The Grandmaster

2013 • 108 minutes
4.2
1.51K reviews
79%
Tomatometer
PG-13
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

From director Wong Kar Wai and starring Tony Leung (HERO) and Ziyi Zhang (CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON), THE GRANDMASTER is an epic action film inspired by the life of Ip Man, the legendary kung fu master who trained Bruce Lee. The story spans the tumultuous Republican era that followed the fall of China's last dynasty. It was a time of chaos, division, and war that also heralded the golden age of Chinese martial arts. Filmed in a range of stunning locations that include the snow-swept landscapes of Northeast China and the subtropical South, THE GRANDMASTER features virtuoso performances by some of the greatest stars of contemporary Asian cinema.
Rating
PG-13

Ratings and reviews

4.2
1.51K reviews
Solomon M
December 7, 2013
This movie is very different from all the original IP movies that ever produced. Fighting scenes were overly dramatic, story was slow to begin with, fighting scenes doesn't come close to the original, and half of the movie was a story of the Gang Er girl. There were a lot of scenes that I fell asleep on and that just shows that the movie was kinda boring. They need to bring the same director and actors when making IP Man's movies...
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Joe Hobbs
December 18, 2013
Definitely not like the other Ip Man movies which are worlds better than this long and depressing slog. I wanted to see a martial arts film, not the Japanese version of the English Patient. This was a love story and a bad and depressing one at that. Actually it felt like one long Obsession commercial. Do not let the preview fool you. This is not a true martial arts movie! Although I think Ziyi Zhang is gorgeous.
3 people found this review helpful
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Tim Turner
December 1, 2013
I just finished watching this and a couple of times during the movie I was tempted to turn it off and find something else to watch. First, all language is in Chinese with sub-titles in English (what good is a Chinese movie in English anyways?) Secondly, like most Asian Drama movies, it draws upon the pauses, and gruff sounding pronunciations of certain words to evoke emotion. Third, this is meant to be more of a love story during the Japanese occupation of China and not so much about the martial arts taught to Bruce Lee, although they do manage to shove a little Bruce Lee child in the last 2 minutes in order to use Bruce Lee's name in the description of the movie. Had I had been watching this with an emotional Wife or Girlfriend, then the movie might have taken on a different meaning as a Love Story. I can't rate this much higher than three stars because I found it to be very slow, boring, and sappy - I fell asleep and accidently selected 3 stars instead of 2.
14 people found this review helpful
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