The Grandmaster

The Grandmaster, the latest film by Kar Wai Wong is amazing to watch. Visually and cinematically this film is a sight to behold, it's the story that drags this move down. Not so far that it makes the film a bad film, but if The Grandmaster had a better story, this movie could have truly been amazing. Because this film is hampered by a convoluted storyline that makes little sense, I give The Grandmaster two buckets of Killer Korn.











The Grandmaster is supposed to introduce to the world the man that initially trained Bruce Lee (and the kid they found to pose as Bruce at the end truly reminds you of Bruce, well it reminds ME of him anyway). His name is Ip Man, who is played by Tony Leung and he is chosen from amongst other masters to represent southern China kung fu against the north. That right there would have been a great starting point to build off of, instead we get side tracked by Japan's invasion of China and the inner family turmoil of another grandmaster from the north.

The fighting sequences, the lighting, the slow motion shots were all incredible. I loved watching this movie. I did NOT love trying to figure out what the hell was going on however. I enjoyed the discussions of fighting styles and the discussions of discipline. The fighting in the best brothel in town was different, but I went with it. It was when Ip Man and his family lost everything once Japan invaded China was when the story fell apart.

Cinematographer Phillippe Le Sourd did a fantastic job in capturing amazing images and framing this film. The score by Nathaniel Mechaly and Shigeru Umebayashi is sitrring. The music fits perfectly with the images, and there's even some Ennio Morricone music. They incorporated his piece Deborah's Theme from the film Once Upon A Time in America which was a nice touch. If you are a kung fu fan like myself you will not be disappointed with the fighting. However, if you have any desire to see Ip Man personally putting Bruce Lee through the paces, skip this film because that doesn't exist here. I recommend The Grandmaster if you love movies and especially kung fu movies and I'll see you at the theater.