The further adventures of ‘Ip Man’

Published 12:01 am Friday, January 28, 2011

To the non-martial-arts enthusiast, the title “Ip Man 2” might sound like a sequel to a comic-book hero saga. Who is this Ip Man? What’s his superpower? What gives him so much Ipness?

Actually, Ip Man was the name of a real person, the popularizer of a martial-arts style known as Wing Chun. One claim to fame was his tutoring of a young Bruce Lee.

Master Ip’s early life was colorfully rendered in the first “Ip Man” movie, and “Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” brings his story from mainland China to Hong Kong, in 1950. To support a family, he must take on students to study Wing Chun, a business enterprise that has its rocky but entertaining moments.

Turns out the other martial-arts masters expect this newcomer to prove himself, to join the local guild, as it were.

First, Ip Man battles a horde of combatants in a food market, and then — in the movie’s best sequence — faces down a series of unamused masters in a formal demonstration of his powers.

This is all good stuff. Donnie Yen, an established action star, is wonderfully calm and controlled as he depicts Ip Man’s placid demeanor; he’s a walking expression of relaxed readiness. He also knows how to flash the quick moves when he needs to, of course.

Fight director Sammo Hung, a big star in his own right who plays one of the Hong Kong masters, creates some dizzy moments in the brawls. The “audition” sequence ends with a particularly crazy-but-right moment that settles the face-off.

About halfway through, “Ip Man 2” shifts modes to a sort of nationalistic chest-beating, as did the first movie. In this case, Hong Kong is visited by a mocking British boxer and his condescending entourage, who dare to disparage the art of Chinese fighting.

This shall not stand, needless to say. And so we are prepared for a climactic smackdown between a kung fu fighter and a boxer, a strange sight, for sure.

Even stranger is the tone of this half of the picture, which aims at the audience’s less evolved emotions, to put it mildly.

“Ip Man 2” gets very, very broad, but this is supposed to be a popcorn movie. The crudeness of its storytelling is balanced by Donnie Yen’s imperturbable presence and a collection of well-choreographed fight moves. And for what this movie wants to achieve, that’s enough.