I’m both a martial arts movie fan and a Donnie Yen fan and I wanted to like “Ip Man 3” more, but it was difficult for me to get past the cookie-cutter plot and the cartoonish villains that run-of-the-mill films of this genre tend to have.  A foreign boss, played by none other than ex-boxing champ Mike Tyson, battles Master Ip (Yen) and his martial arts school to take over an elementary school and make his own Kung Fu school. Preposterous, right? But it’s a throwback to the old martial arts flicks where so many plots revolved around ridiculous conflicts between Kung Fu schools. “My school’s Kung Fu is better than your school’s Kung Fu!” That kind of thing. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but Tyson turned me off. During the inevitable fight between Tyson and Yen, I’m thinking, “Man, is it really so hard for Yen to take down this old guy?” And Tyson’s sordid real-life details made it uncomfortable to see him showcased and glorified like he’s really all big and bad. But Donnie Yen’s charisma, his amazing skills, and the great martial arts choreography and high production values common in his films made the overall experience entertaining, despite the movie’s shortcomings and lack of originality.

Not For Kids
Cantonese with English sub-titles

Extra:

• I can imagine Mike Tyson coming up to Donnie Yen at some get-together and saying, “Hey, I’m a great fan of yours and I’d love to be in one of your movies!” And Yen, being the nice guy he is, says, “Sure!” “But it has to be exactly the way I want to be portrayed, I want to look good and strong!” “No problema,” Yen replies in Cantonese. And thus, we have a former convict with a history of unbridled violence playing a major role in a Donnie Yen movie. I’m not criticizing the movie for providing an ex-con with opportunity, which is laudable; I’m criticizing the movie for doing it in on Tyson’s terms, to the point that his part seems more like a self-promotional video than anything else. “Oh, look how strong Tyson still is!” “Oh, look how sweet he is with the little kid!” Ugh.

2021 Update: By this point, I’ve seen all of Donnie Yen’s Ip Man movies, 1 through 4. Of the four, 3 is the weakest. 1 is probably the best, followed by 4 (“The Finale”), 2 (which I remember liking but barely remember), and 3 at the very end.