Ip Man: The Final Fight å

Set during the latter stages of the Wing Chun grandmaster`s life, Ip Man: The Final Fight is set in post-war Hong Kong, and centres on Ip Man`s (Anthony Wong) growing role as a teacher of Wing Chun. As his school grows in fame and size, some of his students start to garner the wrong sort of attention from both rival schools and gangster bosses, forcing Ip Man to intervene in the titular `final fight`.

Production wise, Ip Man: The Final Fight channels a quaint, Old-World aesthetic that gives it the veneer of a vintage documentary piece. The visuals are charming enough in the film`s placid moments, although it doesn`t quite have the stylistic sparks of the renditions by Wong Kar-Wai or Wilson Yip. Likewise, this version of Ip Man comes across as benign but not infallible, and far less mythic than earlier portrayals of the character, with veteran actor Wong exuding a quiet charisma in the role. There`s a glossed over, slightly scandalous romance between Ip Man and a young stage singer (Zhou Chuchu) whom he saves, which serves to humanise a man often portrayed as beyond rebuke in his morality.

While the fight sequences are less frequent than in other Ip Man films, they are vigorously choreographed, and shot with a refreshing lack of stylistic swooping and panning from the camera. A particularly memorable scene takes place in the slums of Kowloon, between an underworld pugilist`s gang and Ip Man and his students.

For all its strengths however, Ip Man: The Final Fight does possess some significant flaws. The film`s screenplay sags around the middle, packed with too many incidents and forgettable characters, with Chan`s cop being one of the few memorable members of Ip Man`s student cadre. Likewise, certain scenes in the film seem tacked on to set the historical record straight, rather than to add to the film as a whole, such as the real-life Ip Man`s purported use of opium, and his relationship with his most famous student, Bruce Lee.

Ip Man: The Final Fight is a solid addition to the overly saturated sub-genre of `Ip-Mania` films. Let`s just hope that it really delivers on what its title promises, and that the venerable grandmaster will be given the chance to retire before tedium sets in for audiences.

Summary: A fitting conclusion (we hope) to Ip Man`s story.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Raphael Lim