Release Date:
10/12/2001
You dont have to twist our arm to see anything with the word monkey in the title. While we were a little disappointed that Iron Monkey is not about a kung fu chimp (MVP III: Crouching Chimp, Hidden Monkey anyone? Lets get on that!), we were happy to see that it is all ass-kicky, slapsticky, chopsocky (someone stop us) goodness.
In the wake of Crouching Tiger and The Matrix, anything touched by martial arts maestro Yeun Wo Ping is suddenly gold. But to long-time fans, this is nothing new. Originally released in 1993, Iron Monkey is already a huge film in China. Based on an actual legend of a Chinese Robin Hood, Iron Monkey is also kind of a Phantom Menacestyle prequelthe young boy character in this movie is Wong Fei Hong, a real-life Chinese folk hero (whos adult life got the big screen treatment in the Once Upon a Time in China series, starring Jet Li). In Monkey, you see Hong as a young boy, and learn that his father and the Monkey taught him many of his signature moves. Less dour and more prone to silly slapstick than Crouching Tiger, Iron Monkey is like a kung fu comic book come to life. Its fun, fast-paced, and features gravity-defying moves aplenty (the climax has our heroes battle a villain while balancing on narrow wooden poles over a pit of fire). Wed call it a must-see for kung fu fans, but odds are most of you sought it out and saw it a long time ago.
In the wake of Crouching Tiger and The Matrix, anything touched by martial arts maestro Yeun Wo Ping is suddenly gold. But to long-time fans, this is nothing new. Originally released in 1993, Iron Monkey is already a huge film in China. Based on an actual legend of a Chinese Robin Hood, Iron Monkey is also kind of a Phantom Menacestyle prequelthe young boy character in this movie is Wong Fei Hong, a real-life Chinese folk hero (whos adult life got the big screen treatment in the Once Upon a Time in China series, starring Jet Li). In Monkey, you see Hong as a young boy, and learn that his father and the Monkey taught him many of his signature moves. Less dour and more prone to silly slapstick than Crouching Tiger, Iron Monkey is like a kung fu comic book come to life. Its fun, fast-paced, and features gravity-defying moves aplenty (the climax has our heroes battle a villain while balancing on narrow wooden poles over a pit of fire). Wed call it a must-see for kung fu fans, but odds are most of you sought it out and saw it a long time ago.