Superficial comments on 《Ip Man 2》！

       In my mind,I'm not a loyal fan of Kung fu movies.When the first Ip Man came out two years ago,I chose to see Feng Xiaogang's If You Are The One instead.So ,before watching Ip Man 2,all I knew about Ip Man was solely  that he was Bruce Lee's martial arts master,and that his role was played by Donnie Yen in the film.
       After watching the motion pictures,I couldn't wait to watch the original.Not because I had to-I wanted to.Indeed,Yen has done a gorgeous job with the character of Ip Man in both films.What a pity is that Ip Man 2 is not as prominent as its predecessor.It falls into the typical kung fu movie stereotypes,with the fighting scenes being too predictable and the storyline being too simple.But to be fair,for a blockbuster sequel,the film has impressed audiences with its repetitive theme:martial arts and patriotism.
       Ip Man 2 continues with Ip's life in 1950s Hong Kong ,then still a British colony .It's excessively much a film of two halves:the first charting the establishment and proliferation of Wing Chun through Hong Kong.The film wastes no time in getting to the action and within just a few minutes Yen clashes first with Wong Leung ,his first enrolled student in Hong Kong.Then,he takes turns roughing up rivial students,street punks,and all the local martial arts masters-including a fantastic fight on a teetering table with Sammo Hung,who acts as the master of Hung Kuen.
      After the exceptional lead-in of the preceding hour ,the film builds handsomely to a pivotal moment.Unfortunately,this leaves the film with nowhere to go in its second half.The action turns its attention to the building tensions between local Chinese and foreign governing forces.Last time it was the invading Japanse troops .This time around it's the British ,personified by an ignorant boxer named Twister.From this point on,Ip Man 2 slips into classic tournament territory ,like the first one.While this does mean the film delivers some big,bloody battles between our leading martial artistsand this British boxer,they fail to live up to the scintillating displays of skill that have come before them.
      Still,the film looks fantastic all the way through.The speed of Yen and Hung,who worked on the choreography for both films,is impressive.In every fight scene ,no matter if it's the clash between the two Kung fu schools,or Chinese martial arts versus Western boxing,there's a high degree of speed,precision,power and intensity that makes my heart beat faster,indeed.
      What makes Ip Man 2 still a supurb masterpiece is its much-appreciated sense of dramatic gravitas .The film touches on issues of colonial life-such as the British government's interference with the media ,police brutality  and corruption,as well as their lack of respect for local culture and customs.
    At time it seems a bit more exaggerated than genuine historical fact,but director Wilson Yip strikes a decent balance that gives some context without distracting from the action.The final third of the film has a certain grace to it that you can't help but to be proud of while watching it-and that's hard to say of the first film.Yep has used the period setting and high producting values to create more than just another beat 'em up action flick.
      The core issue of Ip Man 2 was fruquently whether or not it would touch on the grangmaster's schooling of Bruce Lee.Suffice to say that the question is answered,with an appearance of a young Lee at the end.Maybe it's a little brief,but for the audience,especially a non-devotee of Kung fumovies like myself ,it was a nice finish and it did put a smile on my face!
     

Explanatory notes: 1) Kung fu=martial arts功夫、武术；除此之外，我们还应知道其他三个国粹的英文表述：京剧Peking opera 书法calligraphy=penmanship=handwriting 中医traditional Chinese medical science=Chinese medicine 2）本文涉及如下专有词汇：Ip Man叶问 Bruce Lee李小龙 Donnie Yen甄志丹 Sammo Hung洪金宝Wilson Yip叶伟信 You Are The One《非诚勿扰》(电影） Wing Chun咏春拳 Hung Kuen洪拳; 3)gorgeous=supurb=prominent=distinguished=outstanding=excellent=renowned=famed=far-famed=celebrated=illustrious=notable=noted=handsomely优秀的、杰出的; 4)blockbuster sequelm卖座电影的续集； 5）the establishment and proliferation of Wing Chun through Hong Kong在香港建立和传授咏春拳。 6)rough up殴打、大打出手； 7）street punks街头无赖、流氓； 8）build tensions between local Chinese and foreign governing forces在当地中国居民与外国统治势力之间制造紧张局势； 9）ignorant boxer 无知的、荒诞的拳击手； 10)live up to符合、达到标准。 e.g:The film is so gorgeous!It certainly lived up to my expectations.这部电影真棒，完全没有辜负我的期望。 11）scintillating=aglitter=coruscant=fulgid=glinting=glistering=glittery=scintillant=sparkly精彩的、耀眼的； 12)work on the choreography致力于动作设计； 13）the clash between the two Kung fu schools两个功夫流派之间的冲突、对抗。注意：这里的 schools是流派的意思； 14）Suffice to say可以这么说、老实说。 E.g:Suffice to saythat all four teams are feeling optimistic可以这么说，四只车队都感觉乐观。