Movie Review - The Grandmaster

The Grandmaster **½ (PG-13) The key to enjoying this epic-scale film, perhaps beyond the promise of this tepid rating, is knowing what you’re getting. Upon learning this is a sweeping biopic covering the life of the martial arts master who taught Bruce Lee, you might start drooling in anticipation of a much bigger adrenaline rush than you’re going to receive. Asian film buffs who notice Tony Leung is the star under director Kar Kai Wong will likely be better oriented (pun not intended) for the resulting romantic drama with long, lyrical interludes that dominates the tone of the experience.

The story of Ip Man is interesting, partly for his stellar skills and character, but moreso for the vastly diverse eras he lived through. The film mostly covers 1936 - 53, during which China morphed from ancient traditional empire, to brutal Japanese occupation to repressive Communist regime, imposing unprecedented social, cultural and economic upheavals on its citizens. Kung Fu declined from honored rituals that defined regions as strongly as religious or political affiliations elsewhere to a relative curiosity, in the aftermath of World War II and the rise of Mao.

The plot is linear, but surprisingly choppy, as voiceovers from the eponymous lead and others provide context for the depicted events. Some dialog seems overly reminiscent of the sort of vaguely simplistic, yet elusive adages spoken to or by David Carradine’s nomadic character in our cult-favorite Kung Fu TV series. The fight scenes we get are masterfully staged, and woven into the script to be more meaningful than usual. But most of the focus is on the romantic side, with love and losses among Ip Man, his wife and his true soul mate (Ziyi Zhang), against the backdrop of culture clashes with drastic changes.

Bruce Lee is only mentioned in passing. There’s far more history than combat in the mix. With that in mind, if you’re in the mood for more of the gorgeous contemplative scenes akin to those that elevated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon into the global mainstream, and less of an action fest, this might be your ticket. (8/30/13)