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๐ฅ Real Customer Reviews
Thanks Quentin.
Finally, a version with subtitles and a new score! The only version of this I had seen was a thoroughly entertaining yet laughable dub, accompanied by the same song that's been playing in HK fu-flick videos for the past decade.<br />Catch this on the big screen if you are any sort of fan of the Yuen family. You can now laugh at the jokes rather than the voice acting and the fights are superb. Classic.
Why can't America make them like this? Talent. That's why.
What an incredible display of motion on screen. That Iron Monkey has amazing fight choreography is a given but what amazes me many times in these movies is how even with all the non-stop action they still seem to get in some descent character development. Let's face it. You can have the best fights ever but if you don't care at all about the people it's only good for one viewing and we're here looking for multiple viewing, right kids!<br />The chinese actors are incredibly adept at using few words and clever use of body language to convey as much in one scene that Stallone or Willis can't produce in an entire movie. The problem in the U.S. is that acting is not really infused with any real physical ability like in Asia. Often from a young age martial arts are a part of a performer or actors life. Some more than others. Someone in the US who has studied for the physical abilities probably can't act their way out of a paper bag because it hasn't been a part of growing up for them. The prime example being good ol' Chuck Norris.<br />Just say thanks that we in the U.S. can finally get good access to these action masterpieces. This movie is Fist of Legend's equal in fight scenes but surpasses it in natural humour.<br />If you want to experience another great HK movie that's in a modern setting and not a period piece try Tsui Hark's Time and Tide. Not as action orientated but with great characters and slightly more realistic sequences.
A hearty meal of Shaolin Kung-Fu with all the trappings
If you like the high-flying Shaolin style of Kung Fu flick, this film's for you. You'll marvel at Woo-ping Yuen's directorial sensitivity in extracting the nuance's of the genre in both the fight scenes and the plot. And of course, Woo-ping Yuen's martial arts choreography can't be beat. There are some truly beautifully scenes, focusing on things like classic brushwork and a Cantonese stir fry. The characters manage to express themselves through their faces and gestures, which makes up for what came through the translation as rather cartoonish dialog. True to the genre, the background scenes provide just enough motivation to make you cheer for the good guy in the fight scenes -- no more, no less.<br />Plotwise, you get the masked good guy defending the peasants against a foolish and corrupt local court, a Northern outsider who blows into town and proves to be a Kung-Fu butt-kicker, a child of said kicker of butts who's being schooled in the Shaolin arts himself and provides a strong focus for everyone's affections (and though it's not apparent in the movie, apparently becomes a legend in his own right), the Florence-Nightingale-like love interest -- who mixes it up with the boys and holds her own, a few fistfuls of corrupt Shaolin monks, an ugly virgin who is both the butt of jokes and kicks some serious butt herself, a sprinkling of nasty imperial guards and a buffoon-like local constable who shows his heart and goodness in the end.<br />The main departure from the genre is that there is no bad guy focus other than a corrupt system of imperial government. The embodiment of that government only makes himself known as the flesh and blood bad guy in the final third of the movie. His menace seems to lie mostly in his beard and nasty looks, but he turns out to have a few tricks up his sleeve (pun intended, but you've got to see the film). And in what may be a first, it takes two good guys to take out this bad guy. They accomplish this in one of the more spectacular fight scenes ever filmed -- all on poles reminiscent of a pier that's lost its boardwalk.<br />The fight scenes seem to emphasize balance and mystical stance names over pure force. The women hold their own, and each warrior stops to comment on the skills of the other, with nods to their techiques, along the lines of "ah, the peasant sweeping the street", "ooh, he controls the angry chambermaid", "wu goes to market", and so forth. The boy's litany of positions during one scene is almost magical. Poison, fire, pole-arms, tricks, darts, traps, nets, and every other martial arts accoutrement gets its time in the sun, the moonlight, or candlelight.<br />In the end, if you liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you'll like this.
A bonafide HK classic
Just to clear up some issues about the film: It is enjoying a USA theatrical release currently, but the film itself was released originally in 1993. Stands on its own as one of the greatest martial arts movies ever made, yet was obviously slated for a USA release by Miramax to capitalize on the surprise success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The two films bear little similarity, with IM being more of an action-on-display film, CTHD being more of a pensive highbrow affair, though both are tremendous films.<br />Donnie Yen got top billing in the film, yet he is NOT Iron Monkey, he is Wong Fei-Hung's father. Incidentally, the role of Wong Fei-Hung's father was played by Hong Kong veteran actor Ti Lung in Jackie Chan's Drunken Master II (dubbed Legend of Drunken Master in its USA theatrical release.) Yu Rong-Guang (a former male model in China) plays Iron Monkey, but gets 3rd billing in the film, due to previous unsuccessful efforts at making him a top-shelf HK action hero.<br />Yuen Woo-Ping's world-reknowned fight choreography truly shines in the ending scene, which has our heroes battling on top of a courtyard of burning poles. For certain one of the finest martial arts scenes ever filmed. The Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-Hung is also featured in over 200+ films, including Jet Li's famous Once Upon A Time In China series. Wong Fei-Hung was indeed a real person, born in 1847, and passed away in 1924. He was a martial arts master, teacher, healer, and revolutionary who would protect and help those who were weak and defenseless.<br />All in all, Iron Monkey is a top-notch film that belongs in any martial-arts or Hong Kong film fan's collection.
The Monkey Shines
"Iron Monkey" was originally released in 1993, but North American audiences are only now getting an opportunity to see the film on our big screens. This new version was released partly due to the enthusiasm of one Quentin Tarantino, and its script, which is loaded with deliciously corny dialogue, shows evidence of his taste or, quite possibly, his fingerprints (one such example has Young Wong Fei-Hung running into a posse of turncoat monks, whom he insulting calls "Shaolin Punks"). But don't get me wrong; this is no "Pulp Fiction" rip-off.<br />The obvious comparison is to Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which is an admitted homage to this (and others from the Wong Fei-Hung series, of which I'm now dying to see more of). It's a fair comparison for the most part, except that where "Crouching Tiger" went for epic grandiosity in its melancholy romantic elements (which I liked well enough in that movie), the "Monkey"s grandiosity exists only in its intense fight scenes. That's not to say that the love story element here is not examined, it's just not alluded to as explicitly as it was in the later film. Dr. Yang and Ms. Orchid's love affair is mysterious but palpable. It exists only behind the plot, is never fleshed out, but is no less touching. These two are obviously in love, and care for each other (made especially clear when one or the other gets hurts, and the wounds are dressed with much tenderness).<br />Still, the obvious thing that will attract people to "Iron Monkey" are its Kung Fu battle scenes. They are, without a doubt, the best I've ever seen put on film. Now, I don't fancy myself a connoisseur of fight scenes; most bore me to tears with their unrealistic cartoon violence and lack of imagination. Here, the fight scenes stretch the boundaries of the imagination. You have to suspend disbelief for a while, otherwise the sight of Shaolin monks floating through the air against the wishes of gravity will be too distracting. But if you can buy into the film's magic-realist conceit, then I guarantee you will be amazed by what you see.<br />Director Woo-ping Yuen, best known on these shores for choreographing "The Matrix" and the aforementioned "Crouching Tiger", gets to put the fight scenes front and centre here, even more so than his late nineties American works. The man appears to be an endless fountain of unique ideas; there are no dull moments in his fights, and nothing you'll have ever seen before (at least nothing I'd seen before). The fight scenes are all slightly sped up, and people fly in and out of the frame with quick precision, but they never feel confusing. The action is easy to follow, and Woo-ping deserves high marks for keeping things palatable and energetic. The highlight, of course, is the final showdown atop the burning poles. It is suspenseful, beautiful, dangerous, and exhilarating. A true show-stopping number that leaves you gasping for breath after it's over. But there are other fantastic moments too: Dr. Yang and Wong Kei-Ying battle atop a rooftop as a crowd of onlookers gasps below; Ms. Orchid defends her turf with economical beauty against four would-be assailants; young Wong Fei-Hung takes on a bruising hulk in a marketplace, armed only with his trusty umbrella.<br />The last example also further illustrates the depth of the creativity used here. I suspect it was Woo-ping Yuen who made famous Jackie Chan's propensity for using everyday objects in his battles. Here, besides the umbrella that figures prominently above, battles are waged with tables, chairs, poles, but also exotic items such as buns bought from a street vendor, a small chain, and in one memorable instance, a shirtsleeve. That's right, a shirtsleeve! It is the most menacing weapon here, and has to be seen to be believed.<br />The film is populated by charismatic, but less than proficient, actors, who are all cast more for their athleticism than their acting technique. Yu Rong Guang and Donnie Yen, as the heroes Dr. Yang and Wong Kei-Yang, make for a stunning action duo. The former has Chow Yun Fat's quiet intensity, brooding nature, and awesome skills. But he also brings a more obvious warmth to the character. Yen is Yu's equal when it comes to fighting, and he also ably pulls off the darker anti-hero aspects of his character. Not to mention the affection he has for his young son. Tsang Sze Man as the son is as precocious as she (that's right, she) needs to be. But she also skillfully alludes to the legend that is to come for Wong Fei-Hung. Jean Wang is a dead ringer for Michelle Yeoh, and she more than holds her own in terms of creating an interesting character, who can kick ass if provoked. The bad guys here are more over-the-top and cartoonish. They include a money-hungry but ineffectual governor, who at one point loses an eyebrow in an attack(!) and a renegade Shaolin master who also happens to be an emissary from the Emperor. The latter makes one of the greatest villain entrances I've ever seen. It's a mad rush of quick energy and destruction, followed by a menacing tableau. It'll make your eyes pop out with awe. Contrast this with a beautiful scene in which Dr. Yang and Ms. Orchid float around a room, collecting papers swept away by the wind, and you get a fine picture as the versatility of Woo-ping Yuen's vision.<br />If you go in to "Iron Monkey" expecting another lyrical love story with action elements, a la "Crouching Tiger" you might be disappointed. Or pleasantly surprised, for the film you will see is such a primordial rush of energy and combat that you will forget your expectations and have fun on the ride.
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