While visiting Hong Kong, trouble soon finds a young Master Ip Man (Miu Tse), who saves a woman and her daughter from being robbed on a trolley. It just so happens that these women are related to his old protégé/friend Hu Bufeng, whom he hasn’t seen in 8 years. While Feng and Ip Man catch up over a bowl of noodles, they witness some men kidnap a bunch young Chinese women, and forcibly take them towards the dock. Always ready to help someone in trouble, Ip Man steps in, using his Wing Chun skills to take down the men and free the women. However, in the process he ignites a turf war with the ruthless head of a trafficking ring, Mr. Stark (Sergio De Ieso). Stark has corrupt ties within the British government who look the other way at his actions, so much so that he has been brazenly taking women in the open, knowing that no one will stop him. But with Ip Man now affecting his business, he kidnaps someone close to him in retaliation, forcing Ip Man to take on his fighters in a public battle. These intimidating former boxers are trained in British Bartitsu—a fighting technique that combines boxing, Jujitsu and wrestling—and Stark wants to prove that his style of fighting is superior. Ip Man finds himself in another situation where he must stand up to injustice, but he will need to remember everything his own master taught him if he’s going to succeed in this fight.
While Donnie Yen will always be the Ip Man to me, I think that Miu Tse does a great job of playing a younger version of this character. His mannerisms are similar and his fighting style looks nearly identical. No matter how many bad guys come after Ip Man, his fast-moving hands and feet are always ready, as he keeps a perfectly calm demeanor and dodges their punches and jabs seemingly effortlessly. The film features some excellent fight sequences, starting with the trolley fight that opens the film. Making use of just the strap to his satchel, Ip Man is able to fight off a half-dozen guys with weapons in the cramped quarters of a moving trolley. For Ip Man, the focus is always on getting his opponents to stop, tire out, and give up—he wants them to realize how fruitless fighting him would be, and not necessarily to seriously wound or hurt them. He primarily makes use of his hands and feet, but will also utilize other items he finds, such as wooden boards, mops, or anything else at his disposal. These fight sequences feature tight shots and quick cuts to put the viewer in the middle of the exciting fast-paced action. While Ip Man’s Wing Chun style of fighting is unique and fun to watch, it’s also interesting to see how it compares with the Bartitsu style deployed by many of Stark’s men. One of the fight scenes later on in the film features some excellent overhead shots that really let you see this.
Ip Man: The Awakening finds the same blend of humor, drama and action that made the Donnie Yen films so great. At the core of this movie is a dramatic storyline about how the Chinese people are being treated by the British government, and how this trafficking operation is being allowed to happen. Ip Man sees this injustice and wants to stand up to it, but his friend Feng reminds him that they must also be aware of their status. However, once the situation takes a more personal turn, they both know what they need to do. Interspersed with the more dramatic moments and the amazing fight sequences is a lot of humor. In some ways this feels like a buddy action-comedy, with Ip Man and Feng constantly finding themselves in the middle of trouble, taking on batches of Stark’s men, or attempting to come up with some ridiculous cover story to get out of a sticky situation, only to have it backfire. The film is quite entertaining overall, and I believe fans of the original Ip Man films will enjoy this new take, despite the lack of Yen.
Well Go’s Blu-ray release includes both the original Chinese audio as well as an English dub. With these foreign Well Go releases, I always try the English dub first so that I can fully enjoy the visuals of the film, and not just be reading the lower third of the screen the entire time. I found this English dub to be very well done, with mostly natural-sounding dialogue and performances. (There are a few instances where a newsboy is calling out things in the street, or the screams of some of the women being kidnapped that feel a bit over-done.) A few times I switched over to the Chinese track just to compare, and I found it to be quite good as well. The English subtitles are pretty well written and sound natural. One thing I found odd is that most of the Chinese signs, newspapers, business cards, etc. shown in the film are not translated—just two newspaper headlines at the very end of the film have English translations in the subtitles. I had my phone out with Google Translate to translate some of the others. However, the lack of translations didn’t really seem to matter—you could pretty much figure out what the various signs said based on the context—but it was just odd to see as translations are usually provided for these kinds of things. Both audio tracks make nice use of the stereo and surround sound to add to the ambiance of the film, such as the sounds of people in the market, and to showcase every thud and crack of the fight sequences.
The Blu-ray’s video presentation is also excellent. The picture is very crisp and flawless, even in the film’s opening night time scene, which takes place mostly in the dark, but the visuals remain clear and well-defined throughout. During the daytime scenes, the film makes use of a bright, beautiful color palette that brings the busy town square to life. The level of detail throughout the film is quite good, especially in close-ups of faces. The film has some creative shots, like how the camera flows over the city gates as Ip Man first arrives, or the aerial shots during some of the fight sequences. Camera moves are generally quick, though there is also some use of slow motion, which can feel a bit distracting and over-used at times.
The Blu-ray release is pretty much barebones, only including the film’s trailer, along with some previews for three other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and doesn’t include a digital copy. Our review copy didn’t include a slipcover.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:19:39)
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Blu-ray:
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Audio: Chinese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Chinese Stereo, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Stereo
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
All remaining trailers play back-to-back after starting playback for one item.
- Trailer (1:34)
- Previews
- Spiritwalker (1:47)
- Raging Fire (1:56)
- The Paper Tigers (2:30)
Final Thoughts:
Ip Man: The Awakening is another fun action-packed film following the legacy of this legendary Chinese character. While there’s no Donnie Yen this time around, star Miu Tse does an excellent job with the character as the film explores the adventures of a young Master Ip Man in Hong Kong. Well Go’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds great, but doesn’t include any bonus material except for the film’s trailer. I think fans of the Yen movies will still really enjoy this take on the character. The film recaptures the same fun spirit and tone of the other movies, and includes some excellent fight sequences.
Ip Man: The Awakening
54% Off $29.98 $12.95 (as of November 25, 2024 19:08 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Ip Man: The Awakening
$13.99 $8.80 (as of November 25, 2024 19:08 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
