I thoroughly enjoyed this one, all aspects, and the acting is fine all round, though it won't be so much for KF purists. The idea is that the fighting style later adopted by Ip Man and therefore formative for Bruce Lee was named after its greatest practitioner, a woman called Wing Chun, who, as an old woman meets and inspires the boy Ip Man. This seems to be complete fiction, but the film is accurate in depicting the style as being developed by anti government rebels at this period in history, the principal components of the style are well and accurately described by a teacher-nun, and her point that these techniques are particularly suitable for women with their strong legs and weaker arms, is a good one.
The first half of the film is pure comedy and Jing Bai as Wing Chun is hilarious throughout, at the same time giving us a great character journey from carefree girl to bitter rebel sympathiser. There's lots of fun stuff going on (the various diarrhea references not so much) and her battle with her unwanted 'fiancee' is a comedy highlight. Loved the circle!
The film is described here as a romantic comedy. It's not just that, neither is it just comedy-fu. There is a bit too much emphasis on the romance side for my taste - I prefer my KF women to have more important things to worry about. But in the end Wing Chun is ready to leave her husband somewhere safe and put her life on the line to protect her master and the rebel cause. The final battle, in which for once she is clearly shown using the particular techniques she has learned, is really good (though this is the only top-quality fight in the film).
105 minutes of fun entertainment, highly recommended.
The first half of the film is pure comedy and Jing Bai as Wing Chun is hilarious throughout, at the same time giving us a great character journey from carefree girl to bitter rebel sympathiser. There's lots of fun stuff going on (the various diarrhea references not so much) and her battle with her unwanted 'fiancee' is a comedy highlight. Loved the circle!
The film is described here as a romantic comedy. It's not just that, neither is it just comedy-fu. There is a bit too much emphasis on the romance side for my taste - I prefer my KF women to have more important things to worry about. But in the end Wing Chun is ready to leave her husband somewhere safe and put her life on the line to protect her master and the rebel cause. The final battle, in which for once she is clearly shown using the particular techniques she has learned, is really good (though this is the only top-quality fight in the film).
105 minutes of fun entertainment, highly recommended.
