First, as Du Yuhang, who plays Ip Man, according to Mr. Ye Zhun's caliber, his Ip Man is more than 80% similar to the original Ip Man. But this is just Mr. Ye Lao's opinion. In my opinion, in terms of expression and emotional handling, Xiao Du's performance is only quite satisfactory. Not particularly good, nor particularly bad. So I gave him a passing grade of 60.
Second, Fan Shaohuang's Ye Tianci is a rather contradictory character. As one of the protagonists, no matter how he appears and his character changes, he reveals a strange atmosphere. In the movie, he appeared in Ye's house as a child of the Japanese military's political infiltration in China, and was adopted by Ye's father. It was not until the abrupt "I am the Major of the Imperial Japanese Army, Eiji Tanaka" that he finally knew his Japanese identity. It's a pity that the movie has never explained the sudden change of this identity, but only a few words. Then these are not the key points, the key point is that the scenes and edge that also fill in the second almost overshadow Ye Wen. And the portrayal of the characters is heavier and clearer than Ye Wen. Some netizens once pointed out that "Ip Man Prequel" should be called "Tianci Biography", and I deeply agree with this. On the one hand, I have to talk about Fan Shaohuang's skill, and on the other hand, I have to sigh that the director has put the cart before the horse.
Third, as for the music, it will be more or less the shadow of "Ip Man 1, 2". It is a pity that the skill of the soundtrack is not in place. Whether it is a slow-burning literary drama or a tense martial arts drama, there are often only mediocre dialogues and little music. So that the beauty that should be nervous from beginning to end is tense, and the romantic one is not romantic. Like boiled water, from start to finish.
Third, in terms of the plot, the Chinese nation's confrontation with foreign enemies has always been the audience's G-spot. No matter how many times it appears on the big screen, it always fails. This is true of "Ip Man 1, 2", and the same is true of "Ip Man Prequel". It's just that the latter's heat is a lot worse. Good people find the indignation of bad people, and the final battle between good and evil is a traditional model, but unfortunately there is always something missing in the movie. As far as Ye Tianci's character is concerned, it is undoubtedly a villain, but the screenwriter has given it a characteristic that is both good and evil. Whether Ye Wen finally killed the Japanese Major or Ye Tianci, who was bitter and hated, is always obscure. Only when the Japanese woman dies can a little bit of the audience's passion be evoked, but it's fleeting. There is also a boss battle that is not a boss battle at the end. I thought the final boss would be Kitano, but unfortunately it disappeared all of a sudden. This reminds me of "Jin Yi Wei". When everyone thought that Prince Qing would be the final boss, they didn't expect the boss to be Tuotuo. It's just that the rhythm of the final battle in "Jin Yiwei" is clear, the narrative is clear and hearty, while the BOSS battle in "Ip Man Prequel" is not a BOSS battle, but the explanation is dull and even confused. However, the handling of some details in the movie is still commendable. For example, when the three of them were eating fried dough sticks when they were young, and after Ye Wen hit a foreigner in Hong Kong, everyone on the street greeted him like him, and when Ye Wen was in prison, Ye's father stood at the door of the prison and fed him fried dough sticks. These may make people smile occasionally, or make people feel embarrassed. It's a pity that these are just small details and cannot affect the way and direction of the big story. So the entire movie remains flat for most of the time. PS: As an aside, fried dough sticks are the main thread that runs through the whole movie, and Ye Tianci's wedding also has the shadow of fried dough sticks. If it is said that the movie is a love story strung together by a fritter, it is also possible.
Fourth, in martial arts. During the promotion, the film crew kept emphasizing how authentic and wonderful the Wing Chun of this movie is. It turned out that it wasn't the case at all. Whether it's Yuan Biao and Sammo Hung's master-apprentice speaker at the beginning, or Futaba's speaker, or Yuan Biao versus Ye Wen, or the final quasi-ultimate BOSS battle. Perhaps for Wing Chun, this is a textbook-like movie. But from the point of view of the movie, none of it can be said to be a classic, even the last battle, it can only be said to be not bad.
In the end, what I dislike the most is that the words "authentic Wing Chun" are revealed everywhere in the movie. Even Yuan Biao himself in the play said that whether it is authentic or not, what can be used is good. And Mr. Ye also said this. I don't know what it means, maybe it's overhearted. Also, I don't like the moral education of the podium model in the movie. This is far less than the smoothness and silence in "Ip Man 2". I still remember that Ip Man in "Ip Man 2", just holding a teacup and talking face to face with Huang Liang, he said: What is more important is neutralization, not contention. In "The Prequel of Ip Man", however, the principles of being a man are dogmatically recited.
In short, this movie can't be called a bad movie purely, but it can't be called a good movie either. Plain, ordinary film. For this film, I can only give 60 points for literary drama, because it still has a complete story. As for martial arts, I can only give it 80 points, but it's just a failure. If it has to be said that this film is the end of the Ip Man trilogy, it would be better to say that "Ip Man 1, 2" is a line of its own, and "Ip Man Prequel" clenched its fists is just a follow-up. Although the filmmakers have been emphasizing that this is the authentic Wing Chun movie, this is the authentic Ip Man. But the fish eyes can never be mixed. A good movie is not the same as a normal movie.
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