A fun ride
Summary
Ip Man: The Awakening is a fun addition to the Ip Man mythology even if it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. It’s short runtime and regular fight scenes make for an easy if forgettable watch.
Plot: After stopping a kidnapping, a young Ip Man becomes the target of a human trafficking ring and must face the group’s brutal boxing champion head-on.
Review: Ip Man: The Awakening isn’t related to the Donnie Yen franchise but could be seen as a prequel as it shows Master Ip Man (Miao Xie) as a young man fighting for justice but quickly finding out that there are always consequences to your actions.
At a blissfully short hour and 16 minutes long Ip Man: The Awakening is obviously well paced and packed with fight scenes every few minutes. They are noticeably sped up at times but most of these kinds of films usually are and it does give them more intensity.
Miao Xie is no Donnie Yen but brings his own voice to the now legendary character of Ip Man; he makes him a little arrogant at times so he has a lot to learn before becoming the version of Master Ip we all know. The story feels very familiar with Ip Man battling human traffickers and isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. It still manages to be emotionally engaging and you hate the villains even if they are total cartoon characters. They never feel like real people but they do what’s required of them so we can enjoy watching them get their comeuppance at the end.
Overall, Ip Man: The Awakening is fast paced and action-packed; it’s not as good as the Donnie Yen starring movies but it’s brisk runtime and straightforward story make it an easy watch.