2018 film by Yuen Woo-ping
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (Chinese: 葉問外傳：張天志) is a 2018 Chinese martial arts film directed by Yuen Woo-ping and produced by Raymond Wong and Donnie Yen. It is a spin-off of the Ip Man film series, and takes place after the 2015 film Ip Man 3. This film stars Max Zhang, Dave Bautista, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Jaa, and Liu Yan, and was released on 21 December 2018.[3][4]
Plot
After being defeated by Ip Man,[a] Cheung Tin-chi lives a depressed life moonlighting as a mercenary before choosing to leave behind martial arts altogether and instead open a grocery store on the ground floor of his house. While on a delivery run, he runs into an opium addict named Nana and her friend Julia who are both fleeing from drug dealer Tso Sai Kit. Tin-chi ends up fighting with Kit's gang and defeats them single-handedly.
The Royal Hong Kong Police Force arrive and arrest everyone. Kit and his gang are released after bribing a corrupt senior police officer, while Nana and Julia are released by name-dropping Julia's brother, Fu, the owner of Gold Bar, one of the most popular bars on Bar Street. Tin-chi is eventually released late at night and is unable to take his son to a steakhouse called Petrus for his birthday.
Following the incident, Kit decides to seek out Tin-chi, with his whole gang setting fire to Tin-chi's building. Tin-chi barely escapes with his son Fung while being pursued by the gang and Sadi, a hired assassin. He is offered shelter at Fu's home by Julia, and works as a waiter at Gold Bar to pay his rent.
Angered by the injuries to his son, Tin-chi retaliates and sets Kit's opium den on fire. Kit's older sister, Tso Ngan Kwan, the head of a family crime syndicate wishing to transition to legal businesses, prevents Kit from taking revenge and visits Tin-chi at Gold Bar to compensate him for all damages Kit caused and for Tin-chi to drop the matter. Tin-chi refuses the money, impressing Kwan. At the same time, Tin-chi forges an increasingly close friendship with Fu over their shared pasts in martial arts.
Kit, attempting to escape from the shadow of his sister, decides to move into heroin dealing. He peddles his drugs on Bar Street for Owen Davidson, the owner of Petrus, who uses the restaurant as a front for his drug business. Tin-chi tips off Kwan about the business, who requests more time to settle the matter with Kit.
After finding Nana in a back alley, Kit and his gang kill her by forcing her to overdose on heroin. Tin-chi and Fu fight their way to the syndicate's headquarters, where they fight with Kit and Kwan. Kwan, attempting to placate them, cuts off Kit's right arm and forces him to reveal where he stores his heroin. Fu exposes the drugs to the media which makes newspaper headlines.
Soon after, Davidson has corrupt police officers plant drugs at Gold Bar and arrest Fu on drug charges. After arresting him, the senior police officer hands Fu over to Davidson to be killed in an unfair fight. Following the discovery that Davidson murdered Fu, Tin-chi fights with Davidson at his restaurant, during which he regains his confidence in using Wing Chun for good.
The senior police officer arrives to arrest Tin-chi despite Tin-chi's testimony that the heroin belongs to Davidson. Instead of complying, Lieutenant Fai arrests his boss for corruption, assault and lets Tin-chi go free. Davidson attempts to escape in the ensuing chaos, but is assassinated by Sadi, who had been hired by Kwan before leaving Hong Kong with Kit.
Tin-chi returns to Julia's apartment and reunites with his son. The three of them share a meal together. In a mid-credits scene, Fung uses Wing Chun to defeat the boy who bullied him earlier.
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 89% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Master Z: Ip Man Legacy marks a departure from previous entries in the franchise — but its thrilling action set pieces remain every bit as satisfying."[6] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]
Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy doesn't have much on its mind besides delivering on fights — and in that aspect it succeeds."[8] Edmund Lee of South China Morning Post wrote that "Master Z is undoubtedly a feast for martial arts movie lovers", and gave the film 3.5 of 5 stars.[9] Richard Kuipers of Variety wrote, "Despite his skimpily defined character, Zhang hits the mark as a likable guy who’s trying to put violence behind him and lay inner demons to rest."[5]
Sequel
In April 2019, it was reported that Max Zhang is set to reprise his role in a sequel to Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. The sequel is reported to be taking a budget cut, down to $13 million, from the first film's budget of $28 million.[10][11]
