How to watch: Currently in select theaters.
Starring: Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Chris Collins, Meng Lo, Vanness Wu, Kwok-Kwan Chan, Kent Cheng, Yue Wu
Director: Wilson Yip, (Action director Yuen Woo-Ping)
Writers: Tai-lee Chan, Hiroshi Fukazawa, Lai-Yin Leung, Edmond Wong
Run Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: December 25, 2019 (USA)
Style: Chinese, Kung Fu, Karate,
More information on this film can be found on its IMDB page.
China’s Modern Legacy
Modern Kung Fu cinema has been going through a rough patch for a little under a decade. As I said in my very first article here on Martial Journal, the best martial arts films for the past ten years have come from outside of the world of Kung Fu and the country of China. When you watch a modern Kung Fu flick, you could find a quality film like Once Upon a Time in Shanghai, Wrath of Vajra, or any Donnie Yen film. Sadly, there is a greater chance that you will find something bland or downright bad along the lines of Kung Fu League, Call of Heroes, or Kung Fu Yoga. This isn’t unlucky, it’s simply a high probability. Gratefully, ever since 2008 Chinese cinema has had one remaining constant that fans can rely on: Ip Man.
Director Wilson Yip and actor Donnie Yen’s Ip Man series started in 2008 and saw sequels released in 2011 and 2015. 2019’s Ip Man 4: The Finale closes the story of Bruce Lee’s legendary Wing Chun master. Can the final installment of this critically acclaimed series keep up with the previous films or will it fall short?
Overview
Ip Man 4: The Finale sees the titular Ip Man traveling to the United States in the hopes of finding a school for his son to attend. Upon arriving in the US, Ip Man meets up with his student Bruce Lee and discovers a few different situations occurring. The local masters who help Chinese immigrants find work, housing, and schooling are feuding with Bruce for teaching Americans Kung Fu. Ip Man believes that sharing Kung Fu can only lead to positivity, so the local masters refuse to help find a school for his son. Simultaneously, one of the masters’ daughter struggles with racial persecution at school. Lastly, one of Bruce Lee’s students tries to get Chinese Kung Fu incorporated into US Marine training but faces backlash from his commanding officer (played by Scott Adkins). That is a lot of plot.
Story Review: 5/10
Too Much to Focus On
Here on Martial Journal, we normally take a look at the good and bad of storytelling in movies, but I’m struggling to do that. Ip Man 4: The Finale fluctuates between four different plotlines, each with their own strengths, but this balancing act comes as a detriment to each individual story. One film containing numerous different stories is very common, but having each plotline diverge onto one singular character causes some stories to feel rushed and even cut short.
Here is a quick example. The heavy-handed elements of Chinese characters living in a culture that mistreats them tiptoe ever so slightly towards a discussion of ethnocentrism. The film begins to discuss how the Chinese characters should grow from this experience and rise above their situation and the people who oppress them. However, before anyone can show any character progression, this plotline collides with Adkin’s anti-Kung Fu rhetoric. This is where the story takes the opportunity to bring Bruce Lee together with his rival masters, but this contention is never mentioned past the ten-minute mark of the film. Three plotlines randomly intersecting just so one of them can help conclude the film.
Just a Kung Fu Movie
I was genuinely intrigued by a few of the characters and the potential paths they could have taken, but the film feels scared to be anything other than a Kung Fu movie. Now, there is nothing wrong with just being a Kung Fu movie. Martial Club is as Kung Fu as Kung Fu gets and it is a wonderful film. But when the script slowly inches towards a discussion of cultural relativism, you want to see how the characters work through their problems and evolve with their environment.
The third Ip Man film wonderfully incorporates the story of Ip Man dedicating time to his dying wife. Her inclusion in the Kung Fu aspects of the movie is truly beautiful. Director Wilson Yip knows how to blend emotional storytelling into his action. Yip tries to recreate that emotional aspect with a father and son story but it falls a little flat. There is countless potential for each story to do something unique and none of them choose to take any risks.
The second film saw a blatant and obnoxiously racist villain in Darren Shahlavi’s Twister. This kind of villain comes off as cheap which is why it was nice when Ip Man 3 featured two mostly complex antagonists to rival our mostly pure Ip Man. Unfortunately, Ip Man 4: The Finale returned to the exhausted trope of overly loud racist adversaries. Their presence is mainly to blame for the lack of any real character development in exchange for Kung Fu vs Karate, AKA Chinese vs Foreigners, something we had already seen explored in Ip Man 1 & Ip Man 2.
Martial Arts Review: 10/10
The Good: It’s an Ip Man Movie
All four of these movies feature some of the best action that the Chinese film industry has to offer. Sammo Hung (Eastern Condors, The Magnificent Butcher) helmed the action in the first two films. Legendary director and choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Iron Monkey) took over for the latter half of the series. As Ip Man, Donnie Yen has accumulated a repertoire of signature moves, but he finds ways to make those moves and the fight scenes around them feel fresh. Something that this movie did well was make its antagonists incredibly detestable. When Ip Man rises to the challenge, you can’t help but grin and cheer. Chris Collins and Scott Adkins are a welcome addition to the franchise, using their impeccable martial arts skills to help craft exciting and near flawless action.
The Bad: Aren’t You a Little Short for a Fight Scene?
You cannot have a Bruce Lee character without putting him in a fight scene or two. That’s exactly what happens in Ip Man 4: The Finale. It is fun to see a Bruce inspired fight scene, but it comes off a bit more cheesy than it is fun. Bruce Lee sounds, Chuck Norris-esque opponent, nunchucks, this fight scene has it all. But that wasn’t my major problem with the film.
A major draw was that fans were going to see Donnie Yen go head to head with Scott Adkins. Two modern kings of martial arts cinema squaring off in one of the biggest martial arts franchises of all time. While their final fight is impressive and a hell of a good time, I just wanted it to be longer. Both of them got to show off their signature styles but the main event is a lot more fun when it goes into the final round. It was obvious when their fight was coming to an end and it made me feel a little sad inside. Just another two or three minutes could have added a lot to an already stunning fight scene.
Overall: 7.5/10
Conclusion
This is a very enjoyable film. I found something to appreciate throughout the various plot lines. The fact that I enjoyed them is why it is so frustrating that nearly all of them feel so anticlimactic. Interesting characters fulfill their purpose to the film before they can ever complete their arcs. The father and son story between Ip Man and Ip Ching is hindered by the distance between them.
Thankfully, the fight scenes were worth sitting through everything else. Yuen Woo-Ping understands this world just as well as Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen. He stays true to the action of the previous films. Scott Adkins is always a nice addition to any franchise, even if his character is as one-note as his early henchman roles. For many fans, this would be an introduction to Chris Collins and what an introduction it was. Sadly, tired and exhausted villain tropes of the modern Chinese blockbuster can only get you so far. Watching Adkins and Collins fight was a better alternative to their crude and blatantly deplorable dialogue.
What did you think of Ip Man 4: The Finale? Did it end with a knockout blow or gas out early? And will you miss Donnie Yen in the Ip Man role? Tell us what you thought below and when you’re done, check out our other reviews here on Martial Journal. I’ve also got a video review over on my Youtube channel where I cover martial arts movies from around the world.
Check out my Youtube channel where I review and discuss martial arts films.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUYUbj1Rjnf07S3UbVvKZ0Q?view_as=subscriber
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This movie was a beautiful tribute to Chinese culture in a time when it couldn’t be more needed. I agree with sentiment of the article above, and wish it could have expanded more on the theme of hatred and bigotry. The actors did their job in conjuring up feelings of anger on my end, but I wish I could have seen resolution and growth. Fighting scenes were fantastic. Ip Man is responsible for my new found appreciation for Kung Fu, and more specifically the heart and spirit of Kung Fu.