In Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy, co-produced by Donnie Yen Ji-dan, Zhang has his most prominent role yet.

It’s a testament to the trust the Ip Man producers have in him that Zhang was picked to headline this first stand-alone spin-off film from the lucrative series. Reprising his role as Cheung Tin-chi, who was defeated by Ip in the previous film, Zhang is put through a series of thrilling fight scenes with high-profile opponents here and more than holds his own.

Eschewing the chance to trace the character’s past, Master Z instead focuses on the aftermath of events in Ip Man 3, when Cheung, a single father, decides to lead an ordinary life with his young son. It doesn’t last long, of course, as he swiftly crosses paths with a local thug, Kit (Kevin Cheng Ka-wing), just as he’s bullying two women, Nana (Chrissie Chau Sau-na) and Julia (Liu Yan).

It transpires that Julia is the younger sister of a prominent bar owner (Naason), whose neighbourhood happens to be the one in which Kit is intent on starting in the drug trade – despite the vehement objections of his own elder sister, Kwan (Michelle Yeoh), a no-nonsense triad boss who has decided to go straight. Once Kit burns down Cheung’s grocery store, the war is on.

Directed by Ip Man 3’s action choreographer, Yuen Woo-ping, and co-scripted by series veterans Edmond Wong and Chan Tai-lee, Master Z tells a thoroughly entertaining – if also utterly predictable – story. We know from the beginning that his character’s decision to quit the martial arts world is a non-starter.

While it remains to be seen whether Zhang can replicate the rise of Yen to action superstar, this outing proves he has the acting chops and martial arts prowess to enter the discussion. In a gap year for the Ip Man series (does this remind anyone of Star Wars?), this spin-off is a more than worthy distraction until the main act returns.