Ip Man 3
(aka Yip Man 3)
2016; directed by Wilson Yip

In the fast-paced world of Hong Kong cinema, six years is an eternity. So why the push to make another entry in the "official" Ip Man saga now? Well, as with many things in Hong Kong, it comes down to money. With the success of an "unofficial" prequel and sequel (The Legend is Born and The Final Fight) and Wong Kar-Wai's arthouse take on Ip, The Grandmaster, audiences have shown that they are still interested in the character, so why not? Thankfully, the results here are solid enough so that this doesn't come off like the cheap cash-in it very well could have ended up as.

The story has an older and wiser Ip (once again played by Donnie Yen) helping to protect Hong Kong from evil gwailo intrusion, here essayed by an unnamed white police captain and Mike Tyson's character of Frank, who floats between being a gangster, underground fight promoter, and businessman. The foreginers are trying to take over land to use for shipping yards, but they pick the wrong parcel with the school that Ip Man's son attends, and so it's up to him to right the wrongs of history using his fists of fury.

The plot is Ip Man 3's main problem. It kind of filp-flops about, with no real focus; it seems to want to satisfy Mainland audiences via a very visible pro-Chinese agenda, yet it is also trying to appeal to westerners as well, so Frank is given softer treatment than the ridiculously jingoistic Mr. Twister from Ip Man 2. There is also a forced feeling to the inclusion of Sum Nung (John Zhang Jin), a fellow Wing Chung master who seems to solely exist to hit a series of martial art movie stereotypes as what is supposed to be Ip Man's main rival. And if you don't feel there is enough drama, we even get a sappy subplot revolving around Ip Man's wife getting cancer that is handled with all of the panache of a Lifetime movie of the week.

When it comes to the fights, Ip Man 3 does deliver the goods, though the amount and frequency may not be as much as die-hard fans would like. Helmed by Yuen Woo-Ping, there are three main martial arts sequences: a big brawl with Ip and Sum taking on a large group of thugs, Ip and Frank facing off, and then the final confrontation between Ip and Sum. At this point in his career, Yuen seems to be setting the push for innovation behind him, but even with a bit of auto-pilot on display here, Yuen shows he can still craft thrilling fight scenes, especially when he is paired with someone like Donnie Yen, who he has made films with for thirty-odd years.

RATING: 7

Ip Man 3 has been released uncut and in the original Cantonese/Mandarin/English language mix in North America by Well Go USA. It is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon. Extras include trailers, interviews, and behind the scenes featurettes.