Ip Man 4: The Finale

The fights good, the rest is crap that even the creators of Communist propaganda films of the 1950s would be ashamed of. The whole "nice Asians vs. racist Americans" thing was just ridiculous at first, but somewhere in the middle the ridiculousness turned into regular cringe. (04/08/2020)

The culmination of a great pure Chinese martial arts series that lasted for 12 years is here and for me it’s probably the best episode. It's absolutely awesome, with a very powerful, emotional and moving story that has top-notch to flawless fights (and there are some!!). Donnie Yen travels to America to find a school for his unruly son, but runs into complications. There is a nice depiction of the racism and bullying of the time (the scene where a Chinese student is bullied by her classmates is very powerful) and it’s nice to see Bruce Lee, the relatively unknown Chris Collins and the uncompromising Scott Adkins, who gives another big time performance as the bad guy. Every fight has something going for it and the exchange of styles (Karate vs Wing Chun) is especially wonderful. By the ending I was screaming with joy so loud that all the walls in my house were cracking. It's been long since I've seen a proper, pure martial arts fighting game with such a very engaging and nice story. Donnie Yen is an icon and so is Ip Man. 10/10. (02/10/2020)

At times halfway between a travesty and a worthy ending to the story of a legend. The action is still enjoyably dynamic and spectacular, but the script is pulled out of thin air and Scott Adkins gives one of his most unlikeable performances. The third film was also a mess in many aspects, but at least it didn’t take itself so seriously (Mike Tyson). The issues around racism are presented in a stupid, one-sided, superficial way. So hopefully, definitely the fourth and final act, no resurrection. (10/29/2021)