derick luu

Sadly disappointing film to end the epic series and legacy of Ip man. As a big fan I was really looking forward to the final installment of the series but the plot and characters were poorly written. The acting by the Americans were over dramatic and it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Big bad white guys bullying the Chinese, fighting for cultural independence and showing the power of Chinese martial arts (sound familiar? Ip man 1 and 2). The emotional plot device used was already done in the 3rd film which made it seem lazy, although I understand the realism of how Ip man’s death had to be portrayed, there are better ways to express it. As for the action scenes, nothing you haven’t seen before, wing chun vs. karate essentially (first ip man). The tai-chi portrayed was pretty cool though and a fight scene with Bruce Lee made it worthwhile. Overall, as much as I loved the Ip man series, this was the worst one out of them all and I wouldn’t spend my money watching this in theaters, wait until it’s out to watch it at home.