Concerning today's crop of stars of martial arts movies, I never thought anyone could come close to Jet Li. Well, as Ip Man, Donnie Chen has more than come close–he's right up there with the Jet!
He's the Americanised Asian martial arts master (gleaming white, unnaturally perfect teeth, did he have plastic surgery?) next to Jet Li's down to earth, plain vanilla polka faced, hard-as warrior. With such a warrior/gentleman as mentor one can see how Bruce Lee was inspire with his unique philosophy–the portend of today's mixed martial arts.
Enhanced by Matrix-like/Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon fight scenes (done just right, not over the top) technology against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion this is one great movie that for me (as someone who saw all the classics like Enter the Dragon, Eagles Shadow etc in the 80s as a boy) has generated freshness into the genre, something that I didn't think was possible because I considered those earlier classics perfect and impossible to improve upon. Enuff said. Great movie, get it. If you're a martial arts movie buff Ip Man should be the start of your Donnie Chen collection right next to your Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Lee collection.