A lot of interesting announcements this week. Not sure if they are all good, but they do provide a lot of good discussion topics.
Ip Man: Final Battle Begins Filming and the TV Show Gets Aid
Cast of the One Detective Revealed
JCVD Ready to Get Back into Bloodsport and Double Impact
Thought that the Ip Man trend was over? Nope, it’s still going on quite nicely. For starters, Ip Man: Final Battle has finally begun filming. The film stars Anthony Wong as Ip, and is expected to finish shooting in 2 months.
I know that Wong has been training very hard for the role, but shooting the film in 2 months seems pretty fast to me. Maybe there will be more story elements to the movie than action, but I’m curious to see what he brings to the character that we know as Ip Man.
Next up, the TV series for Ip Man is getting help from both Wilson Yip and Ip Chun. This is pretty good news to fans, as Wilson Yip may be able to lend a helping hand to the direction of the series. I don’t think that the show will be linked to Donnie’s Ip Man at all, but having Ip Chun as a mentor will also help things remain accurate.
The series will star Kevin Cheng, who apparently beat out Vincent Zhao for the role. No other cast members have been announced yet, but it is scheduled to air sometime in December.
I’m a fan of the Ip Man films with Donnie, and we all knew this was going to happen. I don’t know if I’ll be rushing to see either of these projects when they come out, as I’ll be more interested in Donnie’s 3rd film as Ip. Regardless, I wish everyone the best and hope they impress us with their own, unique, Ip Man characters.
Background Info
After the success of SPL, Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip decided to team up once more. Action fans were disappointed by the long wait in SPL, and Dragon Tiger Gate promised more action from the start. The story was based off of a comic book, allowing for deeper characters and more complex stories. The cast also includes Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, and Yuen Wah. Would a more action-oriented story lead to a better overall film?
Story/Characters
I should go ahead and state that I’ve never seen any of the source material. The story is nothing mindbending or deep, but it’s enough to justify the fights that take place. I wished that there was more to go off of, but I understand there is just too much to cover in the span of one film. That being said, there are some sequences that feel very “comic booky.”
The characters, for the most part, are pretty shallow. You’ll get a fleeting bit of background info, but it’s hard to really connect to any of the characters. Some characters get more attention than others, but there are just too many stories to keep track of. However, the main story between Donnie and Nicholas is pretty decent and is handled in a good manner.
Action/Choreography
As you’d expect, everybody delivers on the action. What I truly enjoyed is the fact that each character has a distinct fighting style. This means that even during the same fight, everything was fresh with each character. There are also a lot of great angles and sequences to some of the fights. My only complaint would be the “finishing move” for the last fight, as it really was a letdown for me.
Own it, Watch it, or Skip it?
Dragon Tiger Gate is a solid action film with a decent plot. While it may or may not be faithful to the source material, it provides a lot of good action that everyone can enjoy. If you felt like SPL didn’t have enough action, you won’t be disappointed (though the story isn’t as deep.) People who want a good action film that doesn’t require a lot of thought will be able to sit back and enjoy Dragon Tiger Gate.
Watch it
It appears that the HK versions are no longer available on YesAsia, but they can also be found on Amazon.
While not as crazy as last week, there have been quite a few interesting bits of info circling around the internet. Let’s start with some good and bad news about Ip Man 3. According to the producer of the film, Wilson Yip will be directing and will be choosing who will play the role of Bruce Lee as well. The article states that Donnie Yen will play Ip once more and that the story will focus on the master/student relationship between the two.
Oh, and the bad news? It’s going to be filmed in 3D. I’m not big on the whole 3D thing, there’s only been 1 movie I’ve even seen in 3D. A lot of directors have tried a 3D martial arts film, and it hasn’t worked. I’d rather them focus on the story and end the story right instead of simply making it a spectacle.
Moving on to another film, but continuing with news about Ip Man, it has been revealed that the release date for the Grandmasters will be announced on April 18th.
Let me clarify: we have an announcement for an announcement. While this would not really be a big deal for any other film, even having a vague idea of when we can see this movie is a step in the right direction. Maybe now we can get some more footage instead of the same trailer over and over.
Lastly, I some press images have been released for Tai Chi 0. I thought about updating my old post, but I figured it may get glossed over. So, here are the images that were released.
Also, I’ll repost the teaser trailer in case you guys missed my previous update.
Looks like we get to start the week off with a number of films that will probably be highly anticipated. The first one that I want to address is Undisputed 4. I know a lot of visitors are very vocal in what they want to see (which I appreciate) and Scott Adkins has confirmed that Undisputed 4 will be coming. The bad news, however is that we probably won’t be seeing it until 2014. Here’s the quote from Scott Adkin’s Official Facebook Page:
For those asking about Undisputed IV, it’s coming hopefully but we cannot shoot it until 2013 at least so that means 2014 release, sorry about that.
So, while we can rest assured that Boyka will be back in the ring, we’ll have to deal with the fact that it won’t be for a while. But hey, better late than never, right? Plus, it gives them time to get the script right and nail the choreo, so I’m not too worried.
Next up is a film titled Redemption. This film will put Johnny and Charlie Nguyen on the same screen once again, something that hasn’t been done since the Rebel. Not much is known about the film except for the fact that it will be a contemporary piece with gangster/ heist overtones and that pre-production is slated for this summer.
While Clash wasn’t as great as I had hoped, I think that adding Charlie back into the mix can have some positive results. I’ll keep my eyes open for more news on this one.
And lastly (and perhaps most importantly) is the announcement that Ip Man 3 is happening. The film will be called Ip Man: the Final Chapter and will star Donnie Yen. Filming is scheduled to start this August with pre-production starting shortly. And now, for the bad news: Wilson Yip will not be directing the film. Instead, Herman Yau (director of the Legend is Born) will be directing the third entry in Ip’s life.
Now, I know that it’s not good to jump off the bandwagon already, but part of the reason why the Ip Man films are great is because of Wilson’s vision. He knows how to direct Donnie and get the best out of him. I wasn’t too impress with the Legend is Born, and I’m curious why Wilson Yip isn’t attached to this franchise. Maybe he want to do something new, but I’d love something else after Magic to Win.
Why Wilson?
So, what are you guys looking forward to most? Are you happy Ip Man 3 is coming, or would you prefer it be skipped if Wilson Yip isn’t directing? What about Undisputed 4 or Redemption? Feel free to say what’s on your mind!
Sources: Scott Adkin’s Official Facebook Page, Twitch, and Budomate.com
Background Info
After filming a remake for a Chinese Ghost Story, Yip continues to play with special effects with Magic to Win. A much more lighthearted film than recent movies, Magic to Win challenges both Yip as well as audiences to try something new. He also brought in Wu Jing to help ensure the action was solid and entertaining. Was Magic to Win worth the watch, or is the only “win” in the title?
Story/Characters
Magic to Win doesn’t try to do anything special with its story. You’ll hear the same old song and dance about humans using only 10% of their brains and the endless possibilities of what could be done if we used 100%. The problem with the story, however, is that it doesn’t even try to explain why certain people have powers or what they are capable of. In other words, it’s like whatever Wilson Yip wanted to create on screen was what the magicians were capable of.
Yup, this happens
At the same time, the characters pretty much have no depth. Wu Jing’s character has no backstory until the very end, and by that time things get weird when he starts showing emotion. I found it very hard to like Karena Ng, but not necessarily because of her ability as an actress. The character she plays has no logic, like when she helps certain people for money but not others that are actually in need of help.
(Spoiler rant) By the way, everybody being all buddy-buddy at the end doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
Action/Choreography
Yup, this happens too
While this movie is directed by Wilson Yip and has some capable stars like Wu Jing, Louis Koo, and Wu Chun, don’t expect to see very much action. In fact, everything you see will be glossed over with fancy effects. If these fights were done right, they could have lead to some pretty original sequences, but that isn’t the case at all. The fights are basically forgettable, and honestly, feel like anyone would have been able to do them.
Own it, Watch it, Skip it?
Magic to Win is a movie that is for a very different audience. This movie goes for simple laughs and cute plotpoints, a stark difference when compared to some of Yip’s other films. What disappoints most is the fact that more could have been done with the film if there was come creativity involved. As it stands, Magic to Win is simply a happy-go-lucky comedy movie that occasionally has some action in it. Unless you are a die-hard Wilson Yip fan, you’re better off skipping this one.
Skip it
Magic to Win Blu-Ray (HK Version)
Magic to Win has a lot of talk around it, and some of it isn’t for the better. While I’m excited to see anything by Yip, the concept for Magic to Win seems to slip past me. I figured he knew what he was doing after the initial trailer, but some new TV spots make me wonder if that’s really the case.
Lightsabers? Really? Even if you go a comedic route, it’s all been done before. I’ve heard some grumbles about Chinese Ghost Story (which I haven’t seen) so I know that having Yip as a director does not always mean a good movie, but I was hopeful.
The movie actually came out today, I believe, so I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted if I hear any feedback about the movie. Also, I guess I should be happy that these are US teasers, even though I have no idea when the release date will be for that.
