The Grandmaster

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: August 23, 2013

6.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 104 Ratings

USER RATING DISTRIBUTION

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Review this movie

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.

Check box if your review contains spoilers

0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User score By date Most helpful

JoshEyreSep 3, 2013

I was expecting a lot more with, both, the critic and user reviews, but people are obviously still drawing some smokey parallels between the artistry, of both film and story, of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to "movies" like "TheI was expecting a lot more with, both, the critic and user reviews, but people are obviously still drawing some smokey parallels between the artistry, of both film and story, of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" to "movies" like "The Grandmaster". Let's just say that "The Grandmaster" is stuffed full of slow motion kung fu choreography and long glances between Ip Man and Lady Gong, but it's less of a film than empty kung fu porn interspersed with a vignette of family revenge. Ip Man isn't really a character in this movie, but an avatar to join the kung fu porn from scene to scene. Then he disappears for nearly half of the movie so Lady Gong can do her thing. So, calling this movie "The Grandmaster" is problematic, because the only coherent story in this film isn't really about Ip Man, or even the Old Grand Master, but his daughter rescuing the honor of her family from the punk who her father, the old Grand Master, gave his fighting legacy to. Ip Man's story in the movie is so lightweight, that it feels secondary, if even a story at all. In the end, you leave wondering what the point of the movie was at all. Now, movies don't always have to have some super precise and epic story, but we are supposed to care about the path that Ip Man took to Grandmaster, at least that's what I thought was the point, and the writers spent barely any part of the movie telling that story in anywhere near an effective manner. Ip Man was underdeveloped. The love story was underdeveloped. The history was not woven into the story effectively. I love artistically executed films, but Wong Kar Wai has become a master of style over substance. This movie tries to do 2 things that could have their own story, one of Ip Man's path to Hong Kong, and the other of Lady Gong's quest to recover her father's legacy. It only tells one of these stories decently (Gong's) and the other it completely fails. So, we basically have a 2 hour movie with about 30 minutes that really grabs you. This is not a good movie. Don't let the decent score fool you. Everyone who I went to see the movie with agreed... If you want to see a movie about Ip Man, see "Ip Man". If you want to see a beautiful kung fu movie, see "Crouching Tiger". "The Grandmaster" is chaff.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

All this user's reviews

TVJerrySep 3, 2013

Kar Wai Wong creates wonderful Chinese art films ("Chungking Express," "In the Mood for Love"). This is his attempt to put "art" to martial arts. It's a broad-stroke bio of kung fu master Ip Man with the following structure: a physicalKar Wai Wong creates wonderful Chinese art films ("Chungking Express," "In the Mood for Love"). This is his attempt to put "art" to martial arts. It's a broad-stroke bio of kung fu master Ip Man with the following structure: a physical encounter, a slow serious conversation, some narration, repeat. Visually, this is rich and masterful. The fights are fast, flashy and reality based. For martial arts history buffs, this might work, but anyone seeking a sumptuous film like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will find the slow pacing and affected style to be a disappointment. (In Chinese with fast subtitles)… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

BikerjamesSep 9, 2013

I am a fan of Chinese Martial arts films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "House of Flying Daggers", and "Hero" so I went to see this film. While it was beautiful to look at, the story, what little there is, didn't hold my interest.I am a fan of Chinese Martial arts films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "House of Flying Daggers", and "Hero" so I went to see this film. While it was beautiful to look at, the story, what little there is, didn't hold my interest. It is crucial that the two leads have chemistry for this slow, plodding story to succeed, and I felt ZERO chemistry between them. I enjoyed the look and soundtrack of the film but never was engaged.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

All this user's reviews

netflicSep 17, 2013

It is a movie about Yip Man, Chineese martial arts master who trained Bruce Lee.

If I had to characterize the movie in one word, I would pick "eclectic". It is a movie about a real person but not docu-drama. It is an action movie butIt is a movie about Yip Man, Chineese martial arts master who trained Bruce Lee.

If I had to characterize the movie in one word, I would pick "eclectic".

It is a movie about a real person but not docu-drama.
It is an action movie but quite slow most of time.
It is very artsy but not consistently and sometimes lacking taste.

Some episodes are just weird.

Overall, it did not appeal to me.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

All this user's reviews

ToffenuffJan 17, 2014

It was OK.
I felt like the story was somewhat disjointed. Some beautiful scenes and some great fight sequences. Felt like it was too protracted of a movie, and the plot itself was not really good in my honest opinion. In relation to theIt was OK.
I felt like the story was somewhat disjointed. Some beautiful scenes and some great fight sequences. Felt like it was too protracted of a movie, and the plot itself was not really good in my honest opinion. In relation to the other Ip Man movies, I'd say this is the one I like the least.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

LeZeeFeb 3, 2014

I think Yip man role spared no one among Chinese and Hong Kong actors. For the past few years movie based on Yip man get released every year. Especially the directors and producers are very enthusiastic to make a movie about this man. TheyI think Yip man role spared no one among Chinese and Hong Kong actors. For the past few years movie based on Yip man get released every year. Especially the directors and producers are very enthusiastic to make a movie about this man. They are trying to pick the story from what the earlier movies had failed or missed to tell. In such perception this is done. I am very much surprised to see this movie to get nominated for the upcoming OSCAR (2014) ceremony. Is this movie really worth for that honour, well that is why I am here to brief in this review.

Truly, I am not understanding the motivation of director and writer what they wanted to tell about Yip man. It was not actually a complete Yip man story. A tale fairly balanced between a charcter called Gong Er and him with the backdrop of Sino-Japan war. Technically it was very stylish and rich, but storywise it is a vastly letdown. When movies are based on someone's real life, filmmakers can change a few things to suit cinematically. That means they should not bore the audience with unimpressive and uninspiring scenes. Yeah, I did not find one single portion of the movie that attracted me.

They showed stories that happened between 1930 to 1972. Over 40 years of span in the movie what I saw was the pieces of stories without exciting ones. Honestly, I think Donnie Yen's 'Ip Man' movie series were the best so far. The American Academy Award people had failed to grab those golden opportunities and now they are holding this movie's tail. Without any doubt Danish drama 'The Hunt' going to win the OSCAR and soon everyone will forget this movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

HarryameenJul 15, 2014

The grandmaster is the biographical movie about the legendary Ipman- thats what the trailer and synopsis tells.But in fact the story revolves around Gong -Er the last daughter of the Gong family and Ip man is a mere supporting cast.TheThe grandmaster is the biographical movie about the legendary Ipman- thats what the trailer and synopsis tells.But in fact the story revolves around Gong -Er the last daughter of the Gong family and Ip man is a mere supporting cast.The movie's visuals are exemplary.Each scene in the movie is like a painting.Although well shot,the movie is overdrawn and filled with actors who brood all the time.There is no humor in this movie.The narration is confusing and muddled.With 2hr duration,this film is outrageously long.I won't recommend this film,just watch the fight scenes from youtube or vimeo because those are just beautiful.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

DoniJrNov 9, 2018

Visually remarkable, 'The Grandmaster' it's full of great action scenes and characters but sometimes it's a little too dragging and melodramatic.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews