Ye Wen, the strongest in the universe, also ushered in the final chapter this year.
Based on the last review and analysis of the full series of Ip Man, this time I will simply sort out and summarize the last Ip Man series, "Ip Man 4", to draw a successful conclusion to the Ip Man series.
It is true that the "Ip Man" series can't escape the curse of being the pinnacle of debut. This "Ip Man 4" does not have much in the narrative of the story. Many scenes and motivations are entirely for fighting. As for the service, the martial arts part is also the most colorful and bloody part of the series, so the later the "Ip Man" series is shot, the more effort is devoted to the martial arts part, and the less effort is spent on literary drama.
The first thing to explain here is that the series "Ip Man" is not a so-called adaptation based on real events, but a fandom IP movie approved by Ip Man's family. There won't be any meaning or issues that are too worthy of deep exploration, but we can also feel a person's integrity, respected, and persistent belief in Chinese martial arts from Ip Man on the screen. This is also the "Ip Man" series. Core.
After the "Ip Man" series went through the fight against the Japanese, the British, and various sectarian martial arts, this time Ip Man came to San Francisco in the United States alone. First, to meet his apprentice Bruce Lee, and second, to find the United States for his son Ye Zheng. 's school.
After Ye Wen went to San Francisco, he first went to the Chinese Federation to worship the pier, but Master Wan, the president of the Chinese Federation, did not like to see Ye Wen, because it was Li Xiaolong, his apprentice.
At this time, Bruce Lee was already prosperous in the United States. He also promoted Chinese martial arts at the Karate Conference and published Chinese martial arts publications in both Chinese and English. Many of Bruce Lee's apprentices were foreigners, and Wu Jianhao played one of the American soldiers. The non-commissioned officer, he is working hard for Chinese martial arts to become a training course for the defense of the US military, but the generals in the barracks are dismissive of Chinese martial arts.
Master Wan believes that the Wing Chun boxing of Bruce Lee and Ip Man does not represent Chinese martial arts, and Chinese martial arts do not need foreigners to understand and learn. Chinese martial arts are only spread among the Chinese.
Therefore, in the film Ip Man, the conflict between a master in the country and a general in the United States began. This structure is actually very similar to "Ip Man 2".
Afterwards, Ye Wen and Master Wan got to know each other better when they were discussing kung fu, and Ye Wen also learned about the difficulties of Chinese overseas. The boss of the final battle was naturally an American karate general, and Ye Wen narrowly won in the duel, giving the Chinese a face again.
The film is the last film of Ip Man. After Ip Man's wife died of cancer in the third film, Ip Man also suffered from cancer in his later years, and his relationship with his son Ye Zheng was very bad. Therefore, the father-son relationship in the film is similar to that of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Inheritance is also mentioned.
"Ip Man 4" is Donnie Yen's last kung fu film, and I really felt a little emotional when I watched it. Although Donnie Yen's performance can't be called a super-strength acting school, the role of Ip Man has already made Donnie Yen's portrayal penetrating. It's not that Donnie Yen imitates the words and deeds of the real Ip Man, but the sense of substitution that Donnie Yen's performance of Ip Man gives the audience. Through 4 films in ten years, we have subtly recognized the tacit understanding and connection between Donnie Yen and Ip Man.
So when I watched the fourth part, I could feel Donnie Yen's every look and every movement, revealing the temperament of the grand master of Ip Man on the screen.
In this father-son relationship drama, it also highlighted the bottleneck and dilemma that Ye Wen encountered as a father. In a single-parent family lacking a mother, Ye Wen, who has always been gentle, could not treat his son with the same attitude towards his wife. The way of dealing with each other that can understand each other is impossible to use in dealing with the relationship between father and son.
Therefore, on the surface, Ye Wen avoided conflict with Ye Zheng, but in fact, the generation gap and relationship between the two were deteriorating. However, when Ye Zheng learned that Ye Wen had cancer, the father-son relationship began to be repaired. Although from the writing of the script, this plot point It seems a bit cliché and lazy, but the cross-ocean phone call between the father and son is still moving. There is a special type in the movie that is the relationship between father and son. Something worth digging into.
In addition, the film's racial discrimination and the plight of Chinese in the United States have also been shown. With the cooperation of Ip Man Wing Chun, these can still arouse the audience's empathy.
Especially when Ye Wen was going to go to the American general for Master Wan, Ye Wen said, "As long as I encounter injustice, I will stand up and seek justice. This is the original intention of our martial arts practitioners."
This sentence is exactly the steel scale that sums up Ye Wen's life, and it will always be passed down in the hearts of Chinese with martial arts traditions.
In terms of the design of the villains, "Ip Man 4" uses a simple and black-and-white way to shape the villains in the film. These are inevitably exaggerated, and the portrayals of the American generals are also very good. Facialized.
Some people will also point out that the film deliberately uses patriotism to kidnap the audience. The film has a lot of deliberately exaggerated elements. I admit that this part is indeed a bit tricky, but the United States, India or other countries also have patriotic themed films. The United States is more advanced. It's just to turn the imaginary enemy into aliens, but you can see that it is always Americans who save the world.
It's just that, "Ip Man 4" or the entire Ip Man series has never been very advanced in shaping the villain. The only thing worth chewing on is the relationship between the pros and cons of the first "Ip Man", the Japanese general Miura. The obsession with martial arts, and to a certain extent, the importance of Ip Man's kung fu, have made Miura's entire character a little more face.
Therefore, as I said earlier, the "Ip Man" series is the peak of its debut. Because of the background of the first part, Ip Man is in the torrent of family and country feelings and the torrent of historical changes. Naturally, he can create stronger character emotions and conflicts. Therefore, in the later works of "Ip Man", it seems that the pattern and motivation are not real and natural enough.
In the weaving of the storyline, "Ip Man 4" is naturally more than plain water, without too many complicated characters, and there is no plot that makes the audience spend their minds. This may be the reason why the Ip Man series takes care of the audience who only focus on the film's kung fu, frankly. Speaking of the plot routines of kung fu films in the golden age of Hong Kong, it is actually more plain than the "Ip Man" series. What everyone sees is how the protagonist with stunt skills passes the test and presents you with a wonderful kung fu duel.
Therefore, we might as well switch the mode to watch this "Ip Man 4". If this movie is regarded as a type of cartoon comic book, the mode of contracting between the characters in the film will be smoother. .
At the end of the film, Ye Wen asked Ye Zheng to record a video of him hitting the stake, which also corresponds to what Ye Wen did a month before his death in reality. So far, the video of Ye Wen hitting the stake has been widely circulated on the Internet.
The end of "Ip Man 4" also invisibly announced a transcript of the kung fu genre of the 2010s. The beginning of the transcript was full of expectations and new hopes, but it gradually stabilized after that. In the end, it wasn't very bad, and it wasn't necessarily bad. How exciting.
In general, "Ip Man 4" can be regarded as a satisfactory answer to the Ip Man series, although we don't know where the kung fu films will go in the future.
But I don't watch kung fu films. Ip Man's success at the box office and influence is enough to show that kung fu films still have their own place in today's various commercial genre films. Obviously, there are still many controversies and possibilities in this place. Do better space. But I believe this is also a kind of good expectation. In the future, who will be the next protagonist of kung fu movies, and what kind of movies will be like, let's wait and see together (I guess Bruce Lee).
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