IP MAN 4: THE FINALE
A compelling martial arts drama with intense, brutal violence.
Should You Watch It?
IP MAN 4: THE FINALE is a compelling martial arts drama with effective personal stakes. The film is nicely photographed, Donnie Yen leads a strong Asian cast performance, and the martial arts action is superb. The story also gives Ip Man and his rebellious son a touching moment of reconciliation.
That strength comes with a serious cost. The violence is intense and sometimes brutal, and the language includes numerous obscenities, a GD profanity, lighter profanities, and racial insults. The film’s treatment of racial conflict is also politically correct, anachronistic, and less grounded in the 1960s Civil Rights battles than in modern identity politics.
Adults who can handle those concerns may find a worthwhile drama beneath them. Families with children or young teens should choose another film.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESIn 1964, Chinese martial arts teacher Ip Man travels from Hong Kong to Seattle. He hopes to find an American school for his rebellious teenage son after Bruce Lee sends him a ticket and plane fare to attend a Kung Fu tournament.
In Seattle, Man encounters opposition from the chairman of the Chinese Benevolent Association and from a Marine drill instructor who harasses an Asian Marine trained by Bruce Lee. To gain respect for himself and for Chinese Kung Fu, Man must face both men.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a good, compelling film with notable flaws. It is nicely photographed, and Donnie Yen gives a strong performance as Ip Man. The Asian actors are very good, while the American acting is uneven and sometimes hokey.
The martial arts action is the film’s greatest strength. It is superb, but also very intense and sometimes brutal. The movie offers plenty of jeopardy and effective personal drama, including a touching father-and-son reconciliation.
The story is less convincing as biography. Ip Man was 71 in 1964, while the actors look considerably younger, making the film feel more like a martial arts fantasy than a real biography.
The Worldview
The film presents a light Romantic worldview with strong politically correct leftist elements. White men are portrayed as prejudiced in an over-the-top and unrealistic manner, while the Chinese characters must earn respect from American soldiers. The story also contains some light Kung Fu Eastern mysticism.
There are moral elements in the film, especially in the reconciliation between a father and son and between two men. Bullying and racism are rebuked, but the racial conflicts are framed too much through today’s identity politics rather than the 1960s struggle against forced segregation and prejudice in favor of integration and brotherhood.
The film’s central lesson is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Scripture similarly calls us to seek wisdom rather than trust appearances: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Light Romantic worldview with strong politically correct leftist elements where white men are prejudiced in an over-the-top and unrealistic manner, some light Kung Fu Eastern mysticism, and some moral elements that lead to some reconciliation between a father and son and between two men, and Chinese man has to earn respect from American soldiers
Foul Language
13 obscenities (a few “s” words, many “h” words, some “a” words, and an SOB), one GD profanity, two light profanities, and some racial insults
Violence
Lots of intense and sometimes brutal martial arts fighting in at least five major fight scenes that include punching, kicking, punches to the throat, and attempts to break limbs, plus high school male and female bullies attack a Chinese teenage girl, but she cuts one female bully’s face after the bully tries to attack her with a knife, a man punches bullies to stop them, men use Kung Fu to push a ceramic and glass table top against one another in a test of wills until the glass breaks, and an earthquake occurs
Sex
No sex
Nudity
Upper male nudity in one scene
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Brief smoking but no drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Bullying and racism but rebuked, lying, and teenage rebellion by boy teenager and teenage girl.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Ip Man’s conflict with his son eventually leads toward reconciliation. What does humility look like when a parent and child have hurt each other?
Ephesians 4:2–3 · Colossians 3:13The film portrays bullying and racism as wrong. How can Christians oppose prejudice while treating every person with dignity?
James 2:1–9 · Galatians 3:28Ip Man must decide where his son belongs and what kind of training he needs. How should parents balance discipline, wisdom, and a child’s gifts?
Proverbs 22:6 · Ephesians 6:4The film suggests that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Where are you tempted to believe that a different place or life would solve your deepest problems?
Psalm 16:5–6 · Philippians 4:11–13The Final Word
IP MAN 4: THE FINALE offers superb martial arts action, compelling personal drama, and a touching reconciliation. Its strong language, intense violence, and distorted racial framing make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
