Leung showed up after the screening to answer questions, and I’ll include some of the highlights after the review.

The movie opens with a dramatic fight scene at night in the street in the rain, during which Ip takes on many men. I don’t have to tell you the outcome, do I?

Ip then takes on a challenge by Gong Yutian, a grandmaster from northern China, who thinks the South should have its own grandmaster. Ip also ends up fighting the grandmaster’s beautiful daughter, Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), and an attraction develops, though Ip is married with children.

The story follows Ip through the late 1930s and Japanese occupation of Foshan, and Ip’s eventual exile in Hong Kong, where he starts teaching Wing Chun. The film also shows how Gong Er won back her family’s legacy, after her father’s protegé, Ma San, betrays Gong Yutian.

I’m still not sure what to think of this movie overall, because its parts are more than its sum. (Leung said this version is about 10 minutes shorter than the one released in China.) The acting is fine, with Leung doing his charismatic thing, and Zhang infusing every frame she’s in with grace and fire under the surface stoicism. The actress doesn’t have to move a facial muscle when she can convey so much with her eyes. And when she fights, her lithe frame belies her strength.

The cinematography is lush, and Wong’s trademark melancholy and atmospheric shots are present, with longing, In the Mood for Love-type looks between Zhang and Leung. But perhaps there are too many shots in which the director lingers on something, as if determined to impress us with its beauty.

The action scenes are fraught with tension and impressively staged, but often we’re not allowed to see the whole spectacle. Wong keeps cutting to close-ups of feet shuffling along the ground, or rainwater sliding off the brim of a hat in slo-mo, or Ip and Gong Er’s faces coming within kissing distance while fighting. I wanted to see the entirety of the fights, but would only get bits and pieces.

The movie’s narrative also jumps around a bit. There’s an extended section when Ip disappears so we can see how Gong Er restores her family’s honor. No disrespect to Leung at all, but I didn’t miss Ip during these scenes. When Zhang gets that determined look on her face, I was just waiting for the sneering Ma San to get his butt kicked.

I’d recommend the movie because of the magnetic leads, and a fantastic fight scene on a train platform while a train is moving through it, but it’s not quite a fast-paced action movie, or a relationship drama, or a biopic. So it leaves us with a feeling it’s neither here nor there, like a man in exile.

Nerd verdict: Grand style, medium impact 

During the post-screening Q&A, Leung was witty and down to earth. Below are highlights from the conversation:

• Leung knew no martial arts whatsoever, and started learning it for this movie, at the age of 47. He trained with one of Ip Man’s students.
• He practiced kung fu for 3-4 years, starting about a year before production and continuing until the end of the job.
• He read books about Bruce Lee and Lee’s knowledge of kung fu, and realized this form of martial arts was not just a way to train your body, but also to train your mind and a way of life. Leung discovered that Lee was more than an incredible martial artist; he was a great philosopher as well.
• Leung broke his arm twice, and his first fight scene back after his arm healed was the opening fight sequence, in which he took on 15 guys, the last opponent being a real-life MMA champion (the others were stuntmen).
• The fight scene in the freezing rain—the most difficult of his acting career—took 40 overnights to film, during which he was often sick. He finished it in 10 days at first, but then Wong decided he wanted Ip to wear a white hat during the sequence instead of a black one, and it took 30 more nights to reshoot. Below, in the video clip I recorded, he talks a little about the physical toll this took on him:

Photos: The Weinstein Company

1. Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. When I saw her in that movie, every ounce in my 98-lb. body wanted to be as strong as she. I kept thinking, How do I get arms like that?? Arnold may have had bigger muscles but to me, Hamilton was the most powerful presence on screen. (UPDATE: Chuck producers announced today that Hamilton will be Chuck’s mom this coming season! That’s nine kinds of awesome because she was our first choice when my husband and I were armchair-casting the role.)
2. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in Aliens. She was so fierce protecting Newt, the alien had nothing on her.
3. Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in The Matrix. She wasn’t all shades and black vinyl; she had the butt-kicking skill to back up her ‘tude.
4. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. Besides her formidable slayer-ness,  she was armed with a valuable weapon—her quick wit.
5. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She looks like a waif but bad guys learned the painful way not to mess with her. In The Girl Who Played with Fire, Lisbeth experiences things which would destroy the average person, but her fierce resilience proves she’s the Girl Who Won’t Stay Down.
6. Anne Parillaud as Nikita in La Femme Nikita. There have been two other Nikitas (Bridget Fonda and Peta Wilson) and Maggie Q is about to debut as the third incarnation on CW but Parillaud remains the best and most convincing as the reluctant assassin.
7. Geena Davis as Samantha/Charly in The Long Kiss Goodnight. At first, her character can’t remember her past, believing she’s a housewife. But from the moment she throws that kitchen knife across the room with deadly accuracy, you know her dangerous side is taking over and she doesn’t disappoint.
8. Michelle Yeoh in Supercop or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Tomorrow Never Dies. I can’t pick just one when Yeoh is one of the most incredible stunt actresses out there. It was almost insulting when she was cast as a Bond girl because it was clear she would save his ass in a fight, not the other way around.
9. Zhang Ziyi as Xiao Mei in House of Flying Daggers. The movie has gorgeously choreographed and photographed fight scenes—the ones in the bamboo forest and in the field stand out—all elevated by Zhang’s agility and grace.
10. Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow in Alias. She kicked butt with such ferocity and conviction, she made us believe that sweet dimpled college girl was a lethal spy.

Who would be on your list?

Christoph Waltz won Best Actor for his portrayal of the Nazi “Jew Hunter” in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds and French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg won Best Actress for playing a bereaved mother in Lars von Trier’s controversial Antichrist.

For more official festival winners, click here for Variety‘s round-up. To see who won my Nerdes d’Or for Best Dressed, read on.

Shortly after Robin Wright Penn appeared at at the Up premiere looking fabulous in this Elie Saab gown, her divorce from Sean Penn was called off. Coincidence?

Not only is the color stunning, look at the fit of this gown on Michelle Yeoh‘s body. Perfection.

Continuing the beautiful color trend is this pink column gown on Shu Qi, one of the festival’s judges. Love the necklace, too.

How fabulous does Elizabeth Banks look in this Armani Prive´gown? If I looked that good, my smile would be that big, too.

I have no love for Devon Aoki‘s acting but she looks like royalty in yellow Roberto Cavalli at a Chopard party.

I’m not a fan of beige (I read somewhere this was actually rose-colored) but the way this Versace drapes over Angelina Jolie‘s body is magnificent. It looks soft, comfy and sexy as hell. Love the siren-red lipstick, too.

Brad Pitt’s Inglorious Basterds co-star, Diane Kruger (in Marchesa), gave Angelina fierce competition for most radiant woman at the premiere.

I usually find metallics boring but Zhang Ziyi looks the sexiest I’ve ever seen her look in this gown. Yowza!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks like Venus rising out of her clamshell in this seafoam blue gown.

Roberto Cavalli seems to be MVP at this year’s festival, designing so many of my favorite gowns, including this one on Shu Qi. Love the rich blue hue, asymmetry and leather belt details.
Devon Aiki again, this time in lilac Alberta Ferretti, but once again with impeccable hair and Chopard jewelry. Aoki should stop venturing into acting and stay a model because she sure knows how to wear clothes.

Finally, I have to give a shout out to Tilda Swinton, who looks stunning in this burgundy ensemble. Her style is so unique that her outfits usually leave me confused but in this, she is awe-inspiring in the best way.

What do you think? Which ones are your faves?