Yip Man 4

Most can probably agree that the 'Ip Man' films just got worse as time went on. The action was always great, but the general story lines and acting just went downhill.

As much as I loved Donnie Yen playing Ip Man, I'm glad he's done, at least I certainly hope so. Bruce Lee was basically just a random throw in character and was reduced to a very limited role, when he should have been one of the main characters and plot points. Instead racism is the plot. The acting, especially by anyone who wasn't Chinese was absolutely horrendous, so cringe every time, aside from maybe Scott Adkins.

The first film is phenomenal. Filled with not only great action, but great emotion. The others, especially number 4, just couldn't emulate it, even though they tried.

The 4th installment delivers the usual kick. I actually wanted to see more new fighting choreography. Remembering the 3rd installment where Master Ip fought with M.Tyson, interim he has to squat with one leg to catch a break i mean that trick is so mesmerizing don't you agree? Jacky Chan is good in this. Turning ladder.. umbrella into a very nice sparing choreography. Well i guess this is Weng Chun. I also noticed the master has taken more blows and more injuries from the opponents in a fair manner. Also the aging Ip Man portraiting the pain and the wobbling arms really convincing that getting old is the main factor to end 10years legendary saga in making of these 4 films. As for Bruce, you deserves a 5 by 5 my man. It so happened that this is not your tales to tell Bruce, otherwise you may steal all the sparks and spangles from ypur master. The ending in my opinion could have skipped. Could have done in written captions for a complete finale closure. Overall I like this one and deserve my 8/10.

The good, watchable parts of the movie centered on Donnie Yen and the challenges of parenting. The martial arts scenes were entertaining and effective, as was the presence of Bruce Lee and his school. Banda Margraf balanced all the heavy characters like a breath of fresh air, her character was like able, watchable, and gave Ip Man insight. The story was mostly set in San Francisco, so as a yank it was disconcerting to see the many little things that the movie didn't get right. The big things, like the closest Marine base is 300 miles away, are forgiveable (they're telling a story and need a villain). But the little things, like federal officers would be bearded and wearing black leather jackets, like Kung fu movie villains, took away from the movie. And just to get this straight, A Marine can not walk into an ICE building and demand a prisoner be handed over since the ICE agent is more afraid of losing his pension than of getting beaten. This film is tainted by claiming that overt violent hatred of Chinese, to the extent that our military targeted them, existed. This at a time when China is trying to make the US look bad so they can illegally grab the South China Sea.

I consider the IP Man movies the best kung-fu movies, period. Especially the first two. My expectations were high. They were not met.

This movie is just recycling the formula of the prior movies, but does it much worse. The fight scenes also didn't really match the intensity and choreography of any of the earlier films. The stuff in between the fight scenes was poorly written with poor acting. Donnie Yen is so much better than this. Thankfully this should be the end of this movie franchise.

Now do a film about Bruce Lee at IP Man's school.

My only objection is the selection of a 40+ yrs old actor to play a 24yrs old Bruce Lee. The aged face of that actor was more than obvious. Aside from that, i really enjoyed the movie. All four of them are excellent movies.