Iron Monkey (1993) July 1, 2007
Posted by Cal in : Kung Fu, 1990s films , trackbackDirector: Yuen Wo-Ping Cast: Yu Rong-Guang, Donnie Yen, Angie Tsang, Jean Wang, Yuen Shun-Yi Action Directors: Yuen Cheung-Yan, Yuen Shun-Yi, Guk Hin-Chiu Territory: Hong Kong Production Company: Golden Harvest
One thing I’ve never been good at is judging just which Hong Kong action films are going to go mega with fellow westerners. For example, I would have put money on this one sinking without a trace outside its native territory. Instead, it has become one of those massive cult hits that sell on DVD by the bucketful.
Dr Yan (Yu Rong-Guang) is an honest doctor by day and the notorious Iron Monkey by night. Iron Monkey is a kind of Santa Claus, Robin Hood and Batman all rolled into one – robbing from the opulent Qing lords, giving the proceeds to flood victims and doling out justice to evildoers along the way. Naturally, the authorities aren’t too keen on this sort of behaviour and put a price on Iron Monkey’s head. So when one of the Ten Tigers of Kwan-Tung himself shows up, Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) along with his young son Fei-Hung (Angie Tsang), he is quickly asked to help out, which ostracises him from the local population, which idolises the Monkey. When Wong Fei-Hung is kidnapped by the officials, Kei-Ying begins to doubt the validity of the authorities’ claims against the Iron Monkey…
This is an official prequel to the Once Upon a Time in China series, set when Wong Fei-Hung was still a young boy. The film kicks off with some of the most outrageous wirework I’ve ever seen outside parody. I have to admit not being terribly keen on that sort of thing, but things then settle down for a while until Wong Kei-Ying shows up. I’ve always been a little wary of Donnie Yen as a lot of his fight scenes are undercranked to the point of silliness, and sadly that’s the case here as well. His introduction fight is the worst, in which he fights off foes with his umbrella in what will eventually become his son’s chosen weapon in future films. In case there are still people unaware, in this instalment Fei-Hung is played by a thirteen-year-old girl – Angie Tsang Sze-Man, a member of Hong Kong’s national WuShu team at the time. She’s fantastic, especially armed with a pole, and gives the grown-ups something to worry about.
Anyone familiar with Dreadnought and Drunken Tai-Chi will know Yuen Shun-Yi, brother of director Yuen Wo-Ping. He has one of the most distinctive faces in the industry and when given a decent part, often specializes in playing homicidal maniacs. Here, however, he provides most of the comic relief for the movie as the surprisingly honest and sympathetic Qing General and is a genuine scene-stealer.
Iron Monkey is agreeable enough but the excessive wirework and Donnie Yen’s undercranked performance take the shine off as far as I’m concerned. It’s good that it provides some background in the fictionalised history of Wong Fei-Hung as told in the Once Upon a Time in China series (complete with umbrella). There are a lot of enjoyable scenes and performances here, that’s for sure, and I certainly don’t begrudge the film’s popularity. But it’s a little short of an all-out classic in my view. Mind you, I say the same about Drunken Master 2…
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