The insistent subtitle is there for a reason: everyone, Yen included, thought that “Ip Man 3” would be his last time donning Ip Man’s priestlike tunic. Then again, after “Ip Man 2,” still the best in the franchise, Yen was also reportedly reluctant to return. A little like the great, wise, noble he so convincingly embodies, Yen apparently only re-enters the fray when circumstances leave him no other option.
First we’re told of Ip Man’s diagnosis of late-stage, terminal throat cancer — a weighty secret that gives Yen’s gravitas a center of gravity, when, in previous films his stoic presence when not landing a flurry of tenderizing blows on some unlucky midriff, could feel a bit like a powered-down robot. Then Ip accepts an invitation from his protégé Bruce Lee who now runs his own studio in San Francisco, to come to an exhibition match.