Evidently, after “Ip Man 4” (Ip Man 3 for some) the franchise took the road downhill, with a number of productions that were shot for VOD, in an effort to cash in from the popularity of the titular character. “Ip Man and Four Kings” is one of those titles, and probably the worst entry in the whole series.
With an introduction that is a direct rip-off of “The Grandmaster” , the movie introduces us to the Master of Wing Chun once more, this time in 1950, where he is still the most renowned teacher in the city, respected by both colleagues and everyday people. When a new school opens, however, backed by a local kingpin and his Western sponsors, the harmony that Ip Man has achieved is threatened once more. Taking advantage of the weakness of one of his students for gambling, Zheng Delong, the leader of Kowloon Walled City, manages to frame Ip Man, who ends up being interrogated in jail. With the help of an old acquaintance in the police, he manages to avoid imprisonment, but soon realizes that in order to clear his name and save his student, he must first fight with the Four Heavenly Kings of the city, the heads gambling, prostitution, alcohol and catering syndicates.
Liwei Fu directs a film that tries to follow the recipe of the original trilogy (the fourth part was released after this one actually), along with some elements of Wong Kar Wai's entry, but fails miserably, resulting in a movie that looks like a rip-off of the original. Frankly, I am surprised that the term ‘Ipsploitation' was not introduced after this one. As such, the story is nonsensical, the characters look like caricatures, and the action suffers intently from the bad editing, which could be implemented in order to hide the fact that the protagonists are not that great in martial arts (or the lack of stunt men). Particularly the fights with the Four Kings go completely overboard, almost in comic book fashion, with the wire-fu parts being laughable in their majority, with the editing helping neither in that regard. Lastly, the efforts at comedy are ridiculous, and not in a good way and the slight moment of propaganda regarding Hong Kong always being Chinese and not British conclude the major faults of the movie.
That being said, there are a few redeeming qualities about this one. For starters, Michael Tong makes for a rather likable Ip Man, presenting his character with a sense of measure and dignity that benefits the whole film. Lin Fengye is a convincing villain as Zheng Delong. Some moments, particularly the intro and the final fight have a visual flair that can be of quality at times. Lastly, at 71 minutes, the movie does not overextend its welcome in any way, even more so since the second half is filled with action sequences.
That is all, though, as “Ip Man and Four Kings” is one of those flicks that you watch, maybe have a little fun, and then forget immediately.
