SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

john staunton What a drawn out movie with no real appeal. It tries to be too many things at the one time. A love story, a cool martial arts movie and a documentary about Japanese occupation.By attempting to be all three, it was none. Some of the fight scenes are nearly a cut and paste job from the matrix. It was a drawn out movie with a confusing timeline. I can't recommend this to anyone.Garbage.

Zettelhead Wong Kar Wei once invented a visual style that has been revolutionary. That's quite some time ago. In The Grandmaster it seems to me like he quotes himself, repeats himself, tries to make every scene remarkable and symbolic. With the result that the movie drowns in baroque pictures which do not correspond with the storyline. The camera is moving all the time, always there is something between us an the actors... a curtain, a window, fog... whatsoever. It is no martial arts film, although there is martial arts in it. But it is not a character driven movie as well, because there is to little narration, to little development. I could not integrate the figure of Razor until I read some comments and explanations. And the wife of Ip Man, who seems to be so important in the beginning, just vanishes somehow from the story plot. So do his children. All in all: very disappointing! And so much weaker than the wonderful Ip Man-movies starring Donnie Yen.

ss_areeb_h When I was deciding whether to watch the movie or not, i decided to read the reviews on IMDb and finding several positive reviews i decided to give it a shot. However after watching the movie I felt obliged to give the clear picture. First, the story. As you know the movie is based on Bruce Lee's master Ip Man. The story shows snippets of Ip Man's life. However, I did not feel any connection to them and in fact the sub plot of Gong Er and her family legacy is much more interesting. Second, the action. The first half of the movie contains sufficient action and then it sort of dulls over. The action scenes are slightly exaggerated with people flying about. But what I really felt annoying was the slow motion effects. Somehow they just did't work for this movie. Moreover, though the cinematography effects were great, coupled with the slow motion effects they spoiled the action sequences.Finally, since this story follows Ip Man and is presented as a true story it must be compared to Donnie Yen's Ip Man. The grandmaster fails miserably in comparison. The plot, fight scenes, character development every thing was just perfect in Donnie Yen's Ip Man which is probably why I was quite disappointed with The Grandmaster. Even a noob like me could tell the stark difference in fighting styles of each school in Donnie Yen's Ip Man. The moves were choreographed so perfectly that I was literally lost in the martial arts fights. However, the fight scenes in The Grandmaster failed to do so, and lets face it. Most of us watched these movies for the fight scenes. There was no real story in The Grandmaster, just different incidents, whereas Ip Man had a very interesting plot culminating in an epic fight. Donnie Yen also did a mind blowing job as Ip Man whereas Tony Leung did not feel as believable. My Verdict, well as a past time this movie is watchable but it would definitely not stay in my collection. After Donnie Yen's master piece, another Ip Man movie is unnecessary unless it is able to compete with it.

Beginthebeguine This is a beautiful film to watch full of grace and pathos. Tony Chiu Wai Leung does a fine job as the central character Ip Man, although most of his story is told with voice overs in the English version. Through this character we experience the conflict of Martial Arts politics in the 1920's, the ruthlessness of the Japanese occupation and his life in exile. Starring beside him is the always beautiful and graceful Ziyi Zhang as Gong Er, a young woman forbidden to train, yet trained anyway by her father a master of the arts. The battle scene between Gong Er and her enemy, at a train station, was like a ballet. I was quite taken by the movements, the way the scene is lit, and the wonderful way it was cut together; showing great insight into cadence and rhythm.I am not a fan of martial arts films, but like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon this is a film to be enjoyed not only for its action scenes but for its undeniable beauty.