"Ip Man 4" brings the titular character to the United States in an effort to find a school for his son. Of course, not all things go as planned and he unintentionally brings himself into conflict with a number of different opposing forces. The result is a film packed with highly entertaining and spectacular action sequences, but its impact is limited.
One thing I found lacking in this movie is strong villains. Bringing Ip Man to the United States brings him into contact with some racist people who make awful remarks every chance they get. The things they say are just horrible and do a good job of making the people just monsters. But, apart from what they say out of their mouths, they are one-dimensional villains. This affects how we feel during the action sequences because now we simply feel the desire for Ip Man to kick the villain's ass. This is different from the antagonists in the first (Japanese general General Miura) and third movies (fellow Wing-chun practitioner Cheung-Tin Chi) where they seem to hold some level of respect and makes them more premium villains. This elevates the fight sequences to be something more than just a brawl, which I feel is what "Ip Man 4" generally contained.
I personally found the setting to be a bit shallow. San Francisco is a stark contrast to the gritty setting of the first movie, during a time of Japanese occupation, contributing to stakes that are just much lower. Granted, subsequent installments also do not have that high-stakes background because having each movie set in a war period is just not an option. But even compared to "Ip Man 2" and "Ip Man 3", the setting here doesn't seem to have much of an impact.
Action sequences here are fantastic. The choreography is just outstanding. They've stuck to the more grounded fight scenes from "Ip Man 3", so none of that flying table fight in "Ip Man 2" and they just seem more practical, save for one particularly ridiculous, but nonetheless entertaining confrontation early on in the movie.
Donnie Yen does another spectacular job as Ip Man, now confronted with the issue of his mortality, as well as the struggles of being a good parent in the absence of his late wife. He looks more vulnerable than in previous installments, and his charisma as essentially a God-on-Earth easily wins our sympathies. There are other characters, some of them reprisals from previous installments. There's also Bruce Lee, although he feels like a cameo in this movie. Ultimately, he brings the entire "Ip Man" installment to a satisfying conclusion full of brilliant action sequences, although lacking the grittiness and triumphant themes of the previous installments.
One thing I found lacking in this movie is strong villains. Bringing Ip Man to the United States brings him into contact with some racist people who make awful remarks every chance they get. The things they say are just horrible and do a good job of making the people just monsters. But, apart from what they say out of their mouths, they are one-dimensional villains. This affects how we feel during the action sequences because now we simply feel the desire for Ip Man to kick the villain's ass. This is different from the antagonists in the first (Japanese general General Miura) and third movies (fellow Wing-chun practitioner Cheung-Tin Chi) where they seem to hold some level of respect and makes them more premium villains. This elevates the fight sequences to be something more than just a brawl, which I feel is what "Ip Man 4" generally contained.
I personally found the setting to be a bit shallow. San Francisco is a stark contrast to the gritty setting of the first movie, during a time of Japanese occupation, contributing to stakes that are just much lower. Granted, subsequent installments also do not have that high-stakes background because having each movie set in a war period is just not an option. But even compared to "Ip Man 2" and "Ip Man 3", the setting here doesn't seem to have much of an impact.
Action sequences here are fantastic. The choreography is just outstanding. They've stuck to the more grounded fight scenes from "Ip Man 3", so none of that flying table fight in "Ip Man 2" and they just seem more practical, save for one particularly ridiculous, but nonetheless entertaining confrontation early on in the movie.
Donnie Yen does another spectacular job as Ip Man, now confronted with the issue of his mortality, as well as the struggles of being a good parent in the absence of his late wife. He looks more vulnerable than in previous installments, and his charisma as essentially a God-on-Earth easily wins our sympathies. There are other characters, some of them reprisals from previous installments. There's also Bruce Lee, although he feels like a cameo in this movie. Ultimately, he brings the entire "Ip Man" installment to a satisfying conclusion full of brilliant action sequences, although lacking the grittiness and triumphant themes of the previous installments.