The script follows a familiar formula but the film delivers on action and spectacle. Legendary action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping directs and contributes superb martial arts scenes ...

| Sep 8, 2023

What the writers, and Yuen, have done is create a spin-off film that not only improves the franchise (which is very rare), but also justifies the need for additional films that stay true to the story created with the first movie, and respects the legacy.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 30, 2021

A must-watch for martial arts and action fans. Yuen Woo-ping demonstrates again why he's a master. The narrative is a bit uneven and there are undercooked themes, but when the film allows Max Zhang to take the spotlight, he sparkles.

| Original Score: B | Jun 26, 2020

Great action with amazing fights will put you in a mood to go and watch hours and hours of Kung fu movies and is a great bridge for franchising Ip Man into a global franchise.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 11, 2020

Master Z features a handful of brawls that are each worth the price of admission.

| Jul 24, 2019

The plentiful fight scenes are executed with precision and the occasional "wire-fu" flourish by legendary action director Yuen Wo-Ping, with a showdown between gun and wing-chun fist among the more inventive touches.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 22, 2019

The film manages to honor the original series' setting and themes while delivering a completely different type of martial arts film that is wholly entertaining all by itself.

| Jul 16, 2019

Master Z stretches the limits of how far out one can franchise a biographical film before it devolves into fan fiction.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 13, 2019

Elaborate sets that re-create a neon-drenched 1960s Hong Kong make the movie look like someone took Francis Ford Coppola's candy-colored musical flop "One From the Heart" and turned it into a kung fu thriller.

| Apr 30, 2019

Not bad. What's next in the endless stream of Ip Man movies? Probably in the next Matrix, Ip Man teaches Keanu Reeves's Neo, who will then come out of his trance state and proclaim, "I know better kung fu."

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 27, 2019

My expectations might not have been exceeded in any way, but they were solidly met. I'd happily revisit another one of these tangential adventures in the future.

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Apr 23, 2019

This is old-fashioned, silver-screen entertainment, and it's refreshing to watch.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 17, 2019

A rarity as a spin-off from a successful (and still active) action franchise, but it succeeds beautifully as a standalone deserving to spawn some sequels of its own.

| Apr 13, 2019

Following the three "Ip Man" movies with "Master Z" is a bit like following the first three "Rocky" movies with "The Fast and the Furious." If you squint you can see a few thematic connections, but it's a broad departure from the rest of the series.

| Apr 13, 2019

What could have been a feeble attempt to ride on the coattails of Donnie Yen's franchise turns out to be an exhilarating, tightly paced, expertly-crafted martial arts romp.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 12, 2019

Director Woo-Ping Yuen and producers Donnie Yen and Dave Bautista, who also appears in the film, along with legendary Michelle Yeoh, give this martial arts a lot of class.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 12, 2019

If nothing else, Master Z carries on the spirit of the Ip Man franchise as ridiculous, exciting, expertly choreographed comfort food.

| Apr 12, 2019

Those with a taste for martial arts cinema or are member of the Michelle Yeoh fan club should come away from it feeling reasonably satisfied.

| Apr 12, 2019

"Master Z" is tip-top, a complete tonic to experience if you're in the mood for high-kicking, fists-flying, mirrors-cracking and windows-smashing cinematic moments.

| Apr 12, 2019

If there must be more movies set in the Ip Man-iverse, I hope that they're as dazzling and righteous as Master Z.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 12, 2019