DVD Corner

Ip Man Blu-ray Review

“Ip Man” is more of a martial arts film than a biopic.

On paper, “Ip Man,” which focuses on the title character (who was Bruce Lee’s teacher and the grandmaster of Wing Chun fighting) during the Japanese invasion of Foshan, China, seems more like a biopic than anything else. Upon viewing the film, however, its clear that writer Edmond Wong seems to have built the fighting sequences around the story. Ip Man’s real life story is compelling, extraordinary and fascinating, but it gets overshadowed here which I find to be a bit of an annoyance. Don’t get me wrong, the fight sequences involving Ip Man taking on 10 fighters, Master Jin, men with mini axes, and a Japanese General are thrilling and intense, but I’d much prefer to see a developed story that doesn’t have to be rushed and condensed for the sake of action sequences.

On the plus side, I have to give props to Donnie Yen for essentially carrying the film on his own. Not only does he deliver in the fighting department, but he carries the emotional weight of the film as well. Without him, “Ip Man” would clearly be just another average martial arts flick.

Summary: “Ip Man” could have been something more, but it’s still a solid film in its own right.

The widescreen 1080p picture quality is fine. This is a solid transfer with crisp and clean colors.The 5.1 DTS-HD audio track, on the other hand, is a mess. Viewers have the option to listen to an English dub or put on Mandarin and Cantonese audio tracks (with the option of adding English subtitles). First of all, the Mandarin track is out of synch. Secondly, the English dub contains some strange pitch problems with the sound f/x compared to the dialogue. The only track that seems to be problem free is the Cantonese track so I’d recommend just playing that one.

Blu-ray Extras:
* Trailers (including trailers for “IP Man”).
* A making of featurette with the usual interviews and discussions about the film.
* Deleted scenes.

DVD Copy Extras:

* Shooting Diary- A montage of set footage.
* Behind The Sets- More set footage.

* Lengthy interviews with the cast and crew. Worth watching for fans of the film.

August 2, 2010 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review