Loosely based on the life of Wing Chun’s most famous Grandmaster, Ip Man tells the story of the eponymous master before he spread his teachings throughout the world by training such luminaries as Bruce Lee.

A wealthy man living in the Chinese city Foshan, Ip and his family are forced into destitution by the invading Japanese army. When his fellow townspeople are mistreated by the occupiers, Ip shows his skill in fights with the soldiers, attracting the attention of their leader, General Miura. Now, Ip must protect his people from both the Japanese army and marauding bandits.

Released in Hong Kong in 2008, Ip Man was met with mostly positive reviews and was a solid box office success in its own country. It didn’t receive a theatrical release in America, but is available on Netflix for your viewing pleasure. Does it hold up? Definitely, especially if you have a taste for Asian cinema.

For action fans, Ip Man has a lot to eat up. The fight scenes are very impressive, both in choreography and as pure visual art. From Ip Man’s first match with a fellow master to the final battle with General Miura, the action consistently blew me away.

There were definitely times it got a bit too over the top, but it never veered to far into Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon fantasy style action and felt just real enough to be believable in a real world setting.

But if the action is the primary draw of the film, Donnie Yen’s performance as Ip truly gives it staying power. In what I’ve seen from him, Yen’s impressed me – watch Hero for a great fight between him and Jet Li.

However, in Ip Man, Yen is given a lead role that lets him show off his acting ability. Thanks to Yen, Ip is a very likable character. He’s immensely humble, taking care not to act like he’s some sort of martial arts god; he also projects assured self-confidence and can kick ass on a dime.

He begins the film as a rich-dude-with-no-day-job character, but when his family is evicted from their home and forced to live in a shack he goes to work in a coal mine. You root for Ip the whole time and feel for him when he goes through hardship, even if you know how the story ends.

The film is by no means perfect. As a Chinese film depicting the Sino-Japanese War, it’s not surprising the Japanese come off looking poorly. General Miura himself has some standards, but every other Japanese soldier is a mustache-twirling thug with no redeeming features. Granted, what the Japanese army did to the Chinese people was horrific, but if you’re looking for nuance, this film won’t satisfy you. There are also very few people who can credibly threaten Ip, so the fight scenes’ outcomes become very predictable.

Still, if you want a fun action movie that doubles as an inspirational, if loose, retelling of a true story, Ip Man earns my enthusiastic recommendation. Come for the fight scenes, stay for Donnie Yen.

Grade: A-