![Donnie Yen](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGU0ZjFjZGMtZGU4My00ZmRmLTk2Y2EtOWNlZjhhZmE2MjIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA2MDIzMDE5._V1_QL75_UY207_CR4,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Donnie Yen](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGU0ZjFjZGMtZGU4My00ZmRmLTk2Y2EtOWNlZjhhZmE2MjIwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA2MDIzMDE5._V1_QL75_UY207_CR4,0,140,207_.jpg)
Across eleven years and now four films, star Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip have created a sort of mythologised biography of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man, best known for being the teacher of Bruce Lee. This fourth and final chapter is, like the rest, at best loosely inspired by Ip’s life.
In 1964, Ip discovers he has throat cancer. Believing he has little time left, he travels to San Franciso, to see his student Bruce Lee demonstrate Wing Chun at a tournament and to find a boarding school for his son. He ends up part of two feuds, one between Yonah (Vanda Margraf) the daughter of Master Wan, head of the Chinese Benevolent Society and another girl (Grace Englert) at her school and the other between a student of Wing Chun who wants to get it introduced into army training and his racist commanding officer Geddes (Scott Adkins).
There...
In 1964, Ip discovers he has throat cancer. Believing he has little time left, he travels to San Franciso, to see his student Bruce Lee demonstrate Wing Chun at a tournament and to find a boarding school for his son. He ends up part of two feuds, one between Yonah (Vanda Margraf) the daughter of Master Wan, head of the Chinese Benevolent Society and another girl (Grace Englert) at her school and the other between a student of Wing Chun who wants to get it introduced into army training and his racist commanding officer Geddes (Scott Adkins).
There...
- 4/4/2020
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
![Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzYyZWIwZjQtZGVjZi00NWIxLTk0ODMtNzA3YzE5MWM3OWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzYyZWIwZjQtZGVjZi00NWIxLTk0ODMtNzA3YzE5MWM3OWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,0,140,207_.jpg)
The sturdy but shallow martial arts melodrama “Ip Man 4: The Finale” isn’t much more than what fans have already gotten from the popular action franchise.
In their latest collaboration, series director Wilson Yip (2011’s “A Chinese Ghost Story”) and star Donnie Yen stick to their already established formula: their version of real-life Wing Chun instructor Man Ip (Yen) fights anybody who dismisses kung fu. This time, Ip takes on racist American Marines and policemen in San Francisco during the mid-’60s.
“The Finale”‘s new American setting — Yip and Yen’s last two “Ip Man” movies are set in Hong Kong, while their first one takes place in Foshan, China — also coincidentally gives the director-star duo an opportunity to issue a small corrective to “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” and its provocative depiction of Bruce Lee (here played by Danny Chan), Ip’s most famous student, by...
In their latest collaboration, series director Wilson Yip (2011’s “A Chinese Ghost Story”) and star Donnie Yen stick to their already established formula: their version of real-life Wing Chun instructor Man Ip (Yen) fights anybody who dismisses kung fu. This time, Ip takes on racist American Marines and policemen in San Francisco during the mid-’60s.
“The Finale”‘s new American setting — Yip and Yen’s last two “Ip Man” movies are set in Hong Kong, while their first one takes place in Foshan, China — also coincidentally gives the director-star duo an opportunity to issue a small corrective to “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” and its provocative depiction of Bruce Lee (here played by Danny Chan), Ip’s most famous student, by...
- 12/23/2019
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
![Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzYyZWIwZjQtZGVjZi00NWIxLTk0ODMtNzA3YzE5MWM3OWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Donnie Yen in Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNzYyZWIwZjQtZGVjZi00NWIxLTk0ODMtNzA3YzE5MWM3OWI0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTMxODk2OTU@._V1_QL75_UX140_CR0,0,140,207_.jpg)
Flat-footed storytelling meets fleet-footed choreography and sumptuous production values in the untaxingly fun “Ip Man 4: The Finale,” the last installment of director Wilson Yip and producer-star Donnie Yen’s glossy mythmaking tetralogy about the famous Wing Chun master.
The insistent subtitle is there for a reason: everyone, Yen included, thought that “Ip Man 3” would be his last time donning Ip Man’s priestlike tunic. Then again, after “Ip Man 2,” still the best in the franchise, Yen was also reportedly reluctant to return. A little like the great, wise, noble sifu (“master-father”) he so convincingly embodies, Yen apparently only re-enters the fray when circumstances (read: box office) leave him no other option.
The problem, then, is how to sustain a story that had largely run out of arc by the bruising climax of the last film? The solution the regular team of screenwriters — Edmond Wong, Chan Tai-lee, Jil Leung,...
The insistent subtitle is there for a reason: everyone, Yen included, thought that “Ip Man 3” would be his last time donning Ip Man’s priestlike tunic. Then again, after “Ip Man 2,” still the best in the franchise, Yen was also reportedly reluctant to return. A little like the great, wise, noble sifu (“master-father”) he so convincingly embodies, Yen apparently only re-enters the fray when circumstances (read: box office) leave him no other option.
The problem, then, is how to sustain a story that had largely run out of arc by the bruising climax of the last film? The solution the regular team of screenwriters — Edmond Wong, Chan Tai-lee, Jil Leung,...
- 12/23/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.