This one was still good but it felt like it was a good time to kill off the franchise. I could watch the martial arts segments all day long but the stories just start running together. It begins to feel like the Karate Kid franchise in that by the end of the series you're really only watching for the tournaments. That being said, this one had one of the coolest ones which showed Wing Chun vs Tai Chi masters which was one of the more memorable fights in the series. (And one they didn't really conclude).
The thing about the series, from 2 through 4, is that they are Chinese movies and the imperial white guys in Hong Kong and racist white guys in the United States, are the clear 'bad guys'. It's likely true, but they were certainly made for the Chinese audience. It didn't detract from the series for me, however.
My biggest complaint between the four films is that pretty much anyone can challenge anyone and whoop butt except when fighting Ip Man. I bring this up because random characters challenge the masters and beat them almost every time. Then they challenge Ip Man and get their butts handed to them on a platter.
The other thing is, some of these guys they have fighting Ip Man are ripped and swole. Yes, Ip Man can get some fast and strong hits and kicks in on them but when he takes a punch, he's gonna be hurting. At the end of every challenge, however, he looks unfazed. I mean really, taking a punch from one of the characters in the third film would have him, and practically any man, on the ground. The same holds true for most of them. I call it the George Foreman formula. He could take a lot of punches but all he needed was one or two of his to land and his opponent would be out. The same holds true for Ip Man, IMHO. One or two big direct punches from these guys and he'd be smooshed, Wing Chun or not!
The other thing about this particular film is they got the WORST United States actors for their roles. It felt like they were in their second year at acting college in many cases. I cringed with the way some of the dialogue was given!
Overall, however, I liked the series as a whole. The Wing Chun style makes me want to go back and watch Bruce Lee's films again. The next film I'll watch in this vein, however, is the Martin Scorsese produced film, The Grandmaster. It's another take on Ip Man. Oh, and the guy they got to play Bruce Lee in this one did a good job.
Yes, I'll recommend this one but recognize that the quality of story in the films dropped with each successive film so by film four, you get kinda the bottom of the barrel.
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