IMDb RATING
7.5/10
111K
YOUR RATING
Centering on Ip Man's migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.Centering on Ip Man's migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.Centering on Ip Man's migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 10 nominations
Lynn Xiong
- Cheung Wing-Sing
- (as Lynn Hung)
Christian 'Kang' Bachini
- Twister Supporter
- (as Christian Bachini)
Ashton Chen
- Yip Man's student
- (as Siu Lung Sik)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGrandmaster Yip Man did not actually fight any British boxing champion. In real life, it was actually Yip Man's student, Wong Shun Leung ("Wong Leung" in the movie), who fought a 240 lbs Russian (not British) boxer in Hong Kong. Wong Shun Leung won that fight by KO in three punches.
- GoofsIn the final fight, the announcer's microphone appears to be a modern condenser microphone. The film takes place in the 1950's.
- Quotes
Wong Shun Leung: Master, you really can fight ten men at once.
- ConnectionsEdited into Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)
- SoundtracksUnbeatable
Written by Serena Tong
Performed by Calvin Cheng
Featured review
Great fight sequences and loads of them – a little light on characters and plot but still a lot of fun
I don't think I have seen the film that this is a sequel to, so early on I was a little lost with the flashback montage in the credit sequence and I felt a little unsure of some of the characters. Within about 5 or 10 minutes though this really doesn't matter because mostly the film is happy with very basic motivations and plotting, in favour of frequent fight sequences. The overall plot sees Ip Man coming to Hong Kong to continue the spread of his teaching but coming up against resistance from other schools in the area and the interference of a corrupt British chief. Although we also have money problems, a pregnant wife and relationships from the first film, that is pretty much all you need to know.
This is undeniably a disappointment – not so much because I wanted lots of dialogue and character development, but more because the moments of the film where we do have them tend not to work particularly well because they are just lip-service and not done well. How much of a problem this is though is minimised by just how much action there is and also how good it is. Whether it is an intense fight in a fish market against a gang of others, or the one-on-one boxing match of the finale, all of the fight sequences are exciting and very well choreographed. Although it has pace, the editing is not so frantic and rapid that it masks the action and it is impressive to see all the moves and skills of the performers. Donnie Yen is impressive in all of them.
Where Yen is less effective is in the acting side; the film doesn't give him much to work with and he also plays it very quiet and still, respectful perhaps but he is a lot less of a presence when he is not fighting. Fortunately others are more lively in terms of performances and the film benefits from plenty of nice characters and light comedy from the other masters and the students. Sammo is solid in all regards and he gets some good action too.
Yip Man 2 may carry characters and story from the first film, but very quickly it gets down to the action and pretty much delivers action sequence after action sequence, all of them engaging and intense. The lack of character and development is a weakness, but the strengths do more than carry it through this.
This is undeniably a disappointment – not so much because I wanted lots of dialogue and character development, but more because the moments of the film where we do have them tend not to work particularly well because they are just lip-service and not done well. How much of a problem this is though is minimised by just how much action there is and also how good it is. Whether it is an intense fight in a fish market against a gang of others, or the one-on-one boxing match of the finale, all of the fight sequences are exciting and very well choreographed. Although it has pace, the editing is not so frantic and rapid that it masks the action and it is impressive to see all the moves and skills of the performers. Donnie Yen is impressive in all of them.
Where Yen is less effective is in the acting side; the film doesn't give him much to work with and he also plays it very quiet and still, respectful perhaps but he is a lot less of a presence when he is not fighting. Fortunately others are more lively in terms of performances and the film benefits from plenty of nice characters and light comedy from the other masters and the students. Sammo is solid in all regards and he gets some good action too.
Yip Man 2 may carry characters and story from the first film, but very quickly it gets down to the action and pretty much delivers action sequence after action sequence, all of them engaging and intense. The lack of character and development is a weakness, but the strengths do more than carry it through this.
helpful•30
- bob the moo
- Jun 3, 2012
- How long is Ip Man 2?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster
- Filming locations
- Foshan, Guangdong, China(Town)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $205,675
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $61,057
- Jan 30, 2011
- Gross worldwide
- $15,089,448
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