The correct order to watch The Ip Man movies

The Ip Man movies are some of the most fun the martial arts genre can have. The franchise is loosely based on the actual life of Ip Man (or Yip Man), a Chinese martial arts grandmaster who specialized in the art of Wing Chun and whose most famous student was Bruce Lee. star of the incredible martial arts action film Enter the Dragon. The main films in this property are directed by Wilson Yip and star Donnie Yen. Jena played Ip Man for over a decade, giving us one of the best Star Wars characters of all time, Chirrut Îmwe from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as one of the best fights in the “John Wick” movies.

As far as martial arts cinema goes, it rarely gets better than the Ip Man movies, which manage to actually build tension despite the audience knowing full well that Ip Man will never lose any particular fight. Aside from the phenomenal action and stunts, it's also a franchise known for its refreshingly character-driven franchise, as well as some interesting depictions of the Second Sino-Japanese War and British colonialism in Hong Kong. These are not just fight scenes wrapped around the plot, but movies with real stories that include great action scenes.

There's reportedly already a fifth “Ip Man” movie, so there's never a bad time to check out the property. Whether it's been a minute since you've seen these movies, or you've never had the pleasure of watching 'Ip Man' destroy 10 guys in a fight and are wondering where to start, here's your guide to the best 'Ip' viewing order . “Man” franchise.

The correct order to watch the Ip Man movies is simply to follow the release order. While movies have a fairly simple naming convention, the exception is a spin-off movie that takes place in the movie timeline, so it's important to only stick to the release date, for example:

• “Ip Man” (2008)
• “Ip Man 2” (2010)
• “Ip Man 3” (2015)
• “Master Z: Ip Man Legacy” (2018)
• “Ip Man 4: The Final” (2019)

This order also follows the thematic line of the franchise, with each film focusing on a different theme. The first film is about Ip Man's attempt to survive under oppression, while the second is about adapting to a new reality and trying to make a living. Likewise, the second film and the fourth film are also about legacy. As for the third film in the franchise, that's really it for Ip Man's fight with Mike Tyson while a young Bruce Lee looks on.

With this sequence, you can experience a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end. Or at least it was like that until 2023. That's because it was announced that Mandarin Motion Pictures is developing a new “Ip Man” movie called “Ip Man 5,” which has Donnie Yen involved, at least as far as the teaser poster shared on Instagram at the time. How and if Yen will actually reprise her role is a very interesting question given the finality of the character's story in the very aptly titled Ip Man 4: The Finale.

Still, it's hard not to get excited about getting more “Ip Man.” These films are nationalist propaganda at its finestand China has the opportunity to prove its superiority to the world using the most ridiculous and advanced martial arts.