IP Man Movies In Order: Complete Ip Man And Wing Chun Movie List

IP Man is a popular Hong Kong-based film series about martial arts. It portrays the life of Master Wing Chun and the creation of his famous fighting style technique of the same name. He is prominent for being the former master of the legendary Bruce Lee.

Ip Man is a film based on the real-life events of Wing Chun. In 2008 this series was started and named Ip Man and followed by sequels – Ip Man 2 (2010), Ip Man 3 (2015), the spin-off Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018), and Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019). These all 4 are main films that were written by Edmond Wong, directed by Wilson Yip, and produced by Raymond Wong.

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We all have an interest in learning martial arts and want to fight like professional martial art fighters. If you are a fan of martial art and action movies and have not watched Ip man movies then I think you have not enjoyed your life.

In What Order Should I Watch Ip Man Movies?

The recommended chronological watch order is:

  • Ip Man – (2008)
  • Ip Man 2 – (2010)
  • Ip Man 3 – (2015)
  • Master Z: Ip Man Legacy – (2018)
  • Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)
  • The Legend is Born: Ip Man – (2010)
  • Ip Man: The Final Fight – (2013)
  • The Grandmaster – (2013)
  • Ip Man and Four Kings – (2019)

all IP Man Movies

IP Man Movies In Order: Complete Ip Man And Wing Chun Movie List

  1. Ip Man (2008)

    Director: Wilson Yip

    Writers: Edmond Wong, Tai-lee Chan

    Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: 18 December 2008

    Running time: 108 minutes

     Ip Man (2008) on IMDb

    Master Ip a humble and the most skilled artist in his town challenges other masters in a friendly, closed-door duel to build his skillful reputation simultaneously keeping a low profile. His secret later gets revealed. The Japanese military army captures Ip’s house during the Second Sino-Japanese war. He abandons all his belongings and has to move into a smaller house with his family.

    With no source of income, he starts working in a coal mine alongside his fellow rival Master Lin. A competition is held by the Japanese military to test the skills of the Chinese martial artists and the victory reward is a bag of rice. Ip at first declines, but agrees to go when Lin does not return. Ip deduces that Lin was killed during the competition and single-handed defeats ten karatekas at once.

    He refuses his earned bag of rice and leaves. He teaches his Wing-Chun to a bunch of cotton mill workers to defend themselves from a group of thugs. Intrigued by his skills showcased in the competition, Japanese army General Miura sends his men to bring back Ip for another fight. Ip incapacitates them and escapes with his family into hiding. Miura learns of the cotton mill workers and holds them hostage which compels IP to show up.

    Ip arrives after arranging for his family to be sent to Hong Kong for protection. Miura asks Ip to teach the Japanese Military his technique. Ip refuses and challenges Miura. To save his pride and show dominance, Miura accepts the challenge but gets defeated after a long fight. Japanese Colonel Sato shoots Ip at the back. He is overpowered by the locals and shot by a Chinese officer. Ip manages to escape with his family and travels to Hong Kong.

  2. Ip Man 2 (2010)

    Director: Wilson Yip

    Writers: Tai-lee Chan, Hiu-Yan Choi, Edmond Wong

    Stars: Donnie Yen, Xiaoming Huang, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: 29 April 2010

    Running time: 109 minutes

     Ip Man 2 (2010) on IMDb

    After moving to Hong Kong, Ip decides to open his school to teach Wing-Chun but fails because of zero reputation in the city. Beaten by Ip, a young man brings his friends to settle the score. All of them get beaten up and decide to become Ip’s disciples. His disciples get into a fight with some thuggish students and are taken, hostage. Ip arrives and with his students fight their way outside but are hopelessly outnumbered.

    Ip has a confrontation with Master Hung Chun-Nam, teacher of the thugs. Hung tells him to prove his worthiness in a ceremony before establishing a school. Later Ip attends the ceremony and defeats two other martial art masters. The ceremony ends in a draw between Hung and Ip. Hung tells Ip to pay for a protection fee but Ip refuses. Under Hung’s orders, his thug students vandalize things around Ip’s school which makes him lose his school to its landlady.

    Ip trains his student in the park. There he meets Hung and gets into a lite fight before getting interrupted by Hung’s child. Ip gains the opponent’s respect after blocking his kick that otherwise would have hurt the child. Ip leaves and the next day, Hung gives tickets to Ip and his disciples to attend a martial art exhibition. During the exhibition, the performance gets interrupted and insulted by Tyler “The Twister” Miller. This angers many students and a brawl breaks out.

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    The masters subdue and Hung requests Tyler for an apology. In reply, Tyler challenges Hung for a fight and would apologize if defeated. Hung accepts the fight. In the beginning, Hung manages to ward off Tyler’s powerful attack and hold its own but the age difference slowly hinders his movements. Hung gets blows after blows. In the final round, Hung’s asthma kicks in and Tyler punches the elderly to death.

    The master’s death takes Hong Kong by storm. A press conference is held the following day. Tyler announces that he will accept a challenge from any Chinese martial artist to restore his reputation. Ip challenges Tyler to avenge Hung. Ip trains the following days before the fight. The match starts and Ip gets knocked down several times due to his unfamiliarity with Western boxing. Ip gradually adapts to it and dominates Tyler with technique and speed.

    Tyler’s corrupt accomplices use their power and rigg the match. They nerf Ip and restrict him from using kicks. Ip at disadvantage remembers Hung’s advice. Ip starts attacking Tyler’s strong points gradually weakening them. Ip beats Tyler unconscious and at the end of the match gives an inspirational speech to respect each other’s culture.

  3. Ip Man 3 (2015)

    Director: Wilson Yip

    Writers: Tai-lee Chan, Lai-Yin Leung, Edmond Wong

    Stars: Donnie Yen, Lynn Xiong, Jin Zhang

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: 16 December 2015

    Running time: 105 minutes

     Ip Man 3 (2015) on IMDb

    Set in 1959, Ip and his family are living comfortably in Hong Kong. A group of three tries to seize Ip’s son’s school. With a fellow parent, Ip man fights the trio until the police arrive. Ip learns that his wife is diagnosed with cancer. It is revealed that Frank an American boxer was behind the trio’s wrongdoings. Ip confronts Frank after he learns Frank’s motives to eliminate him. Frank promises to leave the school alone if Ip can last three minutes in a fight with him.

    Ip gets intimidated by Frank’s raw strength. Ip starts attacking Frank’s lower half and the fight ends in a draw. Impressed Frank keeps his promise. Tin-Chi opens his Wing-Chun school and proclaims he is the true Grandmaster, not Ip. He openly challenges Ip to prove his point. Instead, Ip spends more time with his bedridden wife.

    He misses the fight which declares Tin-Chi as the winner. Later his wife makes arrangements for a second match knowing that if it wasn’t for sickness Ip would have attended the fight. After a hard-fought duel, Ip wins teaching Tin-Chi the importance of family and not just focusing on competitions.

  4. Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)

    Director: Woo-Ping Yuen

    Writers: Edmond Wong, Tai-lee Chan

    Stars: Jin Zhang, Dave Bautista, Michelle Yeoh

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release dates: 20 December 2018

    Running time: 107 mins

     Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy (2018) on IMDb

    After being defeated by Ip Man, Tin-Chi leaves martial arts and opens a grocery store. He gets involved in a fight with a local drug dealer Kit while trying to protect a drug addict and her friend. The police arrested all of them. All but Tin-Chi is bailed out through their connections. Tin-Chi’s house is burned down and he barely manages to escape with his son.

    He takes refuge in the drug addicts brothers’ restaurant. Kit’s sister Kwan wanting to convert to a legal business operator visits Tin-Chi to compensate him with money. He refuses to accept it. Kit wanting to liberate himself from his sister’s shadows forcefully overdoses and kills the drug addict in a back alley.

    Tin-Chi and the drug addict’s brother fight through Kwan’s headquarters to get revenge. Kwan stops the fight by slashing her brother’s arm. Kwan forces Kit to reveal the location of the heroin storage, where Fu then exposes the drugs to the media. Davidson a corrupt officer kills Fu in an unfair fight. Tin-Chi fights Davidson using Wing-Chun restoring his confidence and serving the good.

  5. Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)

    Director: Wilson Yip

    Writers: Edmond Wong, Hiroshi Fukazawa, Tai-lee Chan

    Stars: Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: 20 December 2019

    Running time: 105 minutes

     Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) on IMDb

    Upon discovering he has throat cancer, Ip man travels to San Francisco to look for study opportunities. His famous disciple Bruce Lee opens a Wing-Chun school there which enraged Grandmaster Wan, the president of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. One of Lee’s students suggests Sergeant Barton Geddes incorporate Wing-Chun in their hand-to-hand combat training.

    The sergeant sends a marine instructor to challenge Grandmaster Wan and test Chinese martial arts. The instructor beats almost all of them up until Ip shows up and defeats him. Upon seeing the state of his fellow instructor in the hospital Barton orders for Wan’s arrest and fights him. Upon learning of Wan’s defeat, Ip defeats Geddes in a long and bloody fight. Ip dies of cancer at the age of 79 in 1972.

  6. The Legend is Born: Ip Man (2010)

    Director: Herman Yau

    Writers: Erica Li, Sean Whitley

    Stars: Yu-Hang To, Yi Huang, Biao Yuen

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: 24 June 2010

    Running time: 100 minutes

     The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010) on IMDb

    Ip and his brother learn Wing-Chun from Master Chan Wan-shun. There they meet Lee Mei-Wai and the three of them are involved in a love triangle. After the master’s death, Ip continues to learn Wing-Chun from his senior Ng Chun-sok. He goes to Hong Kong for education. There he meets his Master Chan’s master’s son Leung Bik and learns a more improved version of Wing-Chun.

    After five years Ip returns and reunites with his peers but Chun-sok is disappointed and attacks Ip after knowing that he had deviated from Master Chan’s style. Ip not wanting to disrespect his senior, loses the match. Tin-Chi later reveals that he is a Japanese undercover agent, who like many others was smuggled into China when they were babies.

    Tin-Chi murders Mei-Wai’s godfather. Mei-wai learning the truth tells Chung-sok. Tin-chi and the Japanese try to assassinate Chung-sok for knowing the truth. Ip arrives on time and defeats all of them. Tin-chi commits seppuku and Ip man learns about the Japanese undercover agent smuggling scheme.

  7. Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013)

    Director: Herman Yau

    Writer: Erica Li

    Stars: Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Gillian Chung, Jordan Chan

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release date: September 20, 2013

    Running time: 102 minutes

     Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013) on IMDb

    In 1949, Ip who has been suffering from chronic gastric pain travels to Hong Kong alone. There he teaches Wing-Chun and gains several new students. His wife visits him but soon gets city sick and returns to their hometown. With his vicissitudes, Ip man has to mourn his wife’s death who passed away shortly after her departure.

    His son Ip Chun comes to Hong Kong to join him. While coping with his illness Ip takes a liking to a local singer, Jenny. He also gets into a conflict with Ng Chung of the White Crane Style but later becomes friends. One of his students gets in trouble with a mob boss called Local Dragon.

    Ip shows up and rescues his student. He defeats the Local Dragon, captures him, and hands him over to the police. In the end in this MMA movie, it is shown Ip practicing Wing-Chun on a wooden dummy while his son Ip Chun records it on camera.

  8. The Grandmaster (2013)

    Director: Kar-Wai Wong

    Writers: Kar-Wai Wong, Jingzhi Zou, Haofeng Xu

    Stars: Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Ziyi Zhang, Jin Zhang

    Genre: Action, Biography, Drama

    Release dates: 8 January 2013 (China)

    Running time: 130 minutes

     The Grandmaster (2013) on IMDb

    Ip Man’s peaceful existence is threatened when Grandmaster Gong Yutian from Northern China comes to Foshan. The grandmaster announces that he has retired and his heir in North currently is Ma San. Ip representing the Southern masters’ challenges Gong Yutian for a duel. Ip defeats the grandmaster but is later defeated by Gong Er the grandmaster’s daughter.

    Ip and Gong Er depart on friendly terms. After she returns to Northern China, both of them stay in touch through letters. Ip wants to take his family to Northern China but his plan fails after the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. During such political chaos, Ma San kills his former master, Gong Yutian.

    Gong Er eventually defeats Ma San and avenges her father’s death. In 1952, Ip and Er see each other for the last time while she reveals the romantic feelings she developed when they first fought. In 1953, Ip learns of her death due to a long-term injury from her fight with Ma San. Ip Man’s school flourishes and becomes famous and young Bruce Lee enrolls to learn under him.

  9. Ip Man and the Four Kings (2019)

    Director: Liwei Fu

    Star: Fengye Lin

    Genre: Action, Drama

    Release dates: 26 October 2019

     Ip Man and Four Kings (2019) on IMDb

    In the 1950s, Ip Man opens up a Wing Chun martial arts school in Hong Kong. In the meantime, a local martial arts grandmaster, Master Fang, had been investigating his sister’s disappearance. The investigation leads him to Zheng’s slavery den, Master Fang is killed.

    Zheng frames Ip for the murder of Master Fang. Ip is arrested by the police and sent to prison. Subsequently, an unknown person helps him escape from the prison. The mysterious person turns out to be an escort for Zheng’s business associate who frequents Zheng’s business proceedings.

    To prove his innocence and to stop Zheng’s triad, Ip has to take down the heads of the criminal syndicates known as the Four Heavenly Kings. After defeating them, Ip heads to Zheng’s hideout where he defeats him and his guards.

All Ip Man Movies According To Highest To Lowest IMDb Ranking

  • Ip Man (2008) – 8.0 with 221k
  • Ip Man 2 (2010) – 7.5 with 103k
  • Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) – 7.0 with 31k
  • The Legend is Born: Ip Man (2010) – 7.0 with 32k
  • Ip Man 3 (2015) – 7.0 with 54k
  • Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018) – 6.5 with 8.4k
  • The Grandmaster (2013) – 6.5 with 34k
  • Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013) – 6.1 with 11k
  • Ip Man and the Four Kings (2019) – 5.0 with 222

All Ip Man Movies Box Office Collection

  • Ip Man (2008) – US$22,108,789
  • Ip Man 2 (2010) – US$49,721,954
  • Ip Man 3 (2015) – US$157.3 million
  • Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018) – US$19.7 million
  • Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) – US$239 million
  • The Legend is Born: Ip Man (2010) – US$2,708,867
  • Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013) – HK$8,494,894
  • The Grandmaster (2013) – US$64.1 million

FAQs

How Many Ip Man Movies are There?

There are overall nine Ip Man movies. Directed by Wilson Yip, the first Ip Man movie was released in 2008 with its next two sequels in 2010 and 2015. The second sequel had a spinoff; Master Z: Ip Man Legacy in 2018. The third and final sequel to the first movie was released in 2019. Herman Yau franchise has two more films. The remaining two are standalone.

Are The Ip Man Movies Connected?

Not all of the Ip Man movies are connected. The Wilson Yep series is chronological though Master Z: Ip Man Legacy is a spin-off of Ip Man 3. Herman Yau has his duology but the final two adaptations are standalone without any relation to the previous and subsequent movies. You can watch any of the Ip Man movies in order and enjoy martial arts, action, drama.

Are the Ip Man films true?

The Ip Man story as depicted in the movie starring Donnie Yen is quite different from the truth. Despite its claims of being loosely based on a true story, almost everything else about Ip Man portrayed in the movie is pure fiction. The true story of Ip Man has inspired martial artists for decades and it’s fitting that his legacy has now been expanded into pop culture, but it’s important to recognize that allusions to real events do not always equate to accurate depictions.

Is Bruce Lee in the Ip Man movies?

Despite being one of the most iconic martial arts movie stars in history, Bruce Lee is unfortunately not in any entries of the Ip Man saga. While it may seem like he should be, Bruce Lee was an actor who never got the chance to portray Ip Man on screen due to his untimely death. Instead, Donnie Yen plays Ip Man in all four movies. It is fitting then that the action-packed saga pays homage to Bruce Lee by featuring each of his real-life children as actors with some even playing characters inspired by Bruce Lee himself.

Why is Ip Man R rated?

Despite being a classic kung fu movie with many fight scenes, Ip Man is rated R for violence and some language. There is no doubt that this content makes the film more adult-oriented but it also enhances the intense and serious tone of the story. The action sequences are well-crafted and exciting, but they are balanced with moments of drama and tenderness. Ultimately, giving it an R rating ensures that viewers will be able to appreciate all these aspects without worrying about censorship that would result from a lower rating.

Does Netflix have all the Ip Man movies?

The popular Ip Man movie series has become a fan favorite, with viewers eagerly awaiting each installment. Unfortunately, Netflix does not offer all of the movies in the franchise. As of now, the streaming service only offers access to the first three films, meaning fans wishing to watch later releases like Ip Man 4: The Finale have to look elsewhere.

Does Amazon Prime have Ip Man?

While Amazon Prime does not offer Ip Man at this time, non-members can easily rent or purchase the movie from numerous digital media retailers like Google Play, iTunes, Vudu, and YouTube Movies.

Is Ip Man on Disney+?

Unfortunately, Ip Man is not available on Disney+ at this time. It could be found in many local video rental stores.

Kierra Rowsey
Kierra Rowsey

Kierra Rowsey is a freelance TV, Film and anime critic for over 12 years, living in Arkansas with her husband and three kids. She graduated from NYU College of Arts & Science in 2008.

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