Donnie Yen recently found himself being ground against hot coals for his comments during an interview about his latest movie, Ip Man 2. The movie is based loosely on the life of legendary martial artist Ip Man, who practiced the art of Wing Chun.

According to XinMSN Entertainment, Mr Yen said, “I feel Ip Man‘s success had nothing to do with Wing Chun. If I had fought in Hung Kuen, Hung Kuen would be popular. Summer, autumn or winter (joking about the ‘Chun’ in Wing Chun’s Chinese name, which literally means spring), the result would have been the same.”

Everyone from Grandmaster Ip Chun, eldest son of the the title character, to co-star Sammo Hung has responded with hostility, accusing Mr. Yen of arrogance.

Personally, I think the whole issue is overblown. No actor in his right mind would disrespect the martial art displayed in a movie he starred in. If Mr. Yen, who is an accomplished martial artist himself and experienced in the behavior expected of people such as himself, was trying to elevate his own importance over that of martial arts in the movie, then one should worry more about his mental health rather than mere narcissism.

When Mr. Yen’s words are viewed dispassionately, an alternative interpretation easily presents itself. He was saying that Wing Chun could have been replaced by any martial art and the movie would still have been popular. The assertion then becomes that the key to Ip Man’s success lies not in the specific school of martial arts chosen, but in the traditional pillars of a good movie; plot, pacing, acting, set design and other such factors.

Whether such an assertion is true is debatable. One of Ip Man’s selling points was that it was based on a real life legendary figure in martial arts. Ip Man taught Wing Chun; taking away the martial art would necessitate a retooling of the story and marketing strategy. It is possible but by no means certain that under similar circumstances, the same film production team and cast could have produced an equally successful movie with a similar storyline about a Tai Chi or Long Fist master.

What is highly likely however, is that Mr. Yen would not torpedo his career with such the faux pas as it has been reported in the news. It would be best to let the matter drop. Aside from the issue of false accusation, Mr. Yen has plenty of good movies left in him. It would be a tremendous waste if his career was sunk by this episode.

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