Donnie Yen takes the lead in this first film in a recent spate dedicated to the famed kung fu master. The film introduces Ip during the 1930s boom period in his native Foshan, where a life of domestic harmony with his young family comes to an abrupt end when invading Japanese forces seize control. Dispossessed and hungry, Ip is forced to scratch a living, but uses his skills to resist the enemy and becomes an inspiration to his fellow downtrodden citizens in the process. There's a pleasing playfulness about the opening scenes, which contrast, in a slightly jarring way, with the downbeat mood that follows during the occupation. The Japanese themselves couldn't be more stereotyped in their presentation, with the honourable-but-brutal general and his cackling, sadistic henchman playing to type. Yen's performance is also a bit one-dimensional as the modest wing chun expert, but at least he gives a good account of himself in the finely composed and inventive close-combat scenes - an impressive highlight being when he wipes the floor with ten soldiers with methodical precision.