The Grandmaster *** (2013, Tony Chiu Wai Leung, Ziyi Zhang, Jin Zhang) – Movie Review

Writer-director Kar Wai Wong films a beautifully crafted, dazzling tribute to the 30s era kung fu martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee. This Oscar-nominated biopic is overflowing with gorgeous cinematography and jaw-dropping combat scenes.

Nobody would complain if Philippe Le Sourd won his Oscar for Best Achievement in Cinematography for the amazing images and nor would they if William Chang won for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

Tony Chiu Wai Leung finds a worthy role as Ip Man, Ziyi Zhang plays Gong Er, Cung Le plays Iron Shoes, Chen Chang plays Razor and Jin Zhang plays Ma San.

In the story, fighter Ip Man meets Gong Er, a revered grandmaster’s lethally skilled daughter, who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family’s honour. Ip Man moves from southern China to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family after the Second Sino-Japanese War, while Gong Er chooses vengeance after her father is killed by Ma San.

The only downside of this thoroughly impressive piece of work from the director of In the Mood For Love (2000) is that the international version is a cutdown version of the original 130-minute movie.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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Cung Le plays Iron Shoes.

Chen Chang plays Razor.