IP MAN 4: THE FINALE

Release Date: Malaysia, 20 Dec 2019

Genre: Action

Running Length: 1:45

Cast: Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan, Vanness Wu, Wu Yue, Chris Collins, Kent Cheng

Director: Wilson Yip

Screenplay: Edmond Wong, Dana Fukazawa, Chan Tai Lee & Jil Leung Lai Yin

IP MAN 4: THE FINALE is indeed the concluding chapter of the popular Ip Man franchise which started way back in 2008 and have since created many spin offs and alternate versions in the last ten years. For the uninitiated, this saga is an inspired version (not exactly autobiographical) of the life of Ip Man, the famed teacher of the the Wing Chun style of martial arts and of course, the sifu of the legendary Bruce Lee. 

The year is 1964, and Ip Man (Donnie Yen) makes a trip to San Francisco from Hong Kong with the purpose of enrolling his teenager son in a school there. Due to the problems of immigration, he soon finds out it's not so easy to get a place in the local schools and he needs to engage the chairman (Wu Yue) of the Chinese Benevolent Association from Chinatown to write him a recommendation letter.  The chairman is not so co-operative because he is unhappy with Ip Man's student Bruce Lee (Danny Chan) for teaching martial arts to non-Chinese.  And the plot also include a racist Marine officer (Scott Adkins), intolerance towards immigrants and finding your passion.

Yeah, it's a mixed bag to be honest but just like all the earlier entries, it's really an excuse to showcase a collection of martial art duels. In terms of fight choreography, the hand-to-hand fights here are the weakest compared to the earlier episodes. To be fair,  all the scenes were serviceable but none were memorable. 

I was expecting an emotional "send off" since this is the finale, but I was actually more moved by Ip Man 3.

As for the performances, I still cannot brain how come Caucasians who appear in HK movies always end up as caricatures. Their dialogue are always cringe-worthy and their acting; over-the-top.  No different here. I guess it's just a poor understanding on the filmmakers' end on how they view the "ang mohs". Now, who's the racist here? 

A big shout-out to Danny Chan's impression as Bruce Lee. He perfectly captures Bruce Lee's charisma, swagger and his signature moves. Danny is a refreshing highlight.

The Ip Man movies have always been about nationalistic triumphs. So, it's pretty obvious the filmmakers of this movie were going for the social commentary angle aimed at the bigotry of the Trump-era. Unfortunately, it's heavy handed here. Thankfully, there is a heartfelt montage from the previous three films at the end which saved Ip Man 4 from being a below average finale. 

RATING: 6.5/10

IP MAN 3 (2015)

Genre: Action / Drama
Running Length: 1:45
Cast: Donnie Yen, Mike Tyson, Lynn Hung, Max Zhang, Patrick Tam, Kent Cheng, Danny Chan
Director: Wilson Yip
Screenplay: Edmond Wong

I was expecting IP MAN 3 to be another excuse of a film to showcase our grandmaster's patriotism but I was very surprised with the dramatic direction the film took. It explores more of Ip Man's family life than his reputation as the master of the martial art of Wing Chun. It is a bold move by Donnie Yen to move from his current superstardom as the go-to actor for all things kungfu and to focus more on his acting chops. And it paid off.

Blame the trailers for just highlighting the fight scenes and the hype surrounding "Mike Tyson vs Donnie Yen". The biggest highlight for me is the tender relationship between Yen's Ip Man and his wife, played once again by Lynn Hung. If there is one complain I had with the earlier Ip Man films is the underutilisation of Hung's character but in this film, her portrayal of the quiet, understanding and supportive spouse is finally fully developed. The best scene in the movie is a juxtaposition of Yen and Hung and a house full of martial artists (with a fun "Bruce Lee" cameo).

Ip Man 3 is set in 1959, where our grandmaster is settling into a low-profile life in Hong Kong after decades of struggling against the Japanese oppression (shown in the previous two instalments). It's a very different world now where Hong Kong is starting to rise as one of the best places to make money. And with money, comes extortion and criminal activities and the depreciation of values like innocence, purity, virtue and honour. And thus, that sets the canvass for Ip Man to face-off with a group of HK thugs, a corrupted American businessman (Tyson), a jealous Wing Chun proponent (Zhang) and a Thai fighter (??!). Frankly, it's just an excuse to showcase a collection of martial art battles.

So are the fight scenes any good? It's serviceable. In fact, it feels overly choreographed. But what about the Yen vs Tyson showdown? Well, that's probably the best hand-to-hand fight scene in recent years. It feels fresh and energising as it's a battle of different styles; the speed of Wing Chun vs the sheer brute force of boxing. The high impact punches from the burly frame Tyson looks deadly.

In the end, what stood out the most is Ip Man's closing message; that is to always put family first, ahead of the service and duties of the community.

Rating: 7.5/10