The Legend Is Born: Ip Man

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010) is a Hong Kong martial-arts film you can watch online on iFILM. It rewinds to the beginning, long before the fame and long before Ip Man would ever train Bruce Lee, back when he's just a boy drilling Wing Chun stances in a Foshan courtyard.

The young Ip learns the craft under Master Chan Wah-shun alongside his adopted brother Yip Tin-chi and a girl named Li Mei-wai. When their teacher dies, an elder student takes over the lessons, and the road eventually leads to Hong Kong, where outsiders sneer at Chinese kung fu and treat the newcomer with open contempt. That's where his resolve hardens. Every insult turns into a test of whether his style actually holds up in a real fight. Yu-Hang To plays the young Ip, the cast includes Hong Kong action legend Sammo Hung, and Ip Chun, the real master's own son, turns up in a small role.

This is the prequel to the famous Donnie Yen films, and the fun of it is the contrast: the same man before he became an icon. The fight choreography stays grounded and hard-hitting, with little flashy acrobatics. Stream The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010) online on iFILM.