Ip Man 3

2015 action sequel

Rating: 14/20

Plot: The Ip Man saga continues as our hero tries to save a school from some thugs and a guy with a menacing but still goofy face tattoo.

This is better than the first sequel but fails to match the actiony near perfection of the first Ip Man movie. Like with that second movie, I watched this loving all the fight scenes and wishing I was watching more fight scenes when the director decided to try to push the various plots along instead. That makes me feel just a little bit dumb, but it really has more to do with how good the fight scenes are. There are four absolutely terrific ones--one at a school, one in a shipyard with about five hundred ax-and-wrench-armed thugs, one with Mike Tyson of all people, and a final one-on-one fight that you've been waiting to see all your life whether you knew it or not.

Yen continues to display this quiet grace that gives this character its drive. I didn't care much about his wife or her cancer, probably because I'm a heartless dumb guy who just wants to see people getting their heads slammed into the ground or their arms busted. Jin Zhang very nearly out-dazzles Yen, not exactly an easy feat, and I might have to check out his filmography to see more of him in action. They're both just so fast, and I'm not sure how much of this is effects-enhanced, but watching them fight a bunch of no-name punks individually and then each other in the climax is just about as good as kung-fu action gets. You'll likely drool if you're a fan of the genre. Mike Tyson is oddly non-charismatic at times, but it's really great seeing him in action. He combines speed and power in a way that has you believing he's actually a match for Ip Man.

I absolutely hated the pair of scenes with Bruce Lee. I thought that Bruceploitation stuff had ended, and the impersonation felt a little tacky.

Well worth watching for kung-fu fans solely because of the exquisite fight choreography even while the story leaves you wanting a little more.