It's safe to assume that Donnie Yen's appearance in John Wick: Chapter 4 was the first time many had seen this amazing action star in motion. While his brawl with Keanu Reeves was a sight to behold, Yen has had a lengthy history in the action genre, pumping out stellar film after stellar film that not only shows off his martial arts prowess but also tells compelling stories on top of it. Arguably one of his most successful ventures is Ip Man, a series chronicling the life of the eponymous Wing Chun grandmaster who famously mentored the late Bruce Lee.
Now spanning over four entries over a decade, the announcement of another mainline Ip Man film both surprised and stunned some. While it'll be a while before we see Yen on the big screen again, there's no better time to invest yourself in the grandiose story of Ip Man. It's a film series that any martial arts fan ought to see, with some of the most intricate choreography you've ever seen put to film. If that's not enough of a reason, there are plenty more for why you should be watching the prolific Ip Man franchise.
Ip Man Utilizes Wing Chun
Ip Man, and the subsequent Ip Man films, made his claim to fame through spreading a form of Chinese martial arts known as Wing Chun. Originally utilized by Bruce Lee prior to the creation of Jeet Kune Do, Wing Chun is a sight to behold if you've never seen it in action.
Characterized by practicality, simplicity, and lightning-fast punches, Wing Chun differs significantly from the Pencak silat utilized in The Raid films or Bruce Lee's own Jeet Kune Do. High kicks and other movements that can potentially expose the body's weak points go against one of the core tenets of Wing Chun: maintaining the body's "center line."
Essentially, the body should act as if it were a stalk of bamboo. It should be strong, rooted, and firmly upright but able to bend and relax as necessary. Additionally, energy should be saved as often as possible to redirect an opponent's attacks instead of plowing through them. Instead of showing off physical prowess, it's a refreshingly practical martial art, one that contrasts against the other forms portrayed in the film.
As a result, you get a martial art that translates incredibly well to film. Donnie Yen being a practitioner of Wing Chun before Ip Man sells his performance as the famed martial arts master, giving the character an interesting stoicism through his formal, stiff posture. A particular scene towards the end of the first film is an excellent example of this, with Ip Man taking on ten black belts simultaneously and systematically taking them down one by one.
Ip Man Is Loosely Based on Reality
Did the real-life Ip Man really beat down ten karate experts all at once? Probably not. But, like anything based on true events, plenty of liberties have been taken with telling Ip Man's story to amplify the drama.
Each Ip Man film, whether they have Donnie Yen in them or not, takes place at a different point in the Wing Chun master's life. The first Ip Man film, taking place before and during the Japanese occupation of China, follows his struggles under the ensuing bleak living conditions, financial hardship, and government oppression.
The second film, Ip Man 2, follows Ip Man in a British-occupied Hong Kong, attempting to build up a Wing Chun school in the face of direct opposition from competing disciplines. Ip Man 3 has Donnie Yen fighting Mike Tyson, and Ip Man 4 has Yen's character facing off against his own impending mortality.
Is it unfair to boil a film down into a single, blunt statement? Sure, but it's not as if we're being disingenuous. Similar to how the Rocky series starts with an emotional core and gradually becomes a parody of itself by the fourth movie, Ip Man goes through a similar progression of seriousness turned to silliness. But that's not inherently a bad thing.
Donnie Yen is the centerpiece in making the Ip Man series so entertaining, and the surrounding historical context found in the first two films only adds to an already compelling action film. The later entries, while coasting off of Yen's performance, become entertaining in their own ludicrous way. The fourth film originally served as a thematic conclusion to the series, but with the upcoming fifth film, it wouldn't be surprising to see a potential return to the original qualities that made Ip Man so good to begin with.
If you can't get enough of Ip Man after the mainline films, there's also a surprisingly well-received spinoff. Master Z: Ip Man Legacy follows Cheung Tin-chi from Ip Man 3, played by Max Zhang (Pacific Rim: Uprising), as he fights off triad members and foreign fighters in Hong Kong. Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, who was previously responsible for the first Drunken Master film, it's a well-made martial arts flick that feels somewhat distinct from the enduring adventures of Ip Man. It also has Dave Bautista in it, which is a plus.
Ip Man as a franchise is arguably responsible for a modern revival of Wing Chun in popular culture, along with being some of the most effective martial arts movies of the new millennium. While the films themselves are split across various streaming services, most will cycle through free-to-use, ad-supported services, meaning there's always an ample opportunity to see Donnie Yen punch heads in rapid succession. It's a fantastic martial arts series, and any fan of the genre would be missing out if they didn't give it a shot.
