Director Yuen Woo Ping is responsible for many of the finest classic Kung Fu films (such as DRUNKEN FIST and BUDDHA FIST) and some of the most over-the-top modern Hong Kong films, like IRON MONKEY. Of course, Yuen Woo Ping is a hot property today because he masterminded the martial arts sequences in THE MATRIX. In 1993, Yuen Woo Ping and producer Tsui Hark teamed up to create a standalone film that also served as a prequel to Hark’s ONCE UPON A TIME CHINA. IRON MONKEY chronicles the early years of Chinese folk hero, Wong Fei Hung, the main character of ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA. IRON MONKEY is a beautifully created motion picture on every level, but failed to capture the box office when released. The small box office take can be attributed to the huge number of quality Hong Kong films released that year, plus the fact that there are no top-tier stars like Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, or Jet Li in IRON MONKEY. Nevertheless, IRON MONKEY is a quality film that gained cult status especially in the west. Media Asia released the film on DVD in 1998.

The film features Yu Rong (SUPERCOP 2) Guang in a dual role as the wise Dr. Yang. Dr. Yang’s alter ego is the Ninja-like Iron Monkey. Donnie (HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME) Yen portrays martial arts fighter, Wong Kei-Ying. His son, Wong Fei Hing, is played by a real-life martial artist who happens to be a little girl, Tsang Tze Man. The sensual Jean (THE EAST IS RED) Wong is Orchid, Dr. Yang’s nurse (who also knows Kung Fu). James Wong plays Wu, the kind-hearted head of the palace security.

The citizens of a small Chinese village suffer from disease, failed crops, and corrupt officials. Their salvation comes in the form of a robin hood figure, the mysterious Iron Monkey, who steals from the rich to give to the poor. When Shaolin master Wong Kay-Ying arrives in the village, his martial arts skills lead the local police to believe that he may be the masked Iron Monkey. His son, Wong Fei Hung, is caught in the line of fire, and Wong Kay-Ying fights to clear his name and recover his son, who is held prisoner by a corrupt governor. When it becomes clear that Wong Kay-Ying is not the Iron Monkey, the governor gives Wong Kay-Ying 7 days to hunt down the Iron Monkey or they will kill his son.

The Iron Monkey is regarded as a hero by the villagers, and they won’t serve food to the outsider who has pledged to hunt down their hero. Wong Kay-Ying is starving and he finally meets the local physician, Dr. Yang (the Iron Monkey himself) and his assistant, Orchid. They quickly become friends, and Dr. Yang comes up with a plan to spring Wong Kay-Ying’s son, who lays sick in the governor’s jail. After the boy is rescued, Wong Kay-Ying owes Dr. Yang and Orchid a debt of gratitude. Together, Dr. Yang and Wong Kay-Ying succeed in making life difficult for the crooked governor, and bring better living conditions to the starving villagers.

The governor’s superiors send a team of ruthless war mongers to oppress the people and capture the renegade Iron Monkey. The leader of this evil band is called the Monk (Yam Sai-Kun), an unstoppable Shaolin master who has gone to the dark side (much like Darth Vader). Wong Kay-Ying and the Iron Monkey team up to combat the new threat. They manage to beat the Monk’s flunkies (including an ugly witch), but are powerless against the Monk’s deadly move called ‘wonder palm of Shaolin’. The result of this blow causes poisons to appear in his victim’s bodies. Both the Iron Monkey and Wong Kay-Ying are affected by the blow, and retreat to Dr. Yang’s practice to try and develop a vaccine to counteract the effects of the poison. The Monk captures young Wong Fei Hing, and uses him to set a trap for his father and the Iron Monkey. Iron Monkey and Wong Kay-Ying must find a way to reverse the poison’s effects if they are to rescue Wong Fei Hing from the invincible evil Monk.

Tsui Hark’s script is not exactly high on logic. The script contains many clichés, including the ever popular mistaken identity sequence (where Dr. Yang and Orchid dress up as emissaries of the Emperor, and pull a fast one on the governor). But the sheer number of fights and action sequences hide the few script inconsistencies. Hark loves to include political commentary, philosophy, and spiritualism into his scripts, and IRON MONKEY has a fair amount of all these elements. Hark also provides more character definition than most historical dramas, as we learn that besides mastering Kung Fu, Wong Kay-Ying also loves to cook. Tsui Hark includes subtexts like the father/son relationship, friendship and respect between two warriors, and how caring for your fellow man can bring out the best in everyone.

Yuen Woo Ping mixes his unbelievable choreography talents with his well-honed directing skills and turns in a wildly entertaining historical martial arts film. He keeps the pacing going like a heavy metal backbeat, with only the moments in between confrontations to propel the narrative using dialog. Yuen Woo Ping also uses his excellent comic timing which adds another level of entertainment to IRON MONKEY. I know hard-core Hong Kong fans don’t like to mix humor into a serious historical piece, but Yuen Woo Ping’s sense of humor is so natural and well placed, it’s hard not to laugh at his gags. Also, the director combines moving camera angles and rapid fire editing to deliver some of the wildest wire works Kung Fu of all time. IRON MONKEY benefits from a larger budget that usual, and Yuen Woo Ping takes advantage of the widescreen cinematography, with the fighters battling over awesome backgrounds and phenomenal production design. Besides the fantastic fight choreography and the well-placed humor, IRON MONKEY offers numerous scenes of gratuitous violence. We witness an abundance of Ninja weapons striking human flesh, decapitations, stabbings, hemorrhaging, eyeball violence, slit throats, burning flesh, and cracked necks.

IRON MONKEY offers some of the most amazing fighting scenes ever put to film. Most of it is enhanced with the use of wires and speeded up film, but that does not take away from the sheer thrill of the fighting which occurs about every five minutes (there is no time to rest). There is no magical or fantasy elements that come into play within the boundaries of the film’s logic. IRON MONKEY is one of the few films in Hong Kong history where only a few characters know martial arts, instead of the entire cast. The final fight scene is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Even though it includes a lot of Cable-Fu, it is a work of pure visual artistry. Iron Monkey and Wong Kay-Ying combat the Monk atop columns of burning poles. The fighters try to topple each other off these poles using punches, flips, and kicks. The whole time the poles are turning to ashes as the flame consumes them, threatening to send the combatants into the inferno below.

Yu Rong Guang is excellent as the passionate physician, Dr. Yang. Though the character of Dr. Yang is not very well-defined, Yu Rong Guang brings a real personality to the role. He also knows some spectacular moves. It’s too bad Yu Rong Guang never became a big name. Donnie Yen is also one of the few martial artists who can act. He brings a sense of pride to the relationship he shares with his onscreen son. Yen sheds some tears in the movie at the right moment. Jean Wong is a charming actress, who possesses some truly graceful movement. Like Yu Rong Guang, its a sin she didn’t do more films. Don’t forget the unbelievable martial arts talents of little Tsang Tze Man! Kudos to the colorful cast of villains who not only perform the evil deeds, but are ugly and dirty to boot.

Anyone who is familiar with Chinese folklore, or have seen ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, knows the character of Wong Fei Hung. In this movie, Wong Fei Hung is a small boy with amazing Kung Fu talents who is trained by his Shaolin father. Wong Fei Hung jumps around evading opponents and using their own momentum against themselves (and each other). When young Wong Fei Hung uses a quarter staff on the bullies, the results are equally entertaining. It’s amazing how the kid uses anything that isn’t tied down to humiliate the bullies. Besides being highly knowledgeable in Kung Fu, Wong Fei Hung also has a mischievous streak. You might even consider the kid to be China’s answer to Bart Simpson!

- Tony Mustafa

IRON MONKEY is available from HKFlix.com

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