Ip Man The Awakening evaluate

Set in Thirties Hong Kong, it sees future kung fu grasp Ip Man (Miu Tse) struggle for the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by taking up a gang of bizarrely accented British colonialists.

Young martial arts star (and Jet Li’s pupil) Miu Tse pulls off some spectacular strikes as he takes on evil Mr Stark (performed by Italian-sounding Sergio De Ieso).

Stark, as grasp of a nineteenth century British combined martial artwork Baritsu (an actual factor, apparently), has been kidnapping and trafficking native ladies with the collusion of the Hong Kong authorities.

Deciding to face as much as his British oppressors, Ip Man units about liberating the ladies, whereas spouting nationalist slogans and incurring the wrath of Stark and his henchmen.

The struggle scenes are slickly choreographed and energetically staged however the plot is as skinny as Tse’s barely written character.

And the flag waving made me really feel a little bit queasy given communist China’s latest human rights crackdowns within the supposedly democratic ex-colony.