Recently Donnie Yen and director Wilson Yip announced that they were teaming up for Ip Man 4 so what better time to revisit easily the best martial arts trilogy that has ever been made with the all new Ip Man Trilogy collection.

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This butt kicking collection includes all three films in the series which have to be watched as a whole for the full effect, but each film delivers on their own. In case you have never had the honor to see them, the first film follows Wing Chun grandmaster Ip cements his reputation after defeating a roving band of kung fu masters who have come to his village to challenge him and the other martial arts masters. But his devotion to the martial arts results in tension and discontent with his wife. When the Japanese occupy his hometown of Foshan during the Sino-Japan war (1937), Ip is forced to work as a coolie in a factory and participate in brutal sparring matches for the enemy’s amusement. He demonstrates his superior fighting skills by defeating his opponents despite being heavily outnumbered and wins the admiration of the Japanese Colonel, Mr. Miura, who challenges Ip to a championship fight. The outcome of the match inspires the Chinese villagers to rise up and defeat their oppressors. This first film took the martial arts world by storm creating some of the best fight sequences around and showcasing Donnie Yen’s amazing abilities in an all new way. His presence throughout the film as both an actor and martial artist are what makes this movie so great. From the beginning to the end this epic story holds up to perfection and will no doubt go down as one of the greatest martial arts epics of all time.  

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In Ip Man 2, Master Ip, a new arrival in British-occupied Hong Kong, wants to open a martial arts academy to teach his unique Wing Chun style. A corrupt group of martial arts masters, led by Master Hung refuses to allow him to teach in peace until he proves himself as a kung fu master. Ip’s trouble continues when he is forced to enter a brutal “King of the Ring” boxing match against Twister, a Western-style boxer who insults the Chinese locals, in a East versus West knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish. Fans were eagerly anticipating getting to see Yen return to the role of Ip Man and this second entry did not disappoint. I loved the film, but did feel like it dragged a bit more than the original in some points, but Yen’s charisma and star power keeps you intrigued throughout. This entry did step the game up with the addition of martial arts icon Sammo Hung and getting to see these two in action against each other again is such a visual treat. The story is still powerful, but didn’t have the same impact the original film did although the final moment in the story is not only great but a great reminder of why Ip Man was so important to the world of martial arts.

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Finally in Ip Man 3 when a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer   make a play to take over the city, Master Ip is forced to take a stand all while dealing with turmoil and struggles within his own personal life and relationship. This entry felt a lot different than the others in the best way possible. This film had a lot of hype around it adding in Mike Tyson to the cast and while his acting was hit and miss and he is a very minor part of the film the fight between them is fun to watch. This entry took a very different direction to where they took both the reasoning behind Ip Man’s actions as well as a heavy focus on his family struggles and the effects it had on his life. Of course there is a ton of action once again that will no doubt keep fans fully invested. You can get a more in depth review of Ip Man 3 by clicking here on our site.

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This release features all the same special features as the individual releases as well as an all-new IP Man 3 interview DVD featuring 2 hours of exclusive interviews with Donnie Yen, Mike Tyson, Jim Zhang and more. With the new anticipation of the upcoming fourth film this will no doubt be a hot item come the holidays, so be sure to grab your copy of the Ip Man Trilogy available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Well Go USA.