There’s something about actor Donnie Yen’s implacable face that’s always a pleasure to watch on the big screen. His characters exude an otherworldly calm, even in the midst of tragedy or impossible odds.
That’s why it is so odd to see Mr. Yen smiling and even wrestling with strong emotions in “Ip Man 3,” the latest installment about the life of the taciturn Wing Chun Kung Fu master, best known as Bruce Lee’s martial arts teacher.
Starring: Donnie Yen, Mike Tyson, Max Zhang, Lynn Xiong.
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of martial arts violence and brief strong language.
When Ip Man (Donnie Yen) picks up his son at the elementary school, he notices shifty characters slinking about. The men try to force the school principal to sign the property over to Frank (Mike Tyson), a brutal real estate speculator who wants to expand his kingdom.
Ip Man intervenes and beats everyone to a pulp, but his wife, Cheung Wing-sing (Lynn Xiong), feels neglected because he puts in such long hours protecting the school. While fighting off thugs, Ip Man forms an uneasy alliance with Cheung Tin-chi (Max Zhang), a fellow practitioner of Wing Chun and the father of a rival and friend of his son.
It turns out that Cheung Tin-chi wants to be known as the top dog in Wing Chun, so a challenge to Ip Man was inevitable after he opens a rival school in the neighborhood. Their battle for supremacy is an epic one — as good as any ever seen in a martial arts film.
As for Mr. Tyson as Frank, this is gimmick casting at its most cynical. The “battle” between the burly boxer as a real estate speculator and Ip Man feels ridiculously improbable given the hero’s speed and skill. The fight ends with the same feeling of anticlimax we had watching Bruce Lee as Kato “fight” Burt Ward’s Robin to a tie in “Batman” in 1966.
The action sequences choreographed by Yuen Woo-Ping are brilliant and would normally be enough to carry any martial arts film. Alas, “Ip Man 3” has larger ambitions.
It explores with mixed results the competing priorities of what it means to balance family life with representing an ancient martial tradition. The subplot involving Ip Man’s wife is often maudlin, but it gives Mr. Yen a chance to stretch his acting chops. Ms. Xiong is beautiful but oddly stoic in the role. I’d love to see her in an American movie, though.
This is the most emotionally resonant and best crafted Ip Man movie so far. A Bruce Lee stand-in shows up for two scenes and whets our appetite for more. I’m up for “Ip Man 4” if he’s in it.
Opens Fridayjan22 at the Hollywood Theater, Dormont.
Tony Norman: tnorman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1631.
First Published: January 21, 2016, 5:00 a.m.