SnoopyStyle
The Iron Monkey steals from Governor Cheng and gives to the poor. He roams the night helping the defenseless. Bumbling police chief Fox is good-hearted and obsessed with catching him. Dr. Yang treats the poor for free helped by his assistant Miss Orchid. They're both skilled in the martial arts. Yang is secretly the Iron Monkey. Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) is a principled doctor passing through town with his son. The governor takes his son prisoner until he catches the bandit Iron Monkey. As news spread, Wong is rejected by everybody in town. Only Dr. Yang and Miss Orchid are willing to help him. The arrival of the corrupt Imperial Investigator and his evil minions put everyone in danger.Iron Monkey is reminiscent of Robin Hood. The twist is Dr. Wong and his son. Donnie Yen is terrific. The boy is precocious, acrobatic and surprisingly played by a girl. It's got loads of fun, comedy and action. It is one of the best kung fu action comedy around.
Sky Diver
I was so impressed with Donnie Yen's performance in "Ip Man", so I started tracking down his filmography. Along that path I realized I had already seen him in "Hero", and, to my content, I also came across "Iron Monkey". This film is a true delight to any fan of this genre! This is one of THE most impressive Kung Fu movies I have ever seen to- date. It has the right mix of comedy, seriousness and top-notch fighting scenes. The actors alongside Donnie Yen are amazingly skillful, and the presence of such professional women martial-artists just lifts the whole experience up even more. This is a non-stop action movie with a tasteful sense of humor and true "wow!" fighting scenes. Totally highly recommended - satisfaction guaranteed.
thisissubtitledmovies
excerpt, full review at my location - Tales of folk heroes and legends saturate the fabric of Chinese history and culture. Re-released and discovered by a wider audience after Yuen Woo-ping's astonishing success choreographing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey is a notable addition to the extensive list of historical legends committed to film. Directed by The Matrix choreographer and action master, and featuring Hong Kong and China's most vaunted action star of the moment, Donnie Yen, Iron Monkey proves to be a short but well-crafted story.Iron Monkey may not be amongst the best of Yuen Woo-ping's enviable filmography, nor of the ever-growing list of historical hero endeavours, but it is a short and fun exponent of the historical hero genre.
ccthemovieman-1
This was a surprise, being more entertaining than I expected. Like most Hong Kong action films, this mixes comedy in with all the martial arts violence. When I saw this in 2002, I could safely say no film - among the thousands I have seen - has action scenes quite like this! It was the wildest kung-fu/Crouching Tiger- type action I had ever seen....and plenty of it. In fact, too much. At least the film was short at 85 minutes but, man, it still needed some lulls in here.This is so cartoon-like, it could have been labeled such, especially with the dubbed in version in which the voices and dialog just don't seem to add up. It's so corny, so bad, that it's hilarious! And those action scenes? Well, you just have to see them to believe it.
AD
