born: Ip Man, and it had some fun fight sequences, but it’s not like it was reigniting the fires in my soul.
Still, when it was announced that the director and star of Kung Fu Master
would be returning for its sequel, Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend (try not to
get too confused with those similar titles), I was pleasantly surprised. Kung
Fu Master was fun, so a sequel would just naturally keep that going, right?
Right?
Yet, Kung Fu Legend represents the overall laziness
that exploitation genres can unfortunately fall victim to. It feels like it
wants to touch on the story elements of the far superior - and undervalued -
Donnie Yen flick, Ip Man 2, but it lacks some of the brashness and
stylistic elements that made that film feel like an old-school kung fu flick
modernized. Instead, Kung Fu Legend runs the blueprint hard and rarely
digs deeper than the surface to reach its themes, and it certainly doesn't want
to dig into any real character arc for Ip Man. This is a film where people in
strife, fending off some mustache-twirling Western bad guys, need a hero, and
Ip Man is going to Wing Chun them to victory. For some, that might be enough,
but when some of the other Ipsploitation flicks have found a voice or reason
for existence, this one struggles to do so.
Truthfully, I wouldn’t be surprised if the producers of Kung
Fu Legend just handed Li Liming a checklist of things to make sure were in
the film. He slapped together a first draft screenplay, and they said, “You
start production tomorrow.” Get Dennis To back. Check. Is he dressed like Ip
Man from Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster? Check. Will he fight a few
other martial arts masters to prove his status as grandmaster? Check. Are there
shouty white bad guys stepping on the working class? Check. Will there be an Ip
Man versus multiple guys fight? Check. Will there be a jingoistic theme around
hard work, pride in knowing your position in life, and standing your ground to
fight for your land? Absolutely check.
It’s to the point that, while watching the film, it felt
almost boring. Not only is this the same kind of material we’ve seen a thousand
times in other martial arts films, but also in other Ip Man films. And none of
it has the pizzazz or strength in writing/execution to make it feel fresh.
The big twist on this one is that after a martial arts
schooling dispute with a local bigwig, aka NOT Sammo Hung from Ip Man 2
but certainly the off-brand version of it, Ip Man ends up being framed for
murder. To be fair, that is an angle that works for the film and its during
this portion of the film that Kung Fu Legend finds some footing and
gains a bit of traction, even if it never obstructs the real villain from the
audience and just makes it a mystery to its characters for like 15 minutes.
Still, it results in introducing a fun knife-wielding henchman and an
assassination attempt on Ip Man in the guise of a prison riot that’s a fun
action set piece.
However, this portion of the film is mostly restricted to the second act, and the rest of the film can’t quite match it. The opening is a fun little montage of Ip Man taking on various martial arts masters, and for each gimmick it has (don’t let the candle blow out, blindfolds, etc.), the fights are a bit too brief for the kung fu fanatic in me. And then, of course, the ending is an absolute misfire in trying to add some emotional depth in knocking off a secondary character and then rushing to tie all of the threads together and pushing Ip Man into a final fight that is easily the least exciting action set piece of the film.
Dennis To, despite some subtle dramatic moments, feels like
he’s running on a treadmill in this performance, putting one foot in front of
the other without actually moving his character forward in any real way. He has
no real drama with any of the other characters to keep him as the core
propulsive character in the narrative. The supporting cast, despite moments
where a performance or line of dialogue gains momentum, feels stuck in
rudimentary caricatures. The standout might be a female police officer
character that starts to investigate Ip Man’s framing, but even that feels a
bit by-the-numbers for this one. The film tries to force emotional resonance
through a few secondary characters who bite the dust for various reasons, but
it doesn’t invest enough time in building them up for it to leave a mark beyond
serving plot or character progression.
Yet, despite its faults in its patchy script, hit-or-miss
performances, and lackluster ending, Ip Man: Kung Fu Legend has a few
fun action set pieces, and it’s always pleasant to see a montage of Kung Fu
Masters fighting each other. However, this one definitely feels like it has
less reason to exist than so many other Ipsploitation films. Don’t write off
the genre through, like the film says, ‘never bow to hardship,’ and one misfire
certainly won’t kill Ip Man as a cinematic figure.
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