Who is the Audience for This Movie?

Fans of martial arts movies.

What I Liked About This Movie

After I finished the first Ip Man I really was interested in seeing where they would take the story next and I was happy to find out that Ip Man 2 quickly picks up where the first movie left off. I adore the effort they put into their exceptional lighting and set work it really sells the time period and I also enjoyed the variety in the fighting styles on display.

What Didn’t Work For Me

After the first 30 minutes Ip Man 2 turns into an incredible mess. The heart wrenching drama from the first movie is watered down and forced into scenes that don’t utilize it well at all. Ip Man had a great message to it but I kept on thinking while watching Ip Man 2 how horrible the “ foreigners are all corrupt” message is the second time around the setting is no longer war so it comes off a bit racist. Ip Man 2 feels the strong need to tie itself to the first movie and characters from the original are inserted awkwardly throughout the story.

All that bothered me but what shocked me the most is how Ip Man 2 blatantly turns into Rocky 4. I watched the hell out of Rocky 4 as a kid but its baffling how poorly they copy that movie and don’t even manage to capture any of its good aspects. It felt so out of place, I just stared at the TV for a few minutes after it was over to make sure I didn’t just imagine it.

Should You Watch This Movie?

if you liked Ip Man just pretend this movie does not exist.

My Rating (Out of 13)