Iron Monkey may not have the poetic lyricism of Crouching Tiger, it makes up for it in fun and energy. Read critic reviews
Iron Monkey
1993, Action, 1h 25m
96 Reviews 10,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
In a desperate and unjust land, where government corruption rules the day, only one man has the courage to challenge the system and fight back. They call him "Iron Monkey." Under the shadow of night, in the silence before dawn, he fights to give hope to the poor and the oppressed. Although no one knows his name and no one knows where he comes from, his heroism has made him a living legend to the people and a wanted man to the powers that be.
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Rating: PG-13 (Martial Arts Action/Violence)
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Genre: Action
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Original Language: Chinese
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Director: Woo-Ping Yuen
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Producer: Hark Tsui
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Writer: Hark Tsui, Elsa Tang, Lau Tai Mok
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $14.7M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Miramax Films
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Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
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Critic Reviews for Iron Monkey
Audience Reviews for Iron Monkey
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The streak of bad-to-average movies that lasted close to three weeks finally ends! I may be over-rating this film slightly, but I had an absolute blast watching this movie. It was so much fucking fun. Particularly once the Royal Minister appears, when the film becomes a ridiculously over-the-top kung fu film. There's this hilarious scene near the climax where a woman, who the Minister used to shield himself from ninja stars, or something close to that, that were thrown by the Iron Monkey. The minister stands up to face both Wong and the doctor, both pretending to be Iron Monkey for this last scene. The woman who took the stars to the chest is now begging for help at the Minister's feet, grabbing on to his legs. The minister, being annoyed at this, literally kicks this woman high into the air, off camera, never to be seen again. I found this absolutely fucking hilarious. There was also this scene, prior to the woman taking the stars to the chest, once the Iron Monkeys appear. The minister throws the woman at them like a spear. One of the Iron Monkeys, unsure of which one, kicks the woman back at him. I lost it. It sucks for this woman, but I just found this entire exchange to be tremendous. Don't get me wrong, the film prior to this is still really fucking good and entertaining, but I think there's a level of insanity to the climax itself that cannot be denied. There's a blurb on the poster here that says that this film is more fun than Crouching Tiger. And that, to me, is a really stupid thing to do. While they would certainly be in the same martial arts/kung-fu section of your local video store, they are two vastly different movies thematically and tonally. Iron Monkey is not meant to be taken as seriously as Crouching Tiger. And not that Crouching Tiger is a self-serious film to the point of mockery, but it is a film with a more serious story. This is more a simple story designed to entertain whereas Crouching Tiger is more like watching poetry in motion, as much of a cliche as that is. And not that Crouching wasn't meant to entertain, clearly the action being the way it was in that film was intended for it to wow audiences, but thematically it was completely different. That's like me saying that Pitch Perfect is more fun than Oldboy. That would be a 'correct' statement but misleading the fact that it implies the former is better than the latter. I haven't seen Crouching in a long time, so it wouldn't be fair to say which is better and which is not. That rant took way too long honestly. The action in this film is really damn good honestly. Yes, there's a lot of wire-work and a lot of defying the natural laws of physics and gravity, but that's part of what makes these films as unique as they are. I did find the climactic battle between the Royal Minister and the Iron Monkeys atop the wooden poles really cool conceptually and in execution. It's just really well-choreographed. A lot of people might be turned off by the silliness of it all, but I thought the action itself was, obviously, the highlight. There's also a lot of comedy here and plenty of funny lines, particularly the one about the virgin that got a hearty laugh out of me. I wouldn't call this a kung-fu classic, but I would still greatly recommend it if you love this kind of film. It's not kung-fu, it's kung-fun. There's a terrible Gene Shalit-esque pun for you. That's a good way to negate this entire review. Fun stuff here!
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Iron Monkey delivers all the mixed-martial arts you would expect from a Donnie Yen masterpiece. Quick hands and quick feet accompany him with a multitude of fighting styles to make you giddy over the mythical action sequences more atone to a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon than, say, a Rumble in the Bronx. The high-flying action and balancing acts are really more for spectacle than anything else. The hand-to-hand combat is close and tight and at times dizzying, but you can tell when the editing was sped up to make it seem faster than it really was. While a film like this won't necessarily have the structure or seriousness of other foreign action flicks, the campiness of a Robin Hood man of the people in Chinese mythology is never over due. You get a solid, yet incredibly simple, story of a man working/stealing for/helping the people to take from the rich and corrupt for the poor. You get the guards who are the easiest to fend off, the henchman who are a bit more difficult to defeat, and finally the big boss man who poses the biggest threat. It's a formula that's won time and time again.
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Martial Arts films are always memorable if done right, and Iron Monkey is a great Martial Art film that delivers on story and fantastic choreography. A doctor fights the corrupt authorities as a masked Robin Hood hero, even while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt for him. The story, though mostly humorous, has enough drama in it for any Martial Art fan to take it seriously. Though, the only misstep in it story is the humor removed some of seriousness of the dramatic scene for me, this is both good and bad. Overall the story written and told well. The action is spectacular, both with wires and non-wire action sequences are here. The action is fast, fun, and enjoyable to watch. As anyone who seen this movie will tell you, the last battle in this movie is spectacular, i've never seen anything like it and is unlikely that anyone will ever come close to making anything like it. Iron Monkey is a great movie that i'll recommend to any Martial Art fans, with a terrific and memorable fight sequences. There no reasons why you should skip out on this.
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Hong Kong kung-fu madness with a Robin Hood themed story. Highly regarded by martial-arts fans, and yeah, the fight scenes are spectacular, as you'd expect from legendary action director Yuen Woo-Ping who has worked in both Asia and Hollywood orchestrating some of the most impressive action sequences ever recorded on film. It's easy to see the influences this film had on the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The story and dialogue are very basic though and it's a script a 10 year-old could easily come up with. It's worth watching just for the action.
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