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New to Americans, this 1993 film cashes in on the more recent success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but its relentless action and irrepressible fun keep it from being overshadowed.
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 11, 2001
American audiences were dazzled last year by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Hong Kong moviegoers mostly yawned. They've seen those flights of flying-fist fantasy before.
One of the martial art genre's greatest hits, kicks and flips is Iron Monkey, a 1993 release overseas that Miramax Films bought for U.S. distribution at the suggestion of none other than Quentin Tarantino. He loves energetic junk, and Iron Monkey certainly fits that description.
Director Yeun Wo Ping later choreographed the dazzling fight scenes in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. What seemed like breakthroughs to U.S. viewers were apparently old hat for him. Iron Monkey would appear to be a ripoff of both films' action if not for the copyright date. In this incarnation, Ping puts the slap in slapstick.
Iron Monkey is the name given to a masked bandit, a combination of Batman and Robin Hood loved by the peasants he assists. Yu Rong-Guang does the Bruce Wayne bit as a physician by day and avenger by night. The greedy governor (James Wong) hires Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen), a battling Shaolin monk, to capture Iron Monkey. Wong also has a personal stake because his equally proficient son (Tsang Sze-Man) has been kidnapped.
The story is goofy and the acting -- especially by Wong -- is deliriously over the top. Subtitles have been Westernized to silly lengths, as if the arch dialogue and endless announcements of fighting poses ("Shaolin Golden Palm!" "Shadowless Kick!") weren't absurd enough. But the action is relentless and ingeniously staged, defying gravity and succinct description. Ping always goes for the joke, funnier than Jackie Chan's moves and edited with whiplash precision. Sometimes viewers don't have a chance to smile before the next gag has passed.
Iron Monkey is just plain fun, not the kind of movie that wins awards, although it was nominated in 1994 at the Hong Kong Film Awards for best action choreography. It didn't win, making us wonder what other tricks that film community has up its flying sleeves.
Grade: B+
Director: Yuen Wo Ping
Cast: Donnie Yen, Yu Rong-Guang, Jean Wong, Tsang Sze-Man, James Wong
Screenplay: Tsui Hark, Tan Cheung, Tang Pik-Yen, Lau Tai-Muk
Rating: PG-13; violence, brief sexual situation
Running time: 86 min.