The “Ip Man” motion pictures characterize a number of the most enjoyable you may have with the martial arts style. The franchise is loosely primarily based on the life of the particular Ip Man (or Yip Man), a Chinese language martial arts grandmaster who specialised within the artwork of Wing Chun, and whose most well-known scholar was Bruce Lee, the star of the unbelievable martial arts motion movie “Enter the Dragon.” The primary motion pictures within the property are directed by Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen because the titular character. Yen performed Ip Man for greater than a decade in-between giving us probably the greatest “Star Wars” characters ever in Chirrut Îmwe from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” in addition to probably the greatest fights within the “John Wick” movies.
As far as martial arts cinema goes, it not often will get higher than the “Ip Man” motion pictures, which handle to truly create stress regardless of the viewers understanding full properly that Ip Man is rarely going to totally lose any explicit combat. Along with its phenomenal motion scenes and stunts, it is also a franchise recognized for being refreshingly character-driven, along with having some attention-grabbing depictions of the Second Sino-Japanese Battle and British colonialism in Hong Kong. They aren’t simply fight-scenes wrapped by a plot, however motion pictures with precise tales to inform that function nice motion scenes as well.
With a fifth “Ip Man” film reportedly on the way in which, it is by no means a foul time to take a look at the property. Whether or not it has been a minute since you have seen these movies otherwise you’ve by no means had the pleasure of watching “Ip Man” obliterate 10 dudes in a combat and marvel the place to start out, this is your information to the most effective watching order for the “Ip Man” franchise.
The very best order to observe the Ip Man motion pictures
The proper order to observe the “Ip Man” motion pictures is to easily go by the order of launch. Although the flicks have a reasonably straight-forward naming conference, there’s the exception of a spin-off film that takes place within the timeline of the flicks, making it vital to simply go by launch date, like so:
- “Ip Man” (2008)
- “Ip Man 2” (2010)
- “Ip Man 3” (2015)
- “Grasp Z: Ip Man Legacy” (2018)
- “Ip Man 4: The Finale” (2019)
This order additionally follows the thematic throughline of the franchise, with every movie specializing in a distinct theme. The primary movie is about Ip Man attempting to outlive within the face of oppression, whereas the second is about adapting to a brand new actuality and attempting to make a residing. Likewise, the spin-off film and the fourth movie are about legacy. As for the third film within the franchise, it is actually all about Ip Man preventing Mike Tyson whereas a younger Bruce Lee watches.
Going by this order lets you expertise a full story with a starting, center, and finish. Or, not less than that is the way in which it was till 2023. That is as a result of it was introduced {that a} new “Ip Man” film, titled “Ip Man 5” is in growth by Mandarin Movement Footage, with Donnie Yen concerned not less than insofar as sharing the teaser poster on Instagram at the moment. How and if Yen will truly reprise his position is a really attention-grabbing query given the finality of the character’s story within the very aptly titled “Ip Man 4: The Finale.”
Nonetheless, it is exhausting to not get excited on the prospect of extra “Ip Man.” These motion pictures are nationalistic propaganda at its most interesting, and an opportunity for China to show its superiority to the world through essentially the most ludicrous and over-the-top martial arts showdowns.
