The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (Yip Man chinchyun) (2010)

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Yu-Hang To stars as famed martial arts master Ip Man in this biographical drama from director Herman Yau (The Untold Story, Taxi Hunter). Growing up, Ip Man, his adopted sibling Ip Tin-chi, and their friend Ng Chung-sok studied Wing Chun under famed master Chan Wah-shun. Later continuing his lessons… More Yu-Hang To stars as famed martial arts master Ip Man in this biographical drama from director Herman Yau (The Untold Story, Taxi Hunter). Growing up, Ip Man, his adopted sibling Ip Tin-chi, and their friend Ng Chung-sok studied Wing Chun under famed master Chan Wah-shun. Later continuing his lessons with Ng Chung-sok, Ip man ultimately set his sights on Hong Kong while developing an innovative new form of the popular martial art under Leung Bik. Later, after enduring many great hardships, Ip Man returns to his hometown and falls in love with Cheung Wing-shing -- the daughter of a prominent Foshan politician - leaving lovelorn Lee Mei-wai open to marry Ip Tin-chi. Ip Man's perceived integrity takes a big hit, however, when he is arrested for murdering Lee Mei-wai's godfather, and must fight to prove his innocence. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Herman Yau
Genres: Art House & International, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jun 24, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Dec 19, 2011
Studio: Eleven Arts

Critic Reviews

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
IMDB lists the title of the film as "Ip Man Zero," an obvious nod to its coming before parts one and two, but unfortunately, it's also an inadvertent comment on what this particular film has to offer.
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
Can the most currently popular martial arts series survive without Donnie Yen, the most popular action star in Asia? Absolutely.
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter
Rigorous, authentic fighting by physically formidable newcomer Dennis To and a stellar supporting cast.
Burl Burlingame, Honolulu Star-Advertiser
There is nothing in this bubbling soap opera of a plot that can't be solved with drawn-out fight scenes. And so they jump and kick, poke, slap and twirl for half the film.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dean M

The semi-fictional biopic of Ip Man continues, this time chronicling Ip Man's formative years in this prequel Ip Man film. Interesting story of his life what I can see the love triangles and plot of a Japanese spy. On the other hand, newcomer Dennis To is a… More
The semi-fictional biopic of Ip Man continues, this time chronicling Ip Man's formative years in this prequel Ip Man film. Interesting story of his life what I can see the love triangles and plot of a Japanese spy. On the other hand, newcomer Dennis To is a Wing Chun champion in Hong Kong and is not an actor by background. He might lack acting prowess but he more than makes it up in Wing Chun abilities. I was surprised to see Ip Man's real son Ip Chun appeared in this film as the elderly but sprighty Leung Bike who teaches Ip Man a thing or two about his brand of Wing Chun. The Wing Chun sparring scene between Ip Chun and Dennis is a masterpiece, so was the sparring between Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Incidentally, both Sammo and Yuen Biao are older pupils from the same master as Donnie Yen, so they are 'colleagues'.
Justin Y

Herman Yau gets the pleasure to tell the early years of Ip Man in The Legend Is Born: Ip Man.Although released after the first two Ip Man films, this one is a prequel to both, which makes it easily watchable on its own.One of the major… More
Herman Yau gets the pleasure to tell the early years of Ip Man in The Legend Is Born: Ip Man.Although released after the first two Ip Man films, this one is a prequel to both, which makes it easily watchable on its own.One of the major story details revolves around Ip Man learning the Wing Chun martial arts style, but it actually doesn't focus intensively on the training itself. The 1 hour 40 minutes leaves room for other things to address, like Ip Man's relationship with his adopted brother and also his love interest.The martial arts choreography is impressive, and while there is a lot of sparring in the early going, that doesn't make it any less entertaining. By the end of the film, the confrontations end up as not so friendly fights that thrill just as much as the spars.The performances are good all around; however, the casting can be confusing. There are actors in here from the other Ip Man films with completely different roles. Dennis To, the lead, is one of them.Overall, The Legend Is Born: Ip Man passes the standard in all the necessary departments, leading to a recommendable marital arts picture.