The Right Order To Watch The Ip Man Movies

The “Ip Man” movies represent some of the most fun you can have with the martial arts genre. The franchise is loosely based on the life of the Ip Man (or Yip Man), a Chinese martial arts master who specialized in the art of Wing Chun, whose most famous student was Bruce Lee, the star of the amazing martial arts action movie “Enter the Dragon.” The main films in the property are directed by Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen as the title character. Yen played Ip Man for more than a decade between them giving us one of the best “Star Wars” characters ever in Chirrut Îmwe from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” as well as one of the best fights in the “John Wick” movies.

As far as martial arts cinema goes, it rarely gets better than the “Ip Man” films, which actually manage to create tension even though the audience knows full well that Ip Man will never completely lose any given battle. As well as its amazing action scenes and stunts, it is also a franchise known for being refreshingly character driven, as well as having interesting depictions of the Second Sino-Japanese War and British colonialism in Hong Kong. They’re not just fight scenes wrapped up in a plot, but movies with real stories to tell that have great action scenes to boot.

With a fifth “Ip Man” movie reportedly on the way, it’s never a bad time to check out the property. Whether it’s been a while since you’ve seen these movies or you’ve never had the pleasure of watching “Ip Man” take out 10 dudes in a fight and are wondering where to start, here’s your guide to the order best watch for the “Ip Man” franchise.

The correct order to watch the “Ip Man” movies is to go by release order. Although the films have a fairly simple naming convention, there is an exception for a spin-off film that takes place in the films timeline, which makes it important to go by a release date, such as:

• “Ip Man” (2008)
• “Ip Man 2” (2010)
• “Ip Man 3” (2015)
• “Master Z: Legacy of Ip Man” (2018)
• “Ip Man 4: The Finale” (2019)

This order also follows the thematic throughline of the franchise, with each film focusing on a different theme. The first film is about Ip Man trying to survive in the face of oppression, while the second is about adapting to a new reality and trying to make a living. Similarly, the spin-off and the fourth film are about legacy. As for the third film in the franchise, that’s really it about Ip Man fighting Mike Tyson while a young Bruce Lee watched.

Going by this order allows you to experience a full story with a beginning, middle and end. Or, at least that’s the way it was until 2023. That’s because it was announced that a new “Ip Man” movie, called “Ip Man 5” is being developed by Mandarin Motion Pictures, with Donnie Yen taking part at least to the extent that it shares the film. teaser poster on Instagram at that time. How and if Yen will actually reprise his role is a very interesting question considering how final the character’s story is in the aptly titled “Ip Man 4: The Finale.”

Still, it’s hard not to get excited about the possibility of more “Ip Man.” These films are nationalist propaganda at its bestand an opportunity for China to prove its superiority to the world through the most ridiculous and over the top martial arts contests.