Ip Man 4: The Finale Explained

Ip Man 4: The Finale should not be confused with Ip Man: The Final Fight.

Ip Man 4: The Finale
Native Name:
Child:yes
Hide:no
Header:none
S:叶问4：完结篇
T:葉問4：完結篇
J:Jip6 Man6 Sei3: Jyun4git3 Pin1
Director:Wilson Yip
Producer:Raymond Wong
Wilson Yip
Donnie Yen
Princeton Lock
Starring:Donnie Yen
Wu Yue
Vanness Wu
Scott Adkins
Kent Cheng
Danny Chan
Ngo Ka-nin
Music:Kenji Kawai
Cinematography:Cheng Siu-Keung
Editing:Cheung Ka-fai
Studio:Mandarin Motion Pictures[1]
Tin Tin Film Production
Distributor:Well Go USA (United States)
Runtime:105 minutes
Country:Hong Kong
China
Language:Chinese (dialect: Cantonese
Mandarin)
English
Budget:$52 million[2]
Gross:$239 million[3] [4]

Ip Man 4: The Finale is a 2019 Hong Kong-Chinese biographical martial arts film directed by Wilson Yip, who also produced with Raymond Wong (who also writer in the film), and Donnie Yen, who also stars as the title character. It is the fourth film in the Ip Man film series, which is loosely based on the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster of the same name.

A co-production of Hong Kong and China, the film began production in April 2018 and ended in July of the same year. It was released on 20 December 2019. It is currently the highest grossing Chinese film in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as the 5th highest grossing Hong Kong film in Mainland China. [5]

Plot

In 1964, Ip Man is diagnosed with throat cancer due to his history of chronic smoking. After his rebellious son Ip Ching fights back against a bully and is expelled from school, Ip Man decides to travel to San Francisco in order to look for study opportunities. After Ching and his father get into a heated argument that ends with the older Ip striking his son in the face, he entrusts Ching to his friend, Fat Bo.

Ip arrives in San Francisco, where his student Bruce Lee has upset the local martial arts community by opening a kung fu school, teaching non-Chinese people martial arts, and writing a book explaining Chinese martial arts in English.[6] He discovers from his reporter friend Liang Gen that, because he is a foreigner, he needs a referral letter from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to enroll Ching into an American school. The association's chairman, Tai Chi master Wan Zonghua, refuses to write the letter as Ip is unbothered by Lee's actions, whereas the other grandmasters openly disapprove.

While leaving the school after a meeting with the principal, Ip sees Wan's teenage daughter, Yonah, undergoing a racist attack from a rival cheerleader, Becky, and her male friends. Ip steps in to rescue her and escorts Yonah home, where Wan is upset that she got into a fight. Ip tells Wan that Yonah was not wrong to defend herself, but Wan rebukes him by claiming that Ip, as a foreigner, cannot understand the tension between whites and Chinese in America. Just before Ip leaves, Wan accuses him of using his daughter to get the letter and challenges him to a fight for it. The duel is interrupted by an earthquake, and Wan says they will finish it at the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown. Ip refuses, affirming that he merely accompanied Yonah home for her own safety, and leaves.

Meanwhile, Becky lies to her parents, claiming that Yonah attacked her. Her father, Andrew Walters, an officer of the INS, is pressured by his wife Gabriella into holding the Association responsible and deporting all illegal immigrants associated with them. Elsewhere, Hartman Wu, a staff sergeant in the US Marines and student of Lee, attempts to persuade Barton Geddes, the Gunnery Sergeant on his base, to incorporate Chinese martial arts into their hand-to-hand combat training. Geddes, an openly racist man, seemingly proves the Marines' current karate program superior by having Hartman fight the Marines' karate sensei, Colin Frater, with Frater easily besting Hartman.

However, Hartman manages to convince the unit's commanding officer of kung fu's potential use, and is permitted to film the Festival for research purposes; the infuriated Geddes instructs Frater to challenge the grandmasters at the Festival. Frater easily takes down 3 of the grandmasters before Ip intervenes and defeats him, hospitalising him. Meanwhile, Wan, who was supposed to be present at the Festival, is arrested by the INS. Upon seeing Frater in the hospital, Geddes barges into the Association building and uses his strength and karate prowess to brutally defeat all the grandmasters present. He then threatens Walters into releasing Wan into Marine custody before bringing Wan into the camp to fight him. Due to a tip-off by Billy, a subordinate of Walters and student of Lee, the Association is evacuated by the time the INS conducts its raid. Lee provides refuge for the Association, earning their respect.

At the camp, Wan and Geddes fight, with Wan at first able to match Geddes, but he is eventually overwhelmed and seriously injured. Wan is taken to the hospital, where an emotional Ip calls Fat Bo to reveal his cancer; Fat Bo then angrily forces Ching to talk to his father, after many previous refusals. The older Ip apologizes to his son for striking him, and promises to teach Ching kung fu when he returns to Hong Kong. Hartman brings Ip to the Marines, and he triumphantly defeats Geddes after a long, strenuous fight.

Wan prepares the referral letter for Ip, but Ip turns it down, having decided against moving to America. Ip returns to Hong Kong and accepts that Ching likes martial arts. A weary but determined Ip instructs his son to film him as he demonstrates Wing Chun on a wooden dummy.

An epilogue shows Lee paying respect to Ip at his funeral. Onscreen text states that Ip succumbed to his cancer in 1972 at the age of 79, and that the Marines officially incorporated Chinese kung fu into their training by inviting Chinese martial artists to train them in 2001.

Cast

In addition, several actors appear in cameos as characters from the previous films in a flashback sequence via archive footage, including Lynn Hung as Cheung Wing-sing (Chinese: 張永成), Ip Man's deceased wife; Gordon Lam as Li Chiu (Chinese: 李釗), a police officer from Foshan; Huang Xiaoming as Wong Leung (Chinese: 黃梁), Ip Man's first student; Sammo Hung as the late Hung Chun-nam (Chinese: 洪震南), an asthmatic Hung Ga master; Mike Tyson as Frank, an American property developer; Sarut Khanwilai as Suchart, a Thai Boxer; Zhang Jin as Cheung Tin-chi (Chinese: 張天志), a former Wing Chun master who was defeated by Ip Man in a duel; the late Darren Shahlavi as Taylor "The Twister" Miller, an English boxing champion who was defeated by Ip Man; and Simon Yam as Chow Ching-chuen (Chinese: 周清泉), Ip Man's old friend.

Production

On 30 September 2016, Donnie Yen (who portrayed the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in three films) announced that he and series director Wilson Yip would return for the fourth film in the series.[11] Writer Edmond Wong also returned.[12] Producer Raymond Wong said he paid Yen "a hefty amount of money" to return for the fourth film.[13] Principal photography began in April 2018,[14] and ended that July.[15] [16] Filming locations included China,[17] Pensby High School, Crosby Beach and Preston, Lancashire.[18] In September 2019, Donnie Yen said Ip Man 4 would be the last film in the series.[19]

Release

Ip Man 4: The Finale was released on December 20, 2019.[20] The film had a limited release on December 25, 2019, in the United States distributed by Well Go USA.[21] It was released by CMC Pictures in Australia and New Zealand on 20 December 2019.[22]

Reception

According to the Malaysian newspaper The Star, the movie was the highest grossing Chinese film of all time in the country while according to Shine.cn, the movie was the third highest grossing Chinese film in North America in five years.[23] [24]

As of March 2020, the film has grossed over $239 million worldwide.[4] [25] At the Taiwanese box office it grossed NT$185 million[26] (US6.15 million).[27] As of 5 January 2020, the film's Singapore box office is US$6.74 million,[28] the Malaysian box office is over RM 36 million (US8.6 million),[29] and the film made over $197.2 million in Mainland China.

Controversy

During the 2019 Hong Kong protests, protesters urged a boycott of the film, citing the pro-Beijing stances of actors Donnie Yen and Danny Chan and producer Raymond Wong. Protesters actively spoiled the film on social media in both English and Chinese.[30]

Sequel

Although Ip Man 4 was intended to be the conclusion to Ip Man's story, on 18 May 2023, a new Ip Man movie titled Ip Man 5 was announced by Mandarin Motion Pictures at the Cannes Film Festival. Donnie Yen also unveiled the poster for the film on his Instagram.[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Filmart: 'Ip Man 4' records sales for Mandarin Motion Pictures . screendaily.com . January 6, 2019 . 29 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205032/https://www.screendaily.com/news/filmart-ip-man-4-records-sales-for-mandarin-motion-pictures/5137773.article . live .
  2. News: Busan: Hot Titles at the Asian Film Market . Frater . Patrick . 5 October 2018 . . 7 October 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181007111649/https://variety.com/2018/film/asia/hot-titles-at-busan-film-market-1202969981/ . 7 October 2018.
  3. Web site: China Weekly Boxoffice . entgroup .
  4. Web site: Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) . . . January 7, 2019 . 30 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200130002449/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Yip-Man-4-(Hong-Kong)#tab=summary . live .
  5. Web site: "Ip Man 4" Breaks Box Office Records – JayneStars.com.
  6. Web site: IP Man 4 Teaser Trailer Pits Donnie Yen Against Scott Adkins . Outlaw . Kofi . 18 March 2019 . Comicbook.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190319163011/https://comicbook.com/movies/2019/03/18/ip-man-4-trailer-teaser/ . 19 March 2019 . 19 March 2019.
  7. News: #Showbiz: Jackie Chan to appear in Ip Man 4 . Alhamzah . Tahir . 25 July 2018 . . 27 July 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180726122027/https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/groove/2018/07/394408/showbiz-jackie-chan-appear-ip-man-4 . 26 July 2018.
  8. Web site: Ip Man 4 Casts Scott Adkins . Raymond . Nicholas . 7 May 2018 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180528133940/https://screenrant.com/ip-man-4-scott-adkins-cast/ . 28 May 2018 . 28 May 2018.
  9. Web site: Barton Geddes ready for action in Ip Man 4 . Adkins . Scott . Scott Adkins . 5 November 2019 . . live . https://archive.today/20191116032938/https://www.facebook.com/officialscottadkins/posts/2544012295689437 . 16 November 2019 . 16 November 2019 .
  10. Web site: 《叶问4》2018春节开拍，甄子丹和陈国坤合作打造经典传奇 . 12 December 2017 . New.qq.com . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050318/https://new.qq.com/omn/20171212/20171212A0RHNT.html . 15 February 2019 . 1 June 2019.
  11. News: Donnie Yen will make Ip Man 4, despite hinting previously he was retiring from gongfu films . Chew Hui Min . 30 September 2016 . . 28 May 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180528134628/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/donnie-yen-will-make-ip-man-4-despite-hinting-previously-he-was-retiring . 28 May 2018.
  12. Web site: Donnie Yen talks BIG BROTHER, Musicals, Martial Arts Movies, IP MAN 4 and more! . Leeder . Mike . 1 October 2018 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181007081321/https://screenanarchy.com/2018/10/donnie-yen-talks-big-brother-musicals-martial-arts-movies-ip-man-4-and-more.html . 7 October 2018 . 7 October 2018.
  13. Web site: Raymond Wong paid millions to Donnie Yen for "Ip Man 4" . Hsia . Heidi . 17 February 2018 . . Singapore . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180528133644/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/raymond-wong-paid-millions-donnie-224700956.html . 28 May 2018 . 28 May 2018.
  14. Web site: IP MAN 4 – Director Wilson Yip and Donnie Yen are back. . Chukwu . Eke . 27 April 2018 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180528134637/http://screenanarchy.com/2018/04/ip-man-4---director-wilson-yip-and-donnie-yen-are-back-contrib.html . 28 May 2018 . 28 May 2018.
  15. News: Donnie Yen celebrates birthday on "Ip Man 4" set . Hsia . Heidi . 3 August 2018 . . 19 August 2018 . live . https://archive.today/20180819124017/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/donnie-yen-celebrates-birthday-ip-062200700.html?guccounter=1 . 19 August 2018 . Singapore.
  16. News: Donnie Yen on Big Brother, antidote to downer Hong Kong films . Lee . Edmund . 15 August 2018 . . 19 August 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180816120147/https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2159843/donnie-yen-playing-soldier-turned-teacher-big-brother-hong-kong . 16 August 2018.
  17. News: Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan to fight in Ip Man 4 . Ng . Cherlynn . 14 July 2018 . . 3 December 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005617/https://stomp.straitstimes.com/singapore-seen/donnie-yen-and-jackie-chan-to-fight-in-ip-man-4 . 4 December 2018.
  18. News: Cast and crew of upcoming martial arts film Ip Man 4 spotted at Preston Bus Station . 22 July 2018 . . 3 December 2018 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181203202738/https://www.lep.co.uk/news/cast-and-crew-of-upcoming-martial-arts-film-ip-man-4-spotted-at-preston-bus-station-1-9263536 . 3 December 2018.
  19. News: Donnie Yen confirms 'Ip Man 4' will be final instalment of series . Alladin . Unus . 23 September 2019 . . 29 September 2019 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190925033043/https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/article/3030022/fans-saddened-donnie-yen-confirms-ip-man-4-will-be-last . 25 September 2019.
  20. Web site: New "Ip Man" martial arts film set for December China release . 19 September 2019 . . live . https://archive.today/20190920153642/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/19/c_138403999.htm . 20 September 2019 . 20 September 2019.
  21. Web site: IP MAN 4: THE FINALE . 19 September 2019 . 27 December 2019 . 22 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200622155237/https://www.wellgousa.com/films/ip-man-4-the-finale . live .
  22. Web site: 2019-12-06. IP MAN 4. 2020-11-14. CMC PICTURES. en-AU. 16 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201116124736/https://cmc-pictures.com/ip-man-4/. live.
  23. Web site: 'Ip Man 4' is the highest grossing Chinese film of all time in Malaysia. 16 January 2020. 19 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220619151001/https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/2020/01/09/ip-man-4-is-the-highest-grossing-chinese-film-of-all-time-in-malaysia. live.
  24. Web site: 'Ip Man 4: The Finale' becomes third highest grossing Chinese film at North American box office in five years. 16 January 2020. 20 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020174749/https://www.shine.cn/news/world/2001159786/. live.
  25. Web site: Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) . . . January 7, 2019 . 24 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191224083216/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2076298/ . live .
  26. Web site: 全國電影票房2020年04/13-04/19統計資訊 . 國家電影中心 . 2020-04-23 . 2020-04-23 . 2020-06-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200627132339/https://www.tfi.org.tw/Content/TFI/PublicInfo/%E5%85%A8%E5%9C%8B%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%A5%A8%E6%88%BF2020%E5%B9%B40413-0419%E7%B5%B1%E8%A8%88%E8%B3%87%E8%A8%8A.pdf . live .
  27. Web site: Historical currency converter with official exchange rates from 1953 . fxtop . 2 March 2021 . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104213235/https://fxtop.com/en/historical-currency-converter.php?A=185375168&C1=TWD&C2=USD&DD=20&MM=12&YYYY=2019&B=1&P=&I=1&btnOK=Go! . live .
  28. Web site: S'pore Box-Office 2019: Ip Man 4 Beats Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker . TODAYonline . 2 March 2021 . 4 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240104213241/https://www.todayonline.com/8days/seeanddo/spore-box-office-2019-ip-man-4-beats-star-wars-rise-skywalker . live .
  29. Web site: Says . Anon . "Ip Man 4" Breaks Box Office Records . JayneStars.com . 2 March 2021 . en . 3 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200603012944/https://www.jaynestars.com/news/ip-man-4-breaks-box-office-records/ . live .
  30. Web site: Hong Kong Protestors Boycott 'Ip Man 4' for Donnie Yen and Producer's Pro-Beijing Stance. The Hollywood Reporter. 23 December 2019. en. 2019-12-27. 24 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191224035531/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hong-kong-protesters-boycott-ip-man-4-1264759. live.
  31. Web site: Francisco . Eric . 'Ip Man 5'? Donnie Yen Announces Sequel to Movie Where His Character Definitely Died . Inverse . 18 May 2023 . 11 June 2023 . 1 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230601151610/https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/ip-man-5-donnie-yen . live .

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