From 2008 (until 2019), the world has been exposed to a collection of biopics, distributed by entertainment distribution label Well Go USA Entertainment (known for bringing the US action films from countries outside America) all directed by Wilson Yip (except Master Z). These are martial arts films, collectively known as Ip Man. Based on real people these films are made for the cinema, and yet the nature of these films (being about kung fu) leave little to the imagination in their dramatic action sequences, they feel like they really happened (well, most of them). And the films these stories are based on are from a Chinamen known as Grandmaster Ip (or ‘Yip Man,’ 1893-1972).
Master Ip was known for his unique and influential art form of Chinese martial arts, Wing Chun. He is also famous for training the legendary Bruce Lee. Among this, there are many other awe-inspiring moments that the films wish to tell us, each just a strong, and significant as the other, in their own right. Each film sees its content gear towards a more globalised perspective. More and more famous faces become prominent in these films each time, the last film even setting itself partly in America.
Let us start where it all began for the franchise with 2008’s Ip Man (directed by Wilson Yip).
Entering a story set in the WWII period, a wealthy and respected martial artist and his village Foshan, along with the rest of China, are subjugated to Japanese occupation. Martial artists whom previously stood tall and taught fighting schools are forced to fight in order to survive, earning rice by winning their bouts. Ip man’s limits are tested. As the struggle to provide for his wife and son continues, his limits break as friends around him are killed by Japanese soldiers. After showcasing his brand of martial arts at the forsaken dojo where his friends perished, Ip man challenges the Japanese general to a fight for the pride of China. This film paved the way for the saga that it has become today, bringing a fresh and unfamiliar story to American (and UK) screens.
The second instalment of the franchise sees Ip Man in Hong Kong, where this film’s (and Ip man’s) transition into global influence and stardom come into effect: Ip Man 2 (2010).
After the events that took place in Ip Man 1, Ip man and his family move to Hong Kong in seek of a better quality of life. Up until now, Ip man chose not to teach Kung Fu. Hoping to open a dojo in Hong Kong, he must gain the approval of fellow dojo masters in Hong Kong. He passes a series of challenges, but draws with the last challenger, Master Hung Chun-Nam, who allows him to keep his school open on the condition he pays monthly protection fees. Tensions rise among the two masters throughout the film.
However, their differences are put inside when a British boxer known as ‘The Twister,’ becomes the threat of honour and pride in China, killing Master Hung in a brawl in the ring. In a press conference where Hung’s death is portrayed to be an accident, Twister issues a challenge, to which Ip man accepts. After being brutally beaten down time and again, the legendary Ip man does indeed defeat Twister, and the corruption of Twister’s team is exposed soon after, restoring honour and pride in Hong Kong, and for Master Hung.
Let it be said that the character of Twister is fictional, and this fight did not happen in real life. But that doesn’t stop us from loving him get beaten by the legendary Grandmaster. The film ends on a scene with a young boy asking Ip man to teach him Wing Chun, to which Ip man replies, ‘come back when you’re older.’ That boy grows up to be the Legendary Bruce Lee.
Becoming a trilogy in 2015, the world was introduced to Ip Man 3, where stakes and hardships are greater than they were ever before.
After establishing his school in the first sequel, the film set in the late 1950’s sees Ip Man defend his school once more, from local thugs and a western real estate boss. But also, from a martial artist claiming he is the true Grandmaster of Wing Chun, Cheung Tin Chi (played by Zhang Jin). This instalment of the franchise also honours Ip man’s wife, Cheung Wing-Sing (Lynn Hung), who passes away just after the time period in which the film is set in. This film was set to be the last one, with the trailer displaying that Ip man will fight “One. Last. Time.”
With the story of his wife, and his fight with another Wing Chun master, and a fight with Frank played by legendary boxer Mike Tyson, and a cameo by a grown up Bruce Lee to top it off, this third inning definitely has the feel of an end to an era filled with special appearances and amazingly choreographed fighting sequences.
A spin-off from Ip Man 3, this story follows the Wing Chun master who lost to Ip Man in the final showdown, and the rivals and challenges he faces in Hong Kong: Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018).
After losing to Ip Man, Cheung Tin-Chi tries to lead a normal life in Hong Kong with his son, however, Triad leaders draw him back into fighting. This film is regarded as an unusual but exhilarating addition to the Ip Man franchise. Zhang Jin’s performance as Cheung Tin-Chi along with the rest of the cast provide a fun action-packed story for viewers to enjoy. The cinematography from Master Z is probably some of the best in the franchise. Dim and gentle colours on sets such as the decorations inside the buildings and their clothing, in contrast to the bright neon lights outside the buildings, woven together by crisp quality images.
Gentle and subtle colours
Contrasting with the subtle, bright neon colours
And it wouldn’t be an Ip Man movie without the final boss fight. The final boss in this movie is brought to you by none other than former WWE superstar and Hollywood actor Dave Bautista, playing the boss Owen Davidson. Of all the movies, this one feels the most fantastical. The biggest reason probably being the following.
In a review about the film, a critic said: “This movie’s lead character, Cheung Tin-chi, is based on an actual person who was so thoroughly fictionalized in Ip Man 3 (2016) that here he can roam free in a made-up story set in a fanciful period Hong Kong.” So whilst the Ip Man films loosely base off historical events, Master Z doesn’t. And because the story is essentially completely fictional, there are no overriding facts to restrict the narrative, which might be why the film feels liberating.
To top it off, last but not least, the choreography of the fight scenes were so entertaining, it’s no surprise that the man behind the choreography was also the director of this film, Yuen Woo-Ping, renowned as one of the most successful and influential figures in Hong Kong martial arts movies, also known for being the choreographer for The Matrix (1999). This film was made purely for the entertainment of martial arts fans to enjoy.
And in 2019, the world was given what it thought wasn’t possible. Another instalment, as Donnie Yen reprises his role one last time (for real this time), in Ip Man 4: The Finale. This film Follows Ip Man’s last fight, whilst struggling with looking after his son in Hong Kong, finding him a school in America whilst also visiting Bruce Lee, and his discovery of cancer. This film is another great martial arts film, met with great sombre, as Donnie Yen claims this was to be his last Kung Fu movie. Have a look at the trailer for the last Ip Man film starring Donnie Yen as Ip Man:
There are many versions of the story of Ip Man, so why does this one stick out?
There is a great star appeal in Well Go USA Entertainment’s Ip Man, through Donnie Yen. Donnie Yen has starred in various martial arts films aside from Ip man, such as Legend of the Fist; (2010); Legend of the Wolf (1997), Iceman (2017), and many more. Furthermore, his career has led him to reach Hollywood heights. He starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016, directed by Gareth Edwards), as blind but skilled spiritual-warrior monk, Chirrut Îmwe. More recently, Donnie Yen stars in Disney live-action Mulan (2020), as Commander Tung.
Interesting how Chirrut Îmwe shows resemblance to Donnie Yen’s Ip man, whether intentional or not (Ip man uses a bamboo stick as a weapon often in the first Ip man movie).
How did Ip Man become successful worldwide? Did America have a part to play? Or did China do it all on their own? For starters, what I noticed in the trailers for the Ip Man films was that 1,2, and 3, didn’t have any dialogue (for the US trailers). They were either narrated by an omniscient American voice, or silent with music tempering the mood. I thought this was a shame, because it creates a disconnect between the film and the target audience. It fails to carry the emotion and tone from characters’ direct speech, and instead dumbs it down to meet the needs of a basic Anglo-audience. It should be mentioned that I did find trailers with dialogue in them. However, there were more versions where there wasn’t, or the simpler versions were more easily accessible (The only exception is the trailer for Ip Man 4).
Furthermore, the first three films were issued as straight to home releases. The trailers for the US versions at the end would say, ‘buy on DVD now’, instead of ‘in cinemas now’, and considering there produced by Well Go USA Entertainment, this would make sense. This was interesting because it meant the films themselves were limited to people who had their own interest in them, or who knew about Ip man before them.
There were no adverts or trailers on TV, and no screenings in cinema. Straight to home releases was the first you would have heard about it. Where it gets interesting is where and how most people watched it in reality. The Ip Man films gained international traction through the streaming platform, Netflix. Although none of these films were in cinema (except 4, but we’ll get back to that), all of them, including the sequels, became available on Netflix roughly within a year of production release.
I had an interesting experience with Ip Man. I don’t think I realised it was going to be in another language before I started watching Ip Man 1. But when I did realise a few minutes into the film, I decided to stick it out because I was already watching it. It initially caught my eye because on Netflix there was three of them at the time (Ip Man 1,2 and 3). And after watching the first one I loved it, so I watched the rest. If I realised it was in another language before, I probably wouldn’t have watched it, and that’s a shame considering how much I enjoyed them.
There is much to be said about Netflix and how they draw new audiences for films on an international scale. They didn’t have trailers for this film on their platform, and it showed all the sequels (which inferred a sign of success to me). Netflix managed to successfully break through the transnational barrier for my experience of watching these films. And considering the platform is a global one, this effect can be felt throughout the globe, sharing stories perhaps not given the light of day before.
However, although Netflix had a big role to play in the franchise’s international success, the films themselves are also the reason for their success. A key aspect of the Ip Man franchise is storytelling through action combat. Although most of the films were mostly in Chinese, a viewer can still understand what is going on through visuals. What a character says can be important, but what a character does is just as, if not, more important. Actions speak louder than words, and watching a dispute being settled through a tense fighting showdown makes for a much more entertaining film than watching a dispute being settled diplomatically with words.
Therefore, the audience can enjoy storytelling through action just as much as if it was in their own language. The nature of the Ip Man franchise falling into the action-drama genre, and using visuals to drive their storytelling, mean their films can transcend the language barrier, letting their visuals popularize their form of storytelling.
And with the success of his style of storytelling, Wilson Yip brought us the final film to cinemas. Ip Man 4: The Finale had a theatrical release in the UK and US, signifying the success and fanbase the franchise had gained over the years. This film was also released in theatres because it had a greater appeal to its English audiences, being set in America, featuring more English-speaking characters, and global icon Bruce Lee. Ip Man 4 was able to market itself better than any previous film to appeal to an Anglo-audience on top of their existing audience. The film also targets an Asian-American audience by touching upon the history of Chinatown, and Tai Chi (a rising influential martial art form at the time).
This film reaches a great number of audiences whilst still staying true to its original art form, to conclude a saga that has been enjoyed by many around the world. Donnie Yen’s Ip man is a great and humble character that we love to see on the screen, based on the life of a true icon and legend of Wing Chun, and Chinese Kung Fu in general. The most important message we can take away from these films is that greatness can come from anywhere.
Ip Man 1,2,3 Master Z, and 4: The Finale, are currently available to watch on Netflix.
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