Ip Man 3 begins in 1959, long after the titular martial artist (Donnie Yen) has established himself as a master of Wing Chun in Hong Kong. He and his students end up the protectors of a school being harassed by a gang that answers to a powerful foreigner (Mike Tyson). Master Ip has also become the target of a rival martial artist (Max Zhang) who seeks to prove that only he holds the true path of Wing Chun. In all this mess, Ip Man spends less and less time at home, neglecting his wife (Lynn Hung), who’s going through a crisis of her own.
It is tough to tell a story when your main character is essentially invincible and infallible. Not only is the Ip Man of this installment the best martial artist around, he is a paragon of virtue that basically does no wrong. The problem is so deep that the film can barely structure a movie around the character. With no real threats to his ability, Master Ip flows through the story aimlessly, landing on one scene of empty peril after another, and paying no consequences for the results of his actions.
The main character is just above it all. Not only can he handle everything that’s thrown at him, he does it with relative ease and a lack of internal conflict. As good as the fights might be, there is a distinct lack of tension in all of them. It never feels like Ip Man is any real danger of losing, or even in any sort of relative peril. The character is made so passionless that it doesn’t even feel like he’s putting his all into these fights. The movie is lacking the intensity of previous installments; the strength of will that once carried the character through rougher portions of the narrative.
Things only really pick in the final act, where Ip Man is faced with a problem he can’t punch his way through, and the movie starts to find a heart somewhere amidst the fists. There are fun, idiosyncratic bits that reveal something more about this character, softer sequences that see the master having to learn new things. The shift in tone doesn’t last, as the film shuttles him off to yet another fight in the climax. But for the while that it’s there, it reveals welcome nuances to the character.
With the character so at peace with everything, Donnie Yen doesn’t really go do a whole lot as an actor. He basically alternates between calm bemusement and equally calm intensity when he gets into fights. Yen is still incredible in these fights, which while lacking in narrative tension, still deliver through very precise, very impactful choreography. Lynn Hung is burdened with kind of a thankless role, but she carries it out with a measure of grace. Max Zhang works pretty well with Donnie Yen as well. Mike Tyson isn’t much of an actor, but when he starts throwing it becomes a completely different story. You are instantly reminded that he was one of the greatest boxers in the world, and his sheer physicality brings a sudden burst of energy to a story that wasn’t really going anywhere.
Ip Man 3 is a mixed bag at best. The thing is, the story isn’t really good enough to justify sitting through the whole thing. There are interesting touches here and there, but it ultimately spends too much time on a plot that doesn’t end up mattering much at all. The fights are certainly an attraction. The one between Yen and Tyson, though short, feels very distinctive in particular. But it’s all still working within a structure that doesn’t quite work.
My Rating:
