WHAT’S IT ABOUT
Ip Man and his son encounter racial discrimination after traveling to the United States to seek a better life. The Kung Fu master and his student upset the local martial arts community by opening a Wing Chun school.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
From the first film in 2008 to the last and every television series and spin-off in between, the Ip Man franchise has been consistently well written, well-acted, and mainly true to the overall history and story of the Kung-Fu master. In this last installment, the White man does what he’s known for. He self-appoints himself as the supreme race and flaunts it at every opportunity. Ip Man, after finding out he had cancer like his wife did and wanting a better life for his son, decided to travel to the U.S. to secure a school his son. This is where the actions of White Americans bigotry are all too familiar, especially to the Black race. Grandmaster Ip Man encounters racism at every turn. From job opportunities to schooling for his son, discrimination is endless. He also garnered flak for his own people because he wanted to help everyone, not just Chinese. Helping others has always been Ip Man’s way. His kindness is shown throughout the franchise, and he has triumphed every time. In Ip Man 4, the year is 1964, and Bruce Lee is a star. This movie focuses on Ip Man’s illness, his relationship with his son, and the bigoted hatred the U.S. had over his Chinese Kung-Fu vs. their army taught Karate. Although there’s not as much action compared to the other three in the franchise, this one has a much deeper meaning as it depicts a better understanding of what Chinese people had to (and still do) endure. Finally, as in the other films, Ip Man is the savior and things tend to play out like some big-budget Hollywood fantasy. This is another reason why the Ip Man series is so great. Ip Man was a real person and these films depict his life, as amazing as it was. Last note; Ip Man 4 plays well as a stand-alone film but moviegoers will enjoy it more if they see the first three beforehand.
OUR RATING – A SOLID 8
Media
- Genre – Action Biography
- Street date
- Digital – April 7th 2020
- DVD/Blu-Ray – April 21st 2020
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.35:1
- Sound – English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
- Subtitles – English SDH, Spanish, French
Extras
- Making Of (HD 2:11)
- The 10-Year Legend (HD 2:10)
- The Story (HD 2:26)
- Trailers