Since 2008, the Ip Man series has spanned four films (the fourth coming out later this year) and have all starred martial arts sensation Donnie Yen (Rogue One) and were directed by Wilson Yip (SPL, aka Killzone). In part three, there’s a brilliant action scene between Ip and a character named Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang). While the sequence ends in Cheung’s defeat, it remained a highlight for audiences. Fast forward a couple of years later and the character was so popular, a spinoff was made, Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy. Max Zhang returns to the character and this time the focus is on Cheung Tin Chi. While Yip and Yen have stepped away from this particular film, they brought in the big gun to direct, the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping (Iron Monkey).
After being defeated by Ip Man, Cheung Tin Chi lives a depressed life. He’s left the world of martial arts behind and has gone on to run a grocery store. When out on delivery, a young woman is attacked by a group of thugs and Cheung steps in to save her. In doing so, he has upset the thugs so much, they follow him to his home and burn it (along with the grocery store) to the ground, nearly killing him and his son. Julia (Liu Yan) wants to help him out the way he helped her friend who was being attacked, so she gets him a job with her brother, a very well-respected club owner, until he gets back on his feet. The actions of himself and the thugs sets off a chain reaction of events that will lead Cheung back to the worlds of martial arts so he can re-discover his true path.
The amount of talent associated with this picture is absolutely incredible. Max Zhang owns every moment he’s on frame and the character is interesting enough to have been given his own film. To see genre legends like Yuen Wah and Michelle Yeoh will fill the appetites of every genre fan who grew up watching the Hong Kong film explosion. Modern action star Dave Bautista (he was also a producer) has ample of screen time and has really come into his own. Tony Jaa only appears in a cameo role, and while it’s great to see him, it was a bit disappointing.
Deep into his 70’s, director Yuen Woo-Ping still has what it takes to deliver a solid action movie, even after the disaster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny. The story wasn’t original, but it served the purpose to showcase some terrific action scenes and give an exciting, new-ish talent a platform to show off his skills, which is all you could really ask for.
Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital from WellGo USA.
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