Ip Man - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Ip Man



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
As a huge fan of Donnie Yen, I was ecstatic when he got his day to shine with 2008’s Ip Man. He was one of the last of the great martial artists from the 70s-90s (having gotten his start playing villains in Jet Li movies) and one of the last few guys still pumping out high octane Kung-fu movies after the fall of Hong Kong cinema in the early 2000s. However, he never had achieved that sort of god like fame that people like Jackie Chan, Jet Li or Bruce Lee had garnered in over the years. That all changed when he took on the iconic roll as Bruce Lee’s sensei in what would become one of the most copied films of the last 14 years (seriously, you can’t throw a stone without coming up against a sequel, or a knock off sequel about Ip Man anymore).

Ip Man tells the story of Yip Kai-man (Ip Man) over the course of 20 years. Starting out just before the occcupation of Southern China by the Japanese, we get introduce to Ip Man (Donnie Yen), who is a wealthy martial arts master living in the city of Fo Shan. Set upon by various martial arts masters looking to up their street cred by defeating him, Ip Man defends not only the honor of Fo Shan, but also the honor of his principals as well. However, things get thrown into disarray when the Japanese invade and Ip Man is forced to give up his opulence and live as a pauper, laboring for a potato and some rice per day under the heel of the Japanese.

Ip is given an opportunity to make a little more when the cruel military leader Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi) starts pitting his men against starving martial artists for an extra bag of rice in what can only be considered a less lethal version of gladiatorial combat. Miura is using the combat as a way to demoralize the people, but also keep his men in top fighting shape, but is soon shocked at the sheer skill of Ip Man. Now it’s not just a matter of keeping the people humiliated with his Karate, but both Ip Man and General Miura are bound and determined to bring honor to their people, culminating in an epic match up among the “gods” of martial arts.

IP Man is a near perfect martial arts movie. For those of you have been watching Kung-fu movies since at LEAST the 1990s, this will seem like a throwback to that era. The film gives the viewers what it wants, allowing no less than 5 different major fights throughout the run time (seriously, we’re here mostly for the kung fu) and the battles are downright incredible. Donnie Yen was not a native practitioner of Wing Chun (he was trained mostly with a blend of Chinese boxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido and Kickboxing for his early career) and spent literally MONTHS of daily practice mastering the various unique blows for the form. The results paid off in spades, as Donnie looks like he’s been mastering the style his whole life, giving a sense of believeability to the action sequence.

On top of that, it’s a good drama as well. Simon Yam co-stars with Donnie for most of the run time, giving a very nuanced performance as the two men struggle on different sides of the financial fence during the Japanese occupation. I’ve said it before, and I’ll said it again, Ip Man is probably THE martial arts film of the last 20 years to beat. And I think that everybody else thought that too, as there are literally 3 sequels with Donnie Yen in them, plus countless other mediocre spin offs trying to capture that lightning in a bottle once more.




Rating:

Rated R for Violence




4K Video: Video:

Hmmm, here comes the “fun” part. Ip Man never had that great of a Blu-ray release due to the stylistic choices (and most likely some mastering issues) that left it very harsh and digital looking, with swarming noise and smearing motion trails during fast moving fights. The 4K UHD is barely an upgrade from the Blu-ray, but it is still AN upgrade. That being said, it is still very harshly digital in it’s look, with a heavy monochromatic gray color grading combined with swarming digital noise and before mentioned trailing effects. There’s some decent clarity here and there, but overall it’s a bit harsh and bland of a look, and out of all the 4K UHD upgrades that the Ip Man franchise had, this one is by far the weakest (this is just a clone of the 2020 4K UHD Boxset that Well Go USA put out a few years back, so nothing new). Textures and fine details in outdoor scenes really are a huge upgrade over the Blu-ray, but the other issues still makes this a very mediocre 4K UHD image all around.







Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA Cantonese track has been upgrade to a full Dolby Atmos (the Mandarin and English dubs in 5.1 DTS-HD MA from the Blu-ray are ported over as well) and is a rather decent improvement over the 5.1 mix. The Cantonese track was never a show stopper back in 2012, but the nuances and tweaks that the Atmos mix makes is a rather appreciable improvement. There’s a stronger bass response all around, and I noticed some mild overhead usage when the chaotic city fights happen. Most of the improvements are from the directional shifts that are used for localized ambient noises and the score. Otherwise the same dialog, the same crisp vocals and an overall well done mix.








Extras:

• Trailer
• Previews
• Making of
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Ip Man is probably THE most iconic martial arts film of the 2000s. A film that hearkens back to the 80s and 90s when Hong Kong cinema was at it’s peak, and iconicized Donnie Yen as not only a great martial artists, but making one of the greatest of the genre along with Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li. The film has stood the test of 14 years of time, and still is one of the most watched Blu-rays (and now 4K’s) in my collection. Absolutely amazing film, but a 4K UHD upgrade that is moderate at best. So take what minimal upgrades you want, or keep your Blu-ray, but I still highly recommend the film itself as a true modern classic.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Xing Yu, Ka-Tung Lam, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
Directed by: Wilson Yip
Written by: Edmond Wong, Tai-lee Chan
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: R
Runtime: 107 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 29th, 2022

Recommendation: Great Watch, Mediocre 4K

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check this one out.

I will also check out the other versions (2010, 2015, 2018, and 2019)..

• 1.1 Ip Man (2008)
• 1.2 Ip Man 2 (2010)
• 1.3 Ip Man 3 (2015)
• 1.4 Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)
• 1.5 Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I love these movies. Obviously the first was the best, but they were all pretty enjoyable. I just added The Grandmaster to our Kaleidescape, anxious to get Wong Kar Wai's take on the Ip Man story.

 

[Mike Schramm]

I just watched this tonight for the first time. I wouldn't say martial arts movies are normally my cup of tea, but I broke down and bought the disc last June (2023) due to the rave reviews over at Bright Side Home Theater. Finally broke down tonight an watched it. Holy crap was it good! I listened to the Atmos Cantonese track with subtitles and I thought it sounded pretty good. Especially the bass. I should have watched it way back when I bought it. Such a fun movie!

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I just watched this tonight for the first time. I wouldn't say martial arts movies are normally my cup of tea, but I broke down and bought the disc last June (2023) due to the rave reviews over at Bright Side Home Theater. Finally broke down tonight an watched it. Holy crap was it good! I listened to the Atmos Cantonese track with subtitles and I thought it sounded pretty good. Especially the bass. I should have watched it way back when I bought it. Such a fun movie!

If you enjoyed these movies, check out Warrior on HBO MAX. Based on the writings of Bruce Lee, very well-produced and entertaining. It's a TV show and there are multiple seasons to keep you occupied.

 

[Mike Schramm]

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the recommendation Travis!