Iron Monkey

Iron Monkey

1993

Directed by Woo-ping Yuen

Woo-ping Yuen has choreographed fight scenes in a shit-load of movies, including The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Fearless - really the only reason I picked this one up.

Iron Monkey is more of a comedy than an action film. Yeah, there's plenty of characters flying around on wires and kicking the crap out of each other, but even the fights seem to be at least partially for comedic value. I knew it was a more light-hearted movie than Crouching Tiger, so I suppose I can't complain. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this kind of movie, but I have to admit, Chinese action-comedies don't really appeal to me very much.

Iron Monkey wasn't bad, but my predominant feeling during the movie was mild disinterest. It was obviously not a character drama, but I would prefer if everybody was less one-dimensional. Some parts were pretty funny, if a little over-the-top. Other jokes were just annoying. Frequent references to shark fin soup were getting on my nerves, especially after watching Sharkwater. The fight choreography was okay, but a bit too goofy for me. I've seen various odd fighting techniques and weapons used in a number of martial arts movies, including a woman fighting with her own hair. Still, I don't think I've seen anybody fight with their magical sleeves before. I don't really know what to make of that.

That's that. I don't really feel like talking about the plot. Okay, okay. The Iron Monkey is a Robin-Hood type guy who goes around stealing from corrupt government officials and giving it to the poor. The officials aren't happy and they employ corrupt shaolin monks, etc., to capture him. That's really all you need to know. At least it was better than The Forbidden Kingdom.

6.0