Iron Monkey (1993)

The amazing Iron Monkey! This movie has a legendary status amongst martial arts fans, and for good reason!

Iron Monkey is the Chinese robin hood and he owns in this totally cool martial arts flick directed by Yuen Woo Ping. The action is super fast paced (again, it's like a Donnie Yen movie trademark) and filled with wires and unrealistic stuff like that. But Donnie and Rongguang excel and shows true ass kicking moves. T he story is not really special or anything, but it suffices and the acting is good. I think about 70 % of the movie consists of fight scenes, 25% dialogue and acting and 5% classic Chinese actors making funny face at the camera. If you like unrealistic and speedy martial arts flicks, then this is the movie for you.

Fmovies: After watching films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Shaolin Soccer and immensely falling for them, I had some hesitancy with this film. With Tarantino's name attached to the previews, I had this growing concern that Hollywood had gripped this film a bit too hard, thus squeezing out any remaining value or originality. I had heard of the stories of Harvey "Scissorhands" and his ability to really do a number on these Asian films that find their way into our cinemas. I have heard that if you ever really want to fully enjoy one of these films, do not touch those with the name Miramax stamped anywhere. With this in mind, I believe you can see where the hesitancy was coming from, but I need to be honest, this wasn't a horrible film. Using a pre-Wachowski brothers technique of wires instead of "bullet-time" effects, Iron Monkey quickly transformed from your average Shaolin film (if there is such a thing), to a very humorous, creative, and original film.

For some strange reason this film caught my eye and never let go. The strong blend between action and comedy rivals that of most modern Hollywood big-budget features. The impeccable timing of the actors, the perfection of each of the dance-like fights, and its ability to transcend from one genre to another is what really gave this film a big boost in my eyes. While I was expecting a notorious film full of girth and power, I was not in any way expecting this prize-winning, genre-jumping, symposium of pleasure. Everything from the balloonish characters to the simple, yet structured, story pushed this film beyond others of similar nature. I cannot express how impressed that I was with Iron Monkey and how it helped bring the martial arts film back into American homes.

Another element that I enjoyed immensely in this film was the mystic forces behind the characters. The different Shaolin techniques impressed me and helped give the characters a masked depth to them. Being relatively new to this genre, I am constantly impressed by the power, creativity, and ingenuity of the basic moves that Shaolin implies while in battle. In this film, it was the "Buddha Palm" that made me utter the infamous Keanu line, "Whoa". While this film wasn't perfection in a nutshell, it was enjoyable to go back to some of these "classics" and see where our now-modern films are borrowing their style. It is good to see the strength and ability of someone fresh instead of Hollywood Jackie Chan in these roles. Asian cinema is one of the most impressive genres in film, and continually it proves that it can break old molds and stereotypes by revamping them while still paying homage to the originals. It is a genre, unlike Hollywood, that actually pays honest respect to the proceeding films that gave them this opportunity, and while Iron Monkey isn't Criterion-esquire, it does provide several hours of countless fun and mind-challenging action.

Finally, you cannot talk about a film like this without mentioning the action. I grew up in a house that prided itself on the popularity of the action film, and while my tastes have changed considerably over the years, it is always a pleasure to revisit in my mind those childhood days. Now, when I go back to visit my family, I take films like Iron Monkey and Shaolin Soccer to bring a new style of action into the home. It continues to be an instant hit. This film was no different. From the quick hand and leg combat, to the creative use of nearly every random inanimate object around, to the dif

Donnie Yen and Yuen-woo ping team up again to bring us one of the best kung fu movies ever. The fight choreography is perfect and the fighting style includes the animal styles such as the crane and the snake. Donnie Yen plays Wong-kai-ying, the father of Wong-fei-hong(who is curiously played by a girl!!), and they have to face in their adventure villains such as the witch, who has powerful hand grip and great double sword of lo-han style of fighting, and the governor who possesses his famous king-kong palm and his flying sleeves. But Wong-kai-ying also has a powerful move :it is the no-shadow kick (style that we can see in the once upon a time in china series of movies). The end fight is the one of the three best I have ever seen!! A must see. 10/10

Iron Monkey fmovies. Yuen Woo-Ping and Donnie Yen, in yet another collaboration together, have brought forth one of the greatest kung fu movies in existence. The story involves a Robin Hood-esque martial artist named the Iron Monkey teaming up w/ Wong Kei Ying to battle government corruption. The movie itself is a prequel to the OUATIC series, and in many ways is better than most of the entries in it. Thematically, this film deals with friendship, greed, corruption, and family relationships.

However, this is a martial arts movie. The fight scenes are choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping. He was nominated for the Best Choreography award and it's a shame he didn't win. Donnie Yen, Yu Rong Gwong, and the rest of the supporting cast show off a vast display of martial arts. My favourite fight is when Donnie Yen battles the evil monks and the nun. His footwork is simply awesome, one of the best kickers in the business. All leads up to an impressive finale, where Donnie Yen and Yu Rong Gwong battle their foe on the top of a forest of burning poles. It must be seen to believe.

Excellent film. There's a story. There are themes and morals. And there's some of the greatest fights one will witness. A true classic.

For all you people who've only seen the matrix, CTHD, and think fight club features the best fighting ever, you ain't seen nothing yet. Iron Monkey features Hong Kong movie making at one of its best. For those of you who couldn't find a plot, I don't know what kind of movie you saw or how well you pay attention to a movie but I found the plot to be about a good doctor who helps the poor, and the oppressive govt official that's after him. And it gets complicated by Donnie Yen's character. And sorry, for those of you who don't know, there's no literal Monkey made out of Iron in this movie just like there are no crouching tigers or hidden dragons in that movie. But Iron Monkey is a martial arts classic.

I really loved this flick. A Kung Fu Robin Hood fights corruption in officialdom whilst providing for the poor and needy. Kung Fu skills go from fancy kicks and hand work, to wok skills, balancing on poles and beating up bullies with an umbrella. Once the visiting doctor realises his mistake in wanting to defeat our hero, a dynamic team up results against the evil foes from Shaolin who misuse their art to the obligatory Kung Fu bad guys (and girls). The characters are quite good, even the little kid didn't irritate me (good skills). This movie has some padding, with the father-son routine. It worked ok, adding some plot and human interest to the movie. Even one of the corrupt officials (Master Fox) moves beyond 1D, though the Shaolin monk is truly the 1D bad guy. Well done Tsui Hark.