2 1/2 stars
He’s not Bruce Lee. He’s not a panda. And he’s not the Karate Kid. He is Ip Man. The master of kung fu, the champion of China and the epitome of “The Grandmaster.”
“The Grandmaster” is the story of the man who trained Bruce Lee. It follows Ip Man (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), a kung fu master in a divided China, with the North and South having distinct styles of kung fu.
The choreography in the movie is brilliant. The fighting is beautifully organized and stunning. If a film’s quality was only based on how well the actors can fight, it would be the best of the best. However, a movie is more than its action — it’s supposed to have a constant and steady plot. “The Grandmaster” does not. The essential theme of the film changes two-thirds of the way through, causing the audience to lose focus and even more so, interest.
The movie has many other problems. One such issue is the inability to manage jumps between time. “The Grandmaster” tries to handle a long span of time in Ip Man’s life. It tries to show the audience the difference between his older and younger self, but there is no variation in looks and no distinct sign of time change.
Even worse is when the movie switches to the life of his counterpart Gong Er (Ziyi Zhang) while trying to keep up with Ip Man.
“The Grandmaster” is a movie to be watched for its action and nothing else. The movie appears to be of great value, but falls short of the beauty of its trailer.
Disappointingly, “The Grandmaster” doesn’t cross the threshold from apprentice to master.
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