Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018) - Max Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, Kevin Cheng, Dave Bautista, Tony Jaa

[reason108]

So, did anyone notice a huge continuity error in the film yet? It happens around the 21 minute mark.

Spoiler

It`s when the bad guys toss the molotov cocktail into Master Z`s house. They show it going through the window yet his shop is closed up for the night. There would be no way for them to toss the bottles through his window. It`s pretty obvious when they escape. Then they just happen to run into the girl that he helped save earlier. 

There is a weird little glitch when Master Z is climbing the scaffolding. It looks like the shot is sped up and then slowed down pretty quickly all of a sudden to make it look rather jerky. Weird effect. Too much wire work in this fight scene, or something. The whole fight scene is rather jerky looking. Not sure why that is. Too much wire work in the Tony Jaa fight scene that takes place on the street too. 

[Drunken Monk]

3 hours ago, reason108 said:

So, did anyone notice a huge continuity error in the film yet? It happens around the 21 minute mark.

  Reveal hidden contents

It`s when the bad guys toss the molotov cocktail into Master Z`s house. They show it going through the window yet his shop is closed up for the night. There would be no way for them to toss the bottles through his window. It`s pretty obvious when they escape. Then they just happen to run into the girl that he helped save earlier. 

There is a weird little glitch when Master Z is climbing the scaffolding. It looks like the shot is sped up and then slowed down pretty quickly all of a sudden to make it look rather jerky. Weird effect. Too much wire work in this fight scene, or something. The whole fight scene is rather jerky looking. Not sure why that is. Too much wire work in the Tony Jaa fight scene that takes place on the street too. 

Most of the wire-work didn't bother me but it is very noticeable in the scaffolding/lights fight scene. I agree that some of it looks bizarre and awkward. It didn't bother me too much though, but then I might be the board's most forgiving member when it comes to wire-work.

[reason108]

7 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

Most of the wire-work didn't bother me but it is very noticeable in the scaffolding/lights fight scene. I agree that some of it looks bizarre and awkward. It didn't bother me too much though, but then I might be the board's most forgiving member when it comes to wire-work.

Yeah, for me, I don’t mind wire work under the right setting but the Ip Man movies have downplayed some of the more obvious wire work as it should as per the subject matter. Given that this is a spin-off of IM3, I was hoping for grounded fights. And, knowing Tony Jaa as a “no wires” kind of guy, surprised that his short fight with Master Z contained a fair amount of usage of them. Yeah, I know that this is a YWP film but I was hoping he would keep things more grounded. Well, I don’t want to blow things out of proportion here. I liked the fight with Master Z vs the bad guys in the alley where his son’s toy got broken. Now, I had to stop watching and will watch more later. So, I have no idea if Master Z and Tony Jaa’s Character fight again or not. But, if that’s it, what a waste of talent. The fight should have been a hell of a lot better than it was. I hope there’s more. But, people are already upset about the wire work in the Bautista fight. Plus, I thought that the first 20 minuets were decent enough but the movie dropped down a notch with the silly Molotov cocktail attack on Master Z’s store. The scaffolding fight was just weird and looked out of place then to top it off with the lame Tony Jaa fight. I know how a lot of these films can vary in tone from scene to scene so who knows. 

[whitesnake]

Well Go USA will release Master Z: Ip Man Legacy on Blu-ray and DVD in the U.S. on July 23, 2019.  https://videoeta.com/items/211512-master-z:-ip-man-legacy

[LoBo]

Just saw this film. A disappointing film. I liked ip man 3 way more. He only used wing chun at the end fight. In the other fight scenes he uses just regular kung fu.

[Koravec]

Funny how the 20 minute mark fight is criticized the most, I actually found it to be the highlight of the film. Always enjoy really gimmicky fights like this, this one taking place by climbing the neon signs, somewhat prevalent to the movie, and fighting whilst balancing and jumping amost them.

The movie felt underwhelming and dragged on for me. The whole drug trading plot felt too typical and further subplots too involved and irrelevant for me to give a damn about, if I could have jumped to the fights only I would have. On a positive note the filmography and scenery feels quite vivid at times.

Enjoyed the sidewalk fight against Tony Jaa the way shop windows got smashed.

The end fight against Bautista was also quite decent, a little more to the point (still a decent display of various wing chun moves) than a long drawn out payoff for what we had to sit through prior.

Was Tony Jaa's character supposed to be a vigilante playing homage to the in-film mentioned batman and even green hornet, ode to Bruce Lee, Donnie played Chen Zhen, perhaps?

 

[Drunken Monk]

3 minutes ago, Koravec said:

Was Tony Jaa's character supposed to be a vigilante playing homage to the in-film mentioned batman and even green hornet, ode to Bruce Lee, Donnie played Chen Zhen, perhaps?

I think Tony Jaa was an afterthought and it was a case of "Oh shit, how do we crowbar him into the film?" I'd actually like to see a sequel that delves into his role a little more. As doubtful as that may be.

[Koravec]

@Drunken Monk A spinoff of a spinoff? 🤔Id be down but feel like weve already seen that with Donnie as Chen Zhen/hornet. Ive been tired of seeing Tony Jaa doing cameos as long as hes been doing them. Missed when his name in the casting credits actually meant something or made the viewer seriously care.

I wonder how they got the rights to use Batman. If its a china-america thing, or if the likeness wasnt actually close enough or infringing anything. The version I watched actually said "batman" in subtitles so idk.

They might as well make the spinoff with Jaa as a Nightwing type character and make the city more Gotham-like, regardless would make for a more entertaining (and even original possibly) than what we got with Master Z.  

[rdenn]

wires in that tony jaa fight did not enchance anything looked totally out of place and unnecsssary , weird thing is action directors probably dont even know that the majority of fans of the genre  do not like wires done this way

[sym8]

8 hours ago, rdenn said:

wires in that tony jaa fight did not enchance anything looked totally out of place and unnecsssary , weird thing is action directors probably dont even know that the majority of fans of the genre  do not like wires done this way

I think the wires used in the Tony Jaa fight make the scene look ridiculous and give the impression Tony Jaa isn’t that skilled in movie fight choreography,and the fight on the neon lights was just awful and also ridiculous,a few years back they would have shot that scene with less wire use and the scene would have been better for it because of the danger element.liked the movie though and when the fight choreography had less wire use it came alive would recommend.👍👍

[Drunken Monk]

I wonder how Chinese/Hong Kong audiences react to wires. I mean, there has to be an audience for them or they wouldn't be used at much. Right? Or maybe not. Wire or no wires, people are still going to watch Master Z, I suppose. It has appeal across the board.
It's just strange to me that certain choreography traits still exist. Despite no one really wanting them. It seems America is now on the cutting edge of fight coordination and action direction rather than Hong Kong.

[rdenn]

3 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

 It seems America is now on the cutting edge of fight coordination and action direction rather than Hong Kong.

agreed , being feeling this way for a while now when it comes to watching action from america

[Koravec]

Unpopular opinion: I dont mind the occasional usee of wires as long as it doesnt get in the way of fight choreography. For instance flying away in a fight would affect the fight. However if an oponent 'high jumped' to a place and the other one does the same and the fight resumes after that in a normal hand on hand combat doesnt really change the dynamics of the fight. The jump to a higher position would be the same as a pause in any fight, where opponents may otherwise stare at eachother for a moment before resuming.

Although I do agree that wires dont belong in this IP Man franchise. I feel like this franchise in particular should embody hand on hand combat with very little specialized camera work to enhance the motion picture, such as was done in the Donnie vs martial teacher fights near the beginning of the first film.

For instance, I didnt really give a shit that the opponent jumped to a higher platform during the roof fight.

Just the idea of wire jumping on neon signs sounds sounds like a spectacle to me, I would definitely want to see that if somebody told me about it.

[hardz]

Saw this on bluray, on a big home screen with nice surround speakers and liked it BUT then we watched it at the fighting Spirit film festival and LOVED IT!!!

 

These films need to be experienced at the cinema to truly appreciate the work.

[DragonClaws]

 

Thanks to @Mike Leeder, for the head's up on this article, via his Twitter page.

 

 

[LoBo]

Interesting interview. Thanks

[SamSeed]

Anybody in the UK it came out on DVD today, I picked up a copy for £7 and am looking forward to watching tomorrow!

[KUNG FU BOB]

3 hours ago, SamSeed said:

Anybody in the UK it came out on DVD today, I picked up a copy for £7 and am looking forward to watching tomorrow!

Thanks for letting our UK forum members know about the film's home video release @SamSeed.

It came out on Blu-ray (from Well Go) on July 23rd here in the USA. I picked it up on release day, but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

[SamSeed]

So. A mixed bag this one. In certain sections saccharine beyond belief, even for a film of this type and I didn't find the story as gripping as any of the Ip Man films. That said, this film is worth it for two fight scenes - the one with Michelle Yeoh about two thirds of the way through. Real old school choreography and it was lovely to see she is still more than capable of delivering the moves, starting hand to hand then some lovely sabre/sword word, the scene reminded me a little of the dojo scene from Hapkido. Then the end fight against Bautista, despite essentially being a reworking of the Ip Man/Tyson fight of brute strength vs skill, still some lovely combos and when Zhang finally, finally has his epiphany and unleashes some classic Wing Chun is really delivers!

[thehangman]

wire work spoiled it abit for me rather have more grounded action

[DrNgor]

Caught it this past weekend, although my version was unsubbed, so I only caught the occasional English dialog. It was pretty good--a solid addition to the continuing production of IP MAN movies. The story was the same ol', same ol' rigmarole about opium smuggling. But the fights in general were quite good, ranging from good to great. Yuen Shun-Yee, working independent of his brothers, crafts some strong fights to showcase Max Zhang's skills. My favorites were the big duel in Michelle Yeoh's house, which features some nice weapons work from Xing Yu, who fights a lackey armed with a hatchet. While this is going, Max has a sword fight with Michelle Yeoh, which is really good. Also, the finale against Dave Bautista was also pretty cool, although while conceptionally similar to the Mike Tyson fight in Ip Man 3, the fact that Bautista is a wrestler gives him a few more moves to use. I didn't mind the wires, since most of them were used for throws and some jumps and acrobatics. They were certainly less obnoxious here than they were in the SPL 2 finale. Oh, and it's best to imagine that Jaa isn't even in the film in the first place.

On 3/25/2019 at 7:07 AM, Drunken Monk said:

His role made no sense whatsoever. Especially the ending.

Spoiler

I got the impression that he was a hitman working for Yuen Wah, and that Michelle Yeoh had taken out a hit on Bautista.