Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Year: 2019
Country: China
Alternate Titles: Yip Man ngoi zyun: Cheung Tin Chi
Genre: Kung-Fu
Plot:
Following his lost in combat, the former fighter agrees to leave the world of martial arts behind and tries to settle down running a shop with his son. When he inadvertently gets involved with a group of local gangsters under the control of a mistress attempting to lead her company straight, he finds himself staying with friends after the fracas, he further incites the ire of a drug-running kingpin working with the gangsters to supply opium to the citizens, he finds himself forced to rely on his retired skillset to help those in the organization looking to also put a stop to the supply getting onto the streets.
Review:
Overall, this one was quite an enjoyable effort. One of the best aspects is the strong starting here that gives the film several intriguing storylines that are important in setting up the emotional and serious issues to the film. The opening with his son and him living in the shop that gets harassed by the small-time crooks get the film started nicely by giving a small example of his pride and honesty that we see more of in the future. The reforming gangster trying to make amends for what she did in the past that gets her involved is a great aspect with the tension between the two of them that generates here. While it may be shoehorned into the film at the end, the sense of Chinese dignity that comes from the Asian versus British beats that emerge here due to the drug smuggling ring run under the crime-boss’ nose and the police covering it up, for the most part, there’s a lot to like from the story here.
That setup manages to make the fighting here incredibly fun. The first such instance, a big fight between Chi and several henchmen on the bamboo scaffolds of the street advertisements and billboards is filled with fantastic stuntwork and wire-supported choreography that is Yuen’s specialty. To follow it up with a brief skirmish with Jaa in front of various storefront displays before being interrupted makes for a great sequence altogether, and with several briefer fights sprinkled throughout the film manages to have some entertainment with their setups. The best part here is the final fight between Chi and the foreigner Davidson which is a fantastic ending brawl where the more powerful brawling at first gives way to more technical fighting that shifts the momentum decidedly in the other direction so that the uplifting finale scores well on the whole.
On top of all that, the acting here is really solid. Max Zhang is fantastic as Cheung Tin Chi, carrying over his role from Ip Man 3 as the disgraced former who wanted to live an honest life away from martial arts but is forced back into the fight when needed. He holds his own in the fights and is a credible martial artist which is quite fun to see. Michelle Yeoh as gangster boss Miss Kwan is quite intriguing, shifting from being the leader of a known gang trying to go legitimate but surrounded by the corruption of those around her that makes her character a little shady. She handled it with class and moves quite well still so the fight scenes are rather enjoyable. Dave Bautista as Davidson scores as the imposing heavy that can muscle people around but can’t keep up with true kung-fu, while Tony Jaa has a glorified cameo that could’ve been handled by anyone.
However, there are some major problems here. The fact that the film is incredibly low-budget looking, being full of obvious set-work for the city streets and store-fronts that make everything look staged from the start. The scenes out in front of the bar or looking at the cars driving off on the city streets are so closed off and silly-looking that it makes the film look cheap, especially leading into the stuntwork that is frantic but still heavily staged. As well, the film also suffers from several big storylines that could've been exploited with more time, especially the tacked-on sense of Chinese pride against the British corruption that comes from a big drug ring being operated that everyone knows about. It's quite lazy to throw this in yet again and not explore it as much as it could to focus on other factors that aren't moving the story forward, which end up really throwing this one down overall.
Overview: ***.5/5
Featuring a few minor setbacks from its weak storyline motivations and a general sense of cheapness, the rest of the film is solid enough that it's a rather enjoyable take in the franchise. Give this a chance if you're a fan of the series or looking for a fun kung-fu effort, while those who aren't into that setup should heed caution.
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