ip man 3
IP MAN 3 Review: Of Masters And Men
The first two films in the series were warmly received, as Donnie Yen has made a mark in his film career for bringing the operatic to the table. The true grit. The underlying spirit of martial arts, similar in many ways to what Bruce Lee was cut short doing with his own auteuristic endeavor in cinema. The film begins with the tranquility of an empty dojo. We find Ip practicing on his wooden dummy, his advance in years and wisdom both held in the lines of his face. The year is 1959, and Ip Man is settling into a peaceful life in Hong Kong with his wife Cheung Wing-Sing and his youngest son Ip Ching.
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Donnie Yen: "I Still Have A Little Fire Left In Me"
Well that was pretty quick. Nevertheless it was also quite necessary, especially when talk of retirement for a fan-favorite film actor comes into play, and especially if said actor is martial arts action star Donnie Yen.
Still with a few films left through 2016, Yen is currently making the rounds to promote his latest kung fu threequel, Ip Man 3, and with respect to past statements, also acknowledging it as his last martial arts film. That said, Yen graced readers of South China Morning Post with a little clarity in a recent article published on Monday.
“I still have a lot of fire in me to make contemporary action movies,” Yen states. “They’re different from kung fu movies because the fights are not as protracted. But it’s still a form of expression for martial arts. I really want to keep going in this regard. I still have a lot of ideas on the creative side.”
Yen made the statements otherwise confirming that he would still like to star in movies that focused more on films for global audiences, adding earlier “I will put more of a focus on foreign films in the future.”
Topics like these always tend to draw concern from fans along with heavy speculation unless clarified. Jackie Chan is still making daring action films even after mingling with retirement rhetoric in the last several years and time will tell if actress and The Grandmaster co-star Zhang Ziyi is really done with martial arts films despite her positions last year.
The same goes for Yen who, in response to a question during a recent interview at Time Out Hong Kong regarding Ip Man 3, said “It’s definitely intended to be my last one, but you know, we can’t predict what’s going on in the future, right?“, before adding “I have every intention in my mind that it’s going to be my last martial arts movie. It’s really hard. As an actor, I want to move on. I understand that the world changes, so I can’t guarantee ‘never’, but I definitely consider this is my last heroic martial arts kung fu movie.”
Yen broke out in the 80’s with his debut, Drunken Tai-Chi under the lens of Yuen Woo-Ping who he still works with to this day while seeing a mild Hollywood crossover in films like Highlander: Endgame and Blade 2. Among other titles, Yen earned his accumulating fanbase while largely spreading the Gospel and molding himself as an action director for films and shows like The Princess Blade, Stormbreaker and German action series, Der Puma.
Nowadays his career has long seen a resurgence in Hong Kong since bringing the genre back to its roots in Wilson Yip’s 2005 crimebuster, SPL, in addition to other titles spanning other genres. With that in mind, as Yen comes to a potential close with Ip Man 3 based on the life and legend of the iconic martial arts purveyor and grandmaster, Yen is also keen on remaining as flexible as possible, further adding, “Will I make another Ip Man? Possibly. I may take back my word on retiring from kung fu movies if I can make them in English.”
This may not necessarily mean an Ip Man film in English – I highly doubt it. However, with so many more titles having been announced in the past including Dragon City, Enter The Master, Wesley, The Seven Fortunes and Daming Chen’s Noodle Man, chances are at least one or a few of these titles may finally come to pass, if not others; Perhaps this even leaves a little room for Troy Nixey’s Priority Run since it was announced in 2013.
At any rate, more Yen is on the way, so let’s hope that fire stays burning after Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.
Ip Man 3 is releasing throughout Hong Kong and Asia starting Thursday.
Donnie Yen Talks Life After IP MAN 3 And More
All the talk that’s been heard about martial arts star Donnie Yen possibly retiring from martial arts films may sound like rhetoric to some fans who are skeptical ahead of the forthcoming release of Ip Man 3. For the man himself though, it’s very much certain despite whatever may happen, and he expanded on this and much more in a recent interview with Time Out Hong Kong.
“It’s definitely intended to be my last one, but you know, we can’t predict what’s going on in the future, right?” said Yen, before adding “I have every intention in my mind that it’s going to be my last martial arts movie. It’s really hard. As an actor, I want to move on. I understand that the world changes, so I can’t guarantee ‘never’, but I definitely consider this is my last heroic martial arts kung fu movie.”
Yen went forward in citing the challenges of finding other characters that can further sustain freshness and overall interest with each film. This also coincides with Yen’s own expressions on working strenuously and taking time away from family, among other thoughts he shares on his Facebook fan page and there’s no question that Yen has had a pretty rigorous schedule to try and fullfill in the last several years. Just a few years ago he announced his own production banner in the form of Superhero Films which would have forseen titles like Enter The Master and Dragon City, next to the long-winded process of finishing Iceman 3D in two parts which has since left its second half unfinished and essentially unreleased. It’s unfortunate, but Yen is his own man and its understandable that he would want to be done with martial arts films altogether which is entirely up to him, regardless of how fans feel.
As for the current crop of martial arts talent and who could possibly take the mantle, Yen doesn’t throw any names out but he did speculate a bit on why the number of prospects among locals may be depleting. “Today, people have a lot of choices for what to focus on and spend their time doing.” he says. “As I said earlier, when I was a kid, I didn’t even have a TV! But now kids have an iPad and iPhone to absorb their time. Martial arts take a lot of time to learn. And martial arts films only really began around the Bruce Lee era in the last 50 years. It’s still kind of new. It doesn’t have a 100 year history [to fall back on].”
Yen’s statements also come in the wake of his latest expected appearance in director Gareth Edwards’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which releases in 2016. You can read his thoughts about it as well as a few more bits of on-set details for Ip Man 3 by CLICKING HERE; The film releases in Hong Kong on December 24 ahead of February when he stars alongside Michelle Yeoh once more for Yuen Woo-Ping’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny.
Stay tuned!
