Why So Blu?

Ip Man 4: The Finale (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

Donnie Yen reprises his role as the legendary Wing Chun master in the grand finale of the revolutionary martial arts series. Following the death of his wife, Ip Man travels to San Francisco to ease tensions between the local kung fu masters and his star student, Bruce Lee, while searching for a better future for his son. From the action visionary behind Kill Bill and The Matrix, witness the heroic sendoff to the saga that inspired a new wave of martial arts movie fans.

Film

Ip Man (Donnie Yen) has finally settled down from the tumultuous events of his past to raise his son in relative peacefulness. The problem is that his son is a hothead and gets into trouble at school. So much so that he has been suspended. An invitation from his most famous pupil, Bruce Lee (Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan), has peaked his interest and maybe a solution can be found for he and his former pupil’s problems.

Whereas Ip Man’s problems are familial, Bruce Lee’s are a bit more political. Bruce Lee has achieved fame and is teaching “outsiders” Wing Chun. This is frowned upon by the local Chinatown committee of Kung Fu masters — think of them as being the “Godfathers” of Chinatown and they don’t let in outsiders into the club. Bruce has brought Ip Man in to see if he can square things away with the committee.

That’s the basic storyline of Ip Man 4: The Finale. It does heat up with some terrific fights throughout. I would say that only things that bring the overall material down is the awkward staging of some of the more racist and jingoistic themes on display. I have no doubt that these things existed, but Scott Adkins as Barton Geddes, is one of the most unlikable and hammy characters that I have witnessed on screen in recent. I love Scott Adkins and his films, but Geddes is a piece of crap. His performance is way over the top, as well.

The other major selling point is that of Donnie Yen teaming up with “Mr. Matrix” himself Yuen Wo Ping. That’s the price admission right there, and is why the film fires on all cylinders when it comes to the badass fight scenes. I cannot comment on how this last entry relates to the previous three films since I’ve never watched them. I’ll have to remedy that at some point. Jingoistic flourishes aside, Ip Man 4: The Finale does succeed in keeping things entertaining and it’s valid just for that.

 

Video 

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Dolby Vision: Yes

HDR: Yes (HDR10)

WCG: Yes

Size: BD-66

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

Clarity/Detail: I should preface this video review segment by saying that I watched the film twice. Once in Dolby Vision and once in HDR10. I think the HDR10 is by far the best presentation. The Dolby Vision on this disc made everyone look pale and lacked warmth among other things. I am not sure if it was mastered properly for DV.

Depth: There are quite a few scenes that feel as if I am watching a painting — I can’t tell if it’s due to them being either mattes or just the way the 4K brings out these added details. The cinematography and use of shooting perspectives really bring out the expansiveness of this world. The 4K UHD Blu-ray just enhances it.

Black Levels: There are a few scenes taking place at night and in darkly lit interiors and alleyways. Black levels held nice and steadily, without crush.

Color Reproduction: There are few scenes taking advantage of the color palette spread throughout the film. From colorful exteriors to colorful interiors, at times, the 4K presentation really shines on this production.

Flesh Tones: Flesh tones look terrific and some characters have really healthy complexions — either real

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

 

 

Audio

Audio Format(s): Cantonese Atmos, English Dolby Atmos

Subtitles: English, French, Chinese

Dynamics: Well Go USA has presented Ip Man 4: The Finale in Cantonese Dolby Atmos. When watching foreign cinema, I always go native language and can honestly say that this Dolby Atmos soundtrack is quite stellar in its presentation. I am really happy that they gave the Atmos treatment to the original language version of the film.

Height: The height channels delivered some nice heft to he fights, especially when fighters do more of their aerial moves, in addition to handling moving and flying objects in these aforementioned fights.

Low Frequency Extension: The low-end bass channel really lays down a mean rumble during the various fights. Every hit and tumble are enhanced with by some terrific bass.

Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound channels handle a lot of ambience in addition to some of the more active elements in the film.

Dialogue Reproduction: Dialogue levels are clean and consistent. The only issue, or non-issue, is that various characters were obviously dubbed in ADR, so the mouth movements may not sync properly. This has nothing to do with the 4K disc — it’s just how they produced the material during filming and post-production.

 

 

Extras

The extras are made up of a handful of two-minute plus featurettes focusing the filming and characters. I wish some of these were longer. The rest of the special features are made up of various other trailers from Well Go USA.

• Bonus Featurettes
• Theatrical Trailer
• Well GO USA Trailers
• Blu-ray (1080p, BD-50)

 

Summary

Having started at the end, I will obviously have to backtrack and watch them from the beginning now — Ip Man 4: The Finale does end with a powerhouse of a production. Sure, some characters are caricatures, but the phenomenal martial arts choreography more than make up for it. The 4K UHD Blu-ray looks and sounds fantastic, but make sure you watch in HDR10 and Cantonese Dolby Atmos for best results. Ip Man 4: The Finale is recommended!

 

DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found HERE , 4K UHD Blu-ray player HERE, and Dolby Atmos 7.2 AVR HERE.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived HERE.  The images used above within the review are not actual 4K screenshots. They are for illustrative purposes only.  

 

Ip Man 4: The Finale is released

on 4K UHD Blu-ray April 21, 2020!

ORDER NOW!

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified Ultra HD Premium television set found HERE , 4K UHD Blu-ray player HERE, and Dolby Atmos 7.2 AVR HERE.  Make sure to check out all our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived HERE.  The images used above within the review are not actual 4K screenshots. They are for illustrative purposes only.