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Ip Man

Four Donnie Yen films are the series and they run forward in order, but a spin-off follows the man who loses the fight in the third, and several unrelated films by other studios share the name.

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Where to start with Ip Man

Four films, watched in the order they were released, which is also the order they happen. There is nothing to untangle in the main series itself; the decisions are what to do with the spin-off and what to ignore entirely.

  1. 1
    Ip Man (2008) Ip Man

    Foshan in the 1930s, and the only place to begin. It sets up the man, the style and the war that drives him out of the city.

  2. 2
    Ip Man 2 (2010) Ip Man 2

    Hong Kong in 1949, picking up more or less where the first film leaves him. He arrives with nothing and tries to teach.

  3. 3
    Ip Man 3 (2015) Ip Man 3

    1959, and the film that introduces Cheung Tin-chi, the rival whose defeat the whole spin-off is built on. Watch it before Master Z or that film has no starting point.

  4. 4
    Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019) Ip Man 4: The Finale

    San Francisco in 1964, and the end of the series. It was written to be watched last and it closes out his life.

Then what? Then Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, if you want it. It picks up Cheung Tin-chi after his loss in the third film, Donnie Yen does not appear in it, and nothing in the four films depends on it, so it is genuinely optional and it works best after the third film rather than before the fourth. Everything in the third section is a different production about the same real person and none of it needs watching in any order: The Legend Is Born and Ip Man: The Final Fight are a Herman Yau pair with two different actors in the role, The Grandmaster is Wong Kar-wai's own film, and the two Dennis To films stand alone. A fifth Donnie Yen film has been announced but has no date, so nothing is listed for it.

A suggested way in, not an official one. The full list is below — tick anything off in either place.

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