DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)

DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)

Starring: Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki, Holly Valance, Sarah Carter, Natassia Malthe, Kane Kosugi, Collin Chou, Eric Roberts, Silvio Simac, Derek Boyer, Kevin Nash, Brian J. White, cameo by Robin Shou

Director: Corey Yuen

Action Director: Corey Yuen, Guo Jianyong

I think a lot of people were excited about this when the trailer came out. Corey Yuen had always been a dependable source for martial arts-infused female empowerment movies, and So Close was still reasonably recent in people’s minds. Being based on a fighting game meant that there would be a lot of action. Being based on a female-centric fighting game meant that there would be loads of eye candy. And the trailer, which showed hawt Australian actress Holly Valance topless as her bra fell on her chest and a gun in her hand at the same time, meant that it would be exaggerated, but in a fun, sexy way. Sort of a Charlie’s Angels meets Enter the Dragon, which is essentially what this film is.

Like Enter the Dragon (or Mortal Kombat), we have three main protagonists. The first is Kasumi (Devon Aoki, of War and Sin City), a ninja princess living in Japan. Her brother, Hayate (Collin Chou, of The Matrix Reloaded and Promising Young Boy), disappeared a year ago after leaving the clan to fight in the DOA tournament. Rules for ninja princesses are strict and she cannot leave her castle—these things still exist in modern-day Japan? But she does, prompting Hayate’s former girlfriend, the purple-haired Ayane (Natassia Malthe, of the Bloodrayne sequels), to mark her forth death.

Next, there’s Tina Armstrong. Tina has made it huge as a professional wrestler, although now she wants to prove that she is the real thing (not unlike Johnny Cage). Her dad, Bass (Kevin Nash), is also a wrestler and wants her back in the WWW(hatever). But she needs to undergo her own hero’s journey and accepts an invitation to the DOA tournament, albeit not before beating up some pirates (led by Robin Shou in a cameo) who try to hijack her yacht. 

Finally, we have Christie Allen (Taken’s Holly Valance), a cat burglar and assassin. When we meet her, she has just robbed a bank in Hong Kong with the help of her lover, Max (Matthew Marsden). Max is a bit of a prick and has ratted her out to the police, which leads to the aforementioned scene of her fighting the cops in her hotel room while wrapped in a towel. While making her getaway, she gets an invitation to the DOA tournament, lured by the promise of a 10-million-dollar prize if she wins.

The three meet up on the plane ride to the island, although tournament rules require them to jump out of the plane, parachute to the beach, and climb a tower to get to the big Chinese-esque mansion where the tournament is held. Joining our heroines are Ryu Hayabusa (Blood Heat’s Kane Kosugi), who may be the same guy from the “Ninja Gaiden” games; Bass; some DJ named Zack (Brian J. White); and a couple of Chinese fighters that the film doesn’t concern itself with. The tournament is run by Dr. Victor Donovan (Eric Roberts, of Best of the Best and The Expendables), who organized the tournament as part of the will of his former partner, Dr. Douglas. The two ran a huge scientific megacorporation or something. Oh, and the late Dr. Douglas’s daughter, Helena (Sarah Carter), is participating in DOA this particular year. That makes her the fourth female protagonist.

The DOA tournament plays out in four rounds: the preliminary elimination round, the quarter finals, semi-finals, and the finals. Each combatant is given a watch that, at any given moment, will display the face of their next opponent. A fight can start at any time or take place in any part of the island. There are some other things going on: Ayane has snuck onto the island and is determined to kill Kasumi. Christie and Max would like to find the island’s vault and clean it out, if possible. Kasumi and Hayabusa want to try to find out if Hayate is still on the island. Plus, Dr. Victor Donovan has his own plans for the fighters…

Anyone who comes into a movie like this expecting a plot should feel ashamed of themselves. There is one, but it builds up to a silly conclusion. The dialog is pretty bad for the most part. And as expected, Devon Aoki has but a single facial expression, making Kristen Stewart look like a paragon of dynamic range. But we’re not here for that sort of thing. We want fighting and hawt women, which this film gives us in spades. Like the video game, we even have an extended interlude of bikini volleyball in between the fight sequences. And Sarah Carter roller blading around in a sports bra and booty shorts for know reason. And let’s not forget two hot blondes…fighting…in skimpy clothes…in the rain…in slow motion. Make no mistake: Dead or Alive is basically the 1990s Mortal Kombat film filtered through the lens of a 14-year-bold weened on Internet porn. 

That doesn't mean this is a great film in any sense. The low-budget CGI makes the film look rather chintzy in places. The gimmick with the high-tech sunglasses at the end is quite silly. Devon Aoki should have never been allowed to step in front of a movie camera. Tomonobu Itagaki, creator of the DOA games, had actually wanted Kasumi to be played by City Hunter’s Kumiko Goto (and for Ayane to be played by Azumi’s Aya Ueto). I would much have preferred that to have been the case, although Natassia Malthe does look cute in a purple wig. And then there’s the action…

The fighting is a mixed bag. Jaime Pressly had started training in martial arts while working on the Mortal Kombat TV series. Holly Valance had trained in Muay Thai at some point in her youth. But all of the actresses had to undergo a four-month crash course in wushu, kung fu and wire-fu during this film’s pre-production phase. The only actors who were the “real deal” were Kane Kosugi, Collin Chou, Robin Shou (whose part is negligible), and Unleashed’s Silvio Simac, who plays Leon. The problem is that much of the action is obscured by quick cuts and bad camerawork, especially during the first half of the film. There is a lot of wire work used in the fights. And being a Corey Yuen film, there is one moment where a fighter throws out both of his feet and kicks his opponent’s legs out from under him (or her).

There are a few choice fight sequences, though. The best fight is the one where Kane Kosugi beats up an army of guards while snooping around the island compound, Enter the Dragon style. It even ends with him getting trapped between a pair of iron doors. That sequence is followed in short order by an extended sword fight in a bamboo forest between Kasumi and Ayane, which was very much influenced by House of Flying Daggers. Incidentally, this movie was filmed at the same studio in Hebian, China where that movie was made. But that fight is pretty good, too. Tina’s fight with Zack isn’t bad, but the extended fight between Helena Douglas and a bunch of sword-wielding guards was a lot better. 

Unfortunately, although finale has some decent kung fu on display, the fact that the film builds up to fighting Eric Roberts reminds me of Game of Death, where Bruce Lee has to fight his way past Dan Inosanto, Ji Han-jae and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, only to throw down with Hugh O’Brian. I also lament that the film didn’t complete the actual tournament. At least the progression of the tournament was done in a logical manner, although how Hayabusa moved onto the semi-finals after getting captured is a mystery.

If you liked Charlie’s Angels (2000), but thought it needed more fighting…or if you liked Mortal Kombat (1995), but felt it needed more female skin, then this is the movie for you. But if you want Corey Yuen at his female-fu best, stick with So Close or Yes, Madam! If you want Corey Yuen at his female-fu sleaziest, check out Women on the Run. This has its moments, but didn’t quite become a guilty pleasure for me.

The One (2001)

The One (2001)

Starring: Jet Li, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, James Morrison, Dylan Bruno, Richard Steinmetz, Steve Rankin
Director: James Wong
Action Director: Corey Yuen

Before Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. Before Spider-Man: No Way Home. Before Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. Before The Flash '23. Before Deadpool and Wolverine. There was...The One. Originally written as a vehicle for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose acting career was kicking off at the time, it somehow morphed into a Jet Li film, which Li himself promoted as a safe alternative to the blood-and-guts carnage that was Kiss of the Dragon. And when it comes to gimmicks, "Jet Li vs. Jet Li" is certainly more interesting than "The Rock vs. The Rock." And with online critics talking down almost every multiverse themed film outside of EEAAO, I have to wonder if this film is in for a re-evaluation almost a quarter of a decade later.

We open with a brief narration informing us that yes, the Multiverse is a thing and yes, it is possible to travel from one parallel universe to the next. And because of that, there is a special police force in charge of supervising travel and activity between the universes: the MVA.

After that, we turn to a prison, where the guards are removing an inmate, Lawless (Jet Li, of Fist of Legend and Bodyguard from Beijing), from his cell for a transfer. I think it has something to do with him deciding to testify against his old cronies, judging from the sheer anger directed at him from the other inmates. Once he reaches the prison garage, a bullet comes out of nowhere and pierces the bulletproof, protective headgear he was wearing. Head shot. The prison guards open fire on the large ventilation pipes from whence the shot came, peppering up the metal tubing quite well. But to everybody's surprise, the assassin is not dead. And more to their surprise, it turns out that it's Lawless...only that it isn't. It is Yulaw (also Li) and before you know it, the guy is opening up a can of Matrix on everybody. Yulaw makes a break for it, ultimately getting captured by a pair of law enforcement agents, Roedecker (Delroy Lindo, of Romeo Must Die) and Funsch (Jason Statham, of Safe and War). These two work for the MVA and have been on the Yulaw case for quite some time.

Now that Yulaw is in MVA custody, we learn that he has murdered not one...not two...but 123 versions of himself in different universes. Initially, we not quite sure why, although it is implied (and later explained) that the lifeforce of each reality's version of oneself is connected somehow. When one kills a version of himself, that person's lifeforce is redistributed among the surviving versions, hence Yulaw's strength, speed, and ability to perform all sorts of crazy wire-fu tricks. The movie never explains this--probably the biggest plot hole in the film--but I am going to assume that this only happens when you kill your own self. Otherwise, your lifeforce just dissipates...or something. But if you absorb all of your versions' lifeforces, you may become a god--or just make everything explode.

Back to the story, Yulaw is found guilty of 123 counts of multidimensional murder and 123 counts of unauthorized multidimensional travel. Plot hole: we learn later on that Yulaw killed his first version of himself out of some sort of necessity--he was an MVA agent himself--during a job. Technically, that would mean that it should be 122 counts of unauthorized travel, considering that it happened a job. Whatever. He is sentenced to life in the Stygian Penal Colony--i.e. a prison planet a la Fiorina 161--in the Hades universe. I wonder what things were like there in order to earn that moniker. He is rescued by his lover (Carla Gugino, of Spy Kids and Sin City), who unleashes an explosive mouse (!) into the teleportation chamber. During the confusion, Yulaw breaks out of the chair, switches the coordinates, and disappears.

Switch to our universe. A prison in Los Angeles. Not too unlike the one in the first scene. The police are seen escorting a criminal out of his cell on his way to court to testify against his gang. Is it Lawless? No, just some guy. But one of the guards is Gabe Law (also Li), a clean-cut, good-natured law enforcement officer working for the County Sheriff's Office. Once they reach the transport area, someone (we know it's Yulaw) starts firing on the procession. This time, it's clear that he's aiming at Gabe and not the prisoner. Gabe is quite astonished to learn that he's being attacked by...himself. He takes a bullet, but thankfully it does not penetrate his kevlar vest.

At the insistence of his wife, T.K. (also Gugino), Gabe goes to the hospital for a check-up and to do an MRI scan to figure out if there is anything wrong with his mind. Gabe has had a number of unexplained health issues over the past two years (hmmm) and now he's ranting about getting hunted by himself. Something must be wrong. But Yulaw, Roedecker, and Funsch all show up at the hospital and a gunfight breaks out. Thanks to some bad luck involving the placement of the security cameras, when Yulaw shoots a security guard to death in the hallway, Gabe's colleagues think it was him who did it. It is not long before before his luck gets so bad that getting shot while wearing a bulletproof vest looks like small potatoes in comparison.

Director James Wong saw his stock rise following the success of Final Destination. I don't think this film did much to improve his career, but the third FD film did pretty good (I reckon). After a few Hollywood Remakes--Willard and Black Christmas--Wong sunk his movie-making career with the notoriously dismal--if unintentionally hilarious--Dragon Ball film, which I reviewed years ago in an earlier incarnation of this site. Wong seems to have kept himself busy since then on TV, writing and producing for American Horror Story and directing episodes of the "X-Files" series reboot. All that said, Wong directs this film with a breakneck pace, never allowing the occasional moment of exposition to get in the way of the action. At a scant 87 minutes, the film just blazes by.

The plot predates the comic book movie multiverse trend by a good two decades. That said, because this is not part of a bigger universe, you don't get the overwhelming feeling that death doesn't matter. In the recent batch of comic book movies, the death of main characters no longer feels like a tragedy because one can theoretically just grab another version of oneself and place it in the main universe. By establishing our main protagonist, Gabe Law, as one of the remaining two versions of himself, we know that death is a finality. And by using the mistaken identity subplot, we also know that even if he does survive, he is completely screwed once he has to face the authorities. That does add an element of suspense to the proceedings.

Martial arts fans were only probably only partially satisfied with the action here. There is a lot of (uninspired) gunplay, plus some foot chases, vehicular mayhem, and explosions. For most of the movie, the martial arts sequences are very quick. As expected, Corey Yuen could do traditional kung fu, modern kickboxing, wire-fu, and gunplay, but he faltered once CGI was introduced into the mix. When Yulaw fights the police in the first scene, he does a lot of "kick a person, switch to slow motion as they get knocked off their feet, and then back to regular speed as he punches them again." There is a scene later on where Yulaw kills some policemen by clubbing them with their own motorcycles.

The film's best moment comes at the climax, where the two Jet Li's finally have their big showdown...in a chemical factory. Jet Li fights himself through the use of doubles, who include Guo Jianyong (Corey Yuen's protégé); Lin Feng (action director of the Detective Dee sequels); and Huang Kaisen (another member of Corey Yuen's stunt team). Yulaw and Gabe Law have differing philosophies on life and existence. Yulaw is goal-focused and sees life as a straight line toward one's objectives, independent of the cost. To that end, he uses Hsing-I Chuan, a Chinese internal style based on the movements of a spear that is straight and direct in its attacks. Gabe is a bit more "circular" in this thinking, treasuring balance and harmony, and uses Baguazhang instead. It is great to see two of the Chinese internal styles in a Hollywood movie, especially ones that aren't Tai Chi. Despite the frequent Matrix flourishes--this was a 2001 production after all--the choreography is pretty good and I'm always a sucker for more traditional fight direction. I just wished there was more of this and less CGI-fu and bullet time effects.

Rest in Peace, Corey Yuen (Feburary 15, 1951 - 2022)

Rest in Peace, Corey Yuen (Feburary 15, 1951 - 2022)

Last month, the world learned through Jackie Chan's account on Weibo that Corey Yuen Kwai had passed away. It was later clarified that Yuen had died of complications due to COVID back in 2022, but news of his death had been kept secret at his family's request. In any case, this represents a great loss to the martial arts and Hong Kong cinephile community, as one might include him in the top five action director/fight choreographers of all time.

Yuen Kwai--his artistic name taken from his Peking Opera days--was a member of the Seven Fortunes, training and working alongside Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and others during his youth. Once Peking Opera as an artform diminished in popularity at the hands of cinema, Yuen Kwai sought his fortune on the big screen. He started off as a stuntman at the Shaw Brothers studio, playing nameless thugs and bandits. He quickly expanded to doing the same in Golden Harvest and indie productions, too.

In 1973, Yuen started assuming Action Director duties in movies, starting with films like Kung Fu 10th Dan and Cub Tiger from Kwangtung, which was Jackie's first starring role. By the second half the 1970s, he had moved onto meatier action roles in films Secret Rivals II and Dance of the Drunk Mantis, which also gave him experience working behind the screen as Assistant Fight Choreographer to Yuen Woo-Ping. He also served as the principal Fight Choreographer in classics like Hell's Wind Staff and Joseph Kuo's classic The 7 Grandmasters. 

By the time the 1980s came around, Corey Yuen was dividing his time between working with up-and-coming visionary director Tsui Hark (We're Going to Eat You; Zu: Warriors of Magic Mountain) and the usual fight choreographer routine, which saw him work a lot with Legendary Superkicker Hwang Jang Lee. In 1982, producer Ng See-Yuen gave Corey his first directing gig on the genre classic Ninja in the Dragon's Den, which was a huge success (according to star Conan Lee). Like his fellow 7 Fortunes, Corey Yuen was able to make a smooth transition into modern action films, which became the vogue thanks to Jackie and Sammo. He directed and choreographed films Yes, Madam! (1985) and Righting Wrongs (1986), which are classic action flix--the former introduced the world to the fighting prowesses of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock. He also directed and choreographed No Retreat, No Surrender, which introduced the world to some guy named Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Around 1990, Corey Yuen was still pretty busy making modern action films when he struck up a creative partnership with Hong Kong director Jeff Lau, one of the territory's greatest purveyor's of Mo Lei Tau, or Nonsense Comedy. Yuen and Lau would collaborate on projects up until Corey's final film, Soccer Killer, in 2017. Corey would also serve as Action Director on a number of funnyman Stephen Chow's early projects--the biggest name in Mo Lei Tau films. Corey also found himself working frequently with a Mainland Chinese wushu actor named Jet Li. 

That last collaboration would serve Corey particularly well: when Jet Li went to Hollywood in 1998 to appear in Lethal Weapon 4, Corey went with him to direct the fight sequences. Corey worked with Jet Li on most of his American films, save Unleashed and Forbidden Kingdom (which were choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping). But his presence in Hollywood did not go unnoticed and Corey was invited to direct the fight sequences in X-Men and then the Transporter films. 

Sadly, after 2000, the quality of his work in Hong Kong started to suffer. A lot of it had to do with the growing popularity of integrating digital effects in action sequences, which seemed to be a bit beyond Corey's talents. Although some action directors like Tony Ching Siu-Tung were able to work within these new parameters, it never seemed to work for Corey--just watch A Chinese Tall Story or Avenging Fist to see the man's talent obscured by CGI. Thankfully, Corey did manage to crank out a few final masterpieces of fight choreography before age and health problems cut his career short. He did great work on Shaolin and Rise of the Legend, and the epic battle/fight scenes of the Red Cliff films would have made a wonderful stopping point for his career.

Corey Yuen was talented in that he was just as comfortable doing grounded action as he was doing wire-fu. In that way, you could say he combined the best aspects of his colleagues Sammo Hung and Yuen Woo-Ping. Much like Sammo Hung, the man knew how to draw out the best physical performance from his leads, even when they were not trained martial artists. Cynthia Rothrock once said in an interview that during her earliest years in Hong Kong, Sammo Hung was very careful with her, while Corey Yuen pushed her beyond what she thought were her limits. But when wire-fu became vogue in the early 1990s, Corey was just as comfortable with the paradigm, having already developed his high-flying choreography skills on Zu: Warriors from Magic Mountain. 

Corey also had a talent for making female-centric action films, starting with Yes, Madam! He made the Girls n' Guns classic She Shoots Straight; the Category III action thriller Women on the Run, which features nude fu; Enter the Eagles, starring Bruce's daughter Shannon; So Close; and finally the video game adaptation DOA: Dead or Alive, which has developed a cult following in the years since its release.

Filmography (Behind the Camera):

The Cub Tiger from Kwangtung (1973)[Action Director]

Duel of the Dragons (1973)[Action Director]

The Evil Snake Girl (1974)[Action Director]

Kung Fu 10th Dan (1974)[Action Director]

Bruka Queen of Evil (1975)[Action Director]

Heroes of the Wild (1977)[Action Director]

The Invincible Armour (1977) [Assistant Martial Arts Director]

The Secret Rivals, Part II (1977) [Assistant Martial Arts Director]

The 7 Grandmasters (1978)[Action Director]

Drunken Master (1978) [Assistant Martial Arts Director]

The Instant Kung Fu Man (1978)[Action Director]          

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) [Assistant Martial Arts Director]

A Massacre Survivor (1979)[Action Director]

Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)[Action Director]

The Dragon and the Tiger Kids (1979)[Action Director]

Crystal Fist (1979)[Action Director]

The Buddha Assassinator (1980)[Action Director]

The Ring of Death (1980)[Action Director]

Tower of Death (1980) [Assistant Martial Arts Director]

We're Going to Eat You (1980)[Action Director]

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981)[Action Director]

Dragon Lord (1982)[Action Director]

Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982)[Director/Action Director/Writer]                        

Zu: The Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)[Action Director]

Aces Go Places - Our Man from Bond Street (1984)[Action Director]   

Heart of the Dragon (1985)[Action Director]

Yes, Madam! (1985)[Director/Action Director]

Mr. Vampire Part 2 (1986)[Planner]

No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)[Director/Action Director/Story]

Righting Wrongs (1986)[Director/Producer/Action Director]

Eastern Condors (1987)[Action Director/Planner]

No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987)[Director/Action Director]

Promising Young Boy (1987) [Planner]                                               

Dragons Forever (1988) [Executive Director/Planner]

In the Blood (1988)[Director]                   

Picture of a Nymph (1988) [Planner]                    

Spooky, Spooky (1988)[Planner]                           

The Blonde Fury (1989)[Producer/Action Director]

Lost Souls (1989)[Action Director]

Pedicab Driver (1989)[Planner]

All for the Winner (1990)[Director/Producer/Action Director/Story]

Mortuary Blues (1990)[Producer/Action Director]

Shanghai Shanghai (1990)[Producer/Action Director]

She Shoots Straight (1990)[Director/Action Director/Story] 

American Shaolin (1991)[Action Director]

Bury Me High (1991) [Planner]

Fist of Fury 1991 (1991)[Producer/Action Director]      

Lee Rock (1991)[Action Director]

Lee Rock II (1991)[Action Director]

Legend of the Dragon (1991)[Action Director]

The Magnificent Scoundrels (1991)[Action Director]

Saviour of the Soul (1991)[Director]

The Top Bet (1991)[Director/Producer/Action Director]

Fist of Fury 1991 II (1992)[Producer]

Ghost Punting (1992)[Director/Action Director]                             

The Moon Warriors (1992)[Action Director]

Operation Scorpio (1992) [Action Director]

Saviour of the Soul II (1992)[Director]

Fong Sai Yuk (1993)[Director/Action Director]

Rose Rose I Love You (1993)[Action Director]  

Fong Sai Yuk II (1993)[Director/Action Director]

Women on the Run (1993)[Director/Producer/Action Director]

The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994)[Director/Action Director]

The New Legend of Shaolin (1994)[Action Director]                     

High Risk (1995)[Action Director]

My Father Is a Hero (1995)[Director/Action Director]

Black Rose II (1997)[Director/Action Director]

Hero (1997)[Director/Action Director/Writer]

Mahjong Dragon (1997)[Director]

Enter the Eagles (1998)[Director]

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)[Action Director]

Timeless Romance (1998)[Action Director]

Romeo Must Die (2000)[Action Director]

X-Men (2000)[Action Director]

The Avenging Fist (2001)[Director/Action Director]

Kiss of the Dragon (2001)[Action Director]

The One (2001)[Action Director]

So Close (2002)[Director/Action Director]

The Transporter (2002)[Director/Action Director]

Bulletproof Monk (2003)[Action Director - uncredited]

Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)[Action Director]

The Twins Effect II (2004)[Director/Action Director]

A Chinese Tall Story (2005)[Action Director]    

Transporter 2 (2005)[Action Director]

DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)[Director]

War (2007)[Action Director]

Red Cliff (2008)[Action Director]

Transporter 3 (2008)[Action Director]

Blood: The Last Vampire (2009)[Action Director]

Red Cliff: Part 2 (2009)[Action Director]

The Expendables (2010)[Action Director]

Shaolin (2011)[Action Director]

Treasure Inn (2011)[Director/Action Director]

The Man with the Iron Fists(2012)[Action Director]

Naked Soldier (2012)[Action Director]

Wu Dang (2012)[Action Director]

Badges of Fury (2013)[Action Director]

Rise of the Legend (2014)[Action Director]

Wild Card (2015)[Action Director]

Birth of the Dragon (2016)[Action Director/Assistant Director]

A Chinese Odyssey: Part Three (2016)[Action Director]             

Master of the Drunken Fist - Beggar So (2016)[Producer]

Master of the Shadowless Kick - Wong Kei-Ying (2016)[Producer]

Soccer Killer (2017)[Action Director]

Ip Man 3 (2015)

Ip Man 3 (2015)

Starring: Donnie Yen, Lynn Xiong, Max Zhang, Mike Tyson, Patrick Tam Yiu-Man, Karena Ng Chin-Yu, Kent Cheng Jak-Si, Louis Cheung Kai-Chung, Leung Kar-Yan, Danny Chan Kwok-Kwan

Director: Wilson Yip

Action Director: Yuen Woo-Ping

Hong Kong, 1959. Wing Chun Grand Master Ip Man is now 66 years old. He has been estranged from his wife, Cheung Wing-Sing, for almost a decade thanks to the communist revolution in China and the closing of the border between Hong Kong and China. His two sons—Ip Chun and Ip Ching—are now adults. Ip also has two daughters, but we don’t know much about them. Ip Man has since shacked up with a mistress, with whom he has a third son, Ip Siu-Wah. Some former child actor named Bruce Lee had been training privately under Ip Man for a few years—Lee couldn’t train openly because his mother had European blood in her—and had even won a local boxing tournament.

Now throw all those facts away because Ip Man 3 doesn’t really care about them.

The film opens with Ip Man (Donnie Yen), now an established and respected teacher in Hong Kong, being approached by Bruce Lee (Danny Chow, who had played the Little Dragon in the “Legend of Bruce Lee” series), who wants lessons. That really goes nowhere except to establish Lee as a bit of an arrogant show-off. Once again, in real life, Bruce had already been training for several years under Ip Man by 1959…but don’t let facts get in the way.

Later that day, little Ip Ching (Wang Shi)—oh, those darn facts--gets in a fight at school with a new kid, Cheung Fong (Cui Can). Both of them “know” wing chun and are trying to prove to the other whose kung fu is better. When Cheung’s father, Cheung Tin-Chi (Max Zhang, of Master Z and The Invincible Dragon), fails to show up to pick up his son, the Ip’s have the kid over for dinner. The dad eventually arrives and is visibly jealous of Ip Man, although he’s polite enough to hold it in. Later that evening, Cheung is fighting illegal bouts down at the wharf, run by the local scumbag Ma King-Sang (Patrick Tam, of The Legend of Zu and The Legend of Speed). Ma is working for a crime boss named Frank (Mike Tyson, of China Salesman), who is involved in a real estate scheme that requires him to buy up some properties, including Ip Ching’s school.

The next day, Ip Man heads down to the martial arts association clubhouse thingie for a group photo with the local masters, including Master Tin Ngo-San (Leung Kar-Yan, of The Victim and The Thundering Mantis). He forgets a date he had scheduled with his wife, Cheung Wing-Sing (a returning Lynn Xiong), who sends him to pick up their son, Ip Ching, from school. While he’s there, Ma King-Sang shows up to physically coerce the principal (Tats Lau, of Gorgeous and The Good of Cookery) into signing over the property. Ip Man shows up in the nick of time to fight off Ma and his ruffians. They come back the next evening, however, but Ip Man and his students are waiting for them. A huge fight breaks out, and although Ip Man—and Cheung Tin-Chi, who was in the neighborhood--gives the thugs a good walloping, they still manage to burn down some of the classrooms.

Ip Man and his students agree to stand guard over the school day and night for the next few weeks. This keeps him away from his wife and son, especially the former. Cheung Wing-Sing starts experiencing severe abdominal pains, which turns out to be cancer. She decides not to tell her husband until after a traumatic episode involving Ma King-Sang kidnapping some of the children from the school, including Ip Ching and Cheung Fong. Yes, that is resolved via a big fight down at the wharf, but it also spurs the next bit of character development from Ip Man.

Once he knows that his wife is terminally ill, Master Ip takes a step back from his kung fu duties in order to spend as much time with her as he can. But, there is not only still the matter of Frank the crime boss to be resolved, but now Cheung Tin-Chi has decided that he wants to be the wing chun teacher in town. He starts defeating all the local masters in one-on-one duels while preaching how his wing chun is “pure.” It won’t be long before he’s challenging Ip Man to a duel to determine whose wing chun is the best.

As a biopic, Ip Man 3 offers little historical value. There are little details the film gets right—Cheung Wing-Sing did indeed die of cancer in 1960; Bruce Lee was an accomplished dancer—but the context in which those details are placed is quite far removed from actual history. But then again, we Hong Kong cinephiles ignore that sort of thing in the Once Upon a Time in China and Drunken Master franchises, so we should ignore it here. I suppose because the film is set at a time that our parents were alive, the fudging of the details makes it harder to stomach than it would be for a historical film set in the 19th century.

If you can get past the historical inaccuracies, Ip Man 3 is a particularly compelling movie when it comes to depicting a man trying to balance the needs of his family with those of his career. Ip Man is never a bad husband or father, but he is imperfect and often allows what he believes are his duties to the community trump his family obligations. He’s not wrong for wanting to protect his son’s school, even if it comes at a price. And once he realizes what’s at stake in his own home, he does make the necessary sacrifices, even at the cost of his own reputation. And Ip’s wife is understanding enough to appreciate his efforts to spend time with her during her final days, but also encourage him in doing what comes best to him: kung fu. Donnie Yen and Lynn Xiong’s scenes together are quiet and loving in a way that keeps the viewer in the film even when the fists aren’t flying.

The film also benefits by dialing down the Rocky IV levels of jingoism that hampered the second half of Ip Man 2. Yes, Frank the crime boss is a foreigner—Mike Tyson jumps back and forth between saying his lines in English and Cantonese, Michael Wong-style—but he never talks down to the Chinese. There is some talk about the British members of the police force being corrupt, but it never feels like they’re trying to pound it into our skulls that foreigners are all racist assholes like they did in Ip Man 2 and 4, and Master Z. For most of the first half, the main villain is Ma King-Sang, who is so despicable that his master (Leung Kar-Yan’s character) wants to kick his ass. And the final act pushes Cheung Tin-Chi, a fellow Chinese, into the forefront as the main antagonist. In other words, the two main antagonists are Chinese, with the foreigner serving mainly a secondary background antagonist.

Speaking of antagonist, the action remains of the high standard established by the first two films. Sammo Hung did not return for this one with, with the action duties moving over to Yuen Woo-Ping. Yuen Woo-Ping had worked on another Ip Man film, The Grandmaster, for which he had won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography. His work here was nominated for the same award, but lost to Nicky Li Chung-Chi for SPL 2: A Time for Consequences. This was the first team up between Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo-Ping since their falling out two decades before during the filming of Wing Chun (how ironic). Interestingly enough, despite Yuen Woo-Ping being synonymous with wire-fu, the action in Ip Man 3 is probably the most grounded of the three films in the franchise up to that point. If anyone complains about wire-fu in this film, please feel free to ignore them.

During the film’s first half, the two major set pieces involve Donnie Yen taking on Ma King-Sang’s gang. Their second encounter is particularly large scale, with Donnie fighting a half-dozen trained boxers, plus dozens of nameless thugs armed with sticks and hatchets. Donnie gets to fight with a long pole, which then gets broken and becomes something closer to an escrima fight. Max Zhang joins the fun—his son was kidnapped, too—and takes out half a dozen thugs with wing chun, too. Zhang also gets to participate in some illegal bouts, where he destroys the competition with his wing chun skills. 

I think this was turning point in Zhang’s career. He cut his teeth on low-budget productions like Chinese Heroes and The Undiscovered Tomb, but by the early 2010s, he found himself with supporting roles in more prestigious productions like The Grandmaster and Rise of the Legend. Two-thousand fifteen saw him play Cheung Tin-Chi in this and the main villain in SPL 2: A Time For Consequences. Afterward, a lot more opportunities for playing the lead role started to pop up for Zhang. These days, the Mainland action films he’s been showing up in have arguably been beneath his talents, but he’s still keeping busy at least.

Back to the action, there are two important fights during the film’s second half. One is the much-awaited showdown between Donnie Yen and Mike Tyson. And I must say: it’s a fine little fight. Divorced from the racist attitudes that made Donnie’s bout with the late Darren Shahlavi in Ip Man 2 annoying, watching a wing chun master fight a Western boxer is just good ol’ fashioned entertainment. I like the bit when Donnie gets into an especially-low wing chun stance—probably the chum kiu form--and counters Tyson’s sheer brute strength with more intricate legwork, elbows doubling as blocks and strikes, and a shifting center of gravity.

Then there’s the climax, which is the throwdown between the two wing chun masters. The fight is broken into three sections: a staff duel, a butterfly sword fight, and then hand-to-hand wing chun goodness. The staff duel involves the Dragon Poles, which are heavy weapons that can reach up to eight feet in length, sometimes longer. The butterfly sword fight is as authentic as you could expect in a movie tailored to mainstream tastes, and a far cry from the wired-up baht jam do vs. spear duel of YWP’s earlier Wing Chun (although I like that fight, too). One of the neat details is the high-pitched clang of the blades striking and dragged across each other, which is so loud that the fight’s observers are visibly unnerved. Then we get to the hand-to-hand goodness, which features chi sau, biu jee (or “darting fingers”) and, of course, the famous one-inch punch. The finale of Ip Man 3 is the sort of “fight clinic as an action scene” that I don’t think we’ve seen in a mainstream action movie since the glory days of Lau Kar-Leung at the Shaw Brothers. And more power to Donnie Yen, Max Zhang, Yuen Woo-Ping and Wilson Yip for pulling it off!