The previous two Ip Man movies starring Donnie Yen from 2008 and 2010 were excellent and anyone who enjoys a good martial arts movie would be remiss if they haven’t seen them. A superb story based on true events with excellent acting and epic fight choreography, the Ip Man movies are staples of modern martial arts cinema. It was with great anticipation then that I and likely many millions of others sought to experience Ip Man 3. On the whole, it does not disappoint, although to rank it in the trilogy I would probably place it last.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing given that the first two movies are such modern classics. Ip Man 3 continues the timeline established previously. A peaceful life is quickly disrupted when a gang of thugs kidnaps an elementary school principal, the same school that Ip’s son attends. A real estate developer, Frank (Mike Tyson), is needing to buy the school and tear it down to grow his business but the school is refusing to sell, so violence quickly becomes the negotiating tactic. Ip and his students rise to the occasion, dedicating much of their days and nights to protecting the school. Meanwhile, a rogue martial artist, Jin Zhang (Cheung Tin-chi) becomes involved. His son is friends with Ip’s but he’s much poorer and susceptible to corruption, so his character becomes an interesting dynamic of being a tacit friend and “good guy” and possibly a bad one (trying to avoid spoilers here but I guess it’s pretty obvious where things go with Zhang’s character!). Mike Tyson’s role is much shorter, but he does well, and as you probably already know he and Donnie get into a really cool fight towards the end of the film that will have you on the edge of your seat.
While Ip’s life was no doubt remarkable on its own, it’s the ‘fight scenes’ that are the most enjoyable in these films and to that end Ip Man 3 does not disappoint, ultimately. It does have some serious storylines to convey, including the unfortunate medical condition of Ip’s wife. An understandably significant part of the movie is dedicated to her battle with cancer and it’s difficult to witness, especially given the adrenaline rush of some of the fight scenes. It’s easily the most uncomfortable and sad part of an otherwise rousing film, but it’s a story that had to be told. This makes it harder and less desirable to watch again compared to the first two movies. Still, while these scenes are not enjoyable to watch, they are well written and performed, making the overall film a lot deeper and more introspective than a typical ‘kung fu flick.’ I felt that the mix of these serious moments with the action made the pacing and flow of the movie a bit off kilter and it’s perhaps no wonder that the movie is backloaded with three huge fight scenes in about the last half hour.
In terms of video and audio quality, the Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent, as you would hope a modern big budget movie would. DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1HD Surround and English, Spanish, and French dub tracks are included along with the native Cantonese, with English, Spanish, and French subs included. The 2:35:1 1080p image is crisp and clear with no technical issues noted. Extra features are also all in HD but pretty brief, which is to be expected I suppose. There are three interviews, one with Donnie, another with Mike Tyson, and a third with both of them together that are well worth watching. They only clock in at about five minutes each anyway so it won’t take long to get through. Same goes for the Making Of feature which is just over six minutes and even that’s split into two parts. A Behind the Scenes feature proves enlightening and runs about twelve minutes, and finally three additional trailers are included.
Overall, Ip Man 3 is well worth an addition to your Blu-ray collection, especially seeing as it’s listed on Amazon for just $13. It’s not the best film in the trilogy, but it’s a fitting third act and it appears that Donnie Yen is not likely to star as Yip again, unfortunately. I hope I’m wrong about that!
