Kung-fu Robin Hood takes on bad guys
by Michael Kraft, entertainment editor

    Kung-fu movies are on the return with the advent of “Wire-Fu.”
Audiences needed something to get their attention, and after such incredible fighters like Bruce Lee, the filmmakers needed to push the envelope beyond what humans could naturally do.

    Enter Wire-Fu, the technique of suspending the actors on tiny cables that give them the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, defy gravity for mid-air battles and practically fly from one set piece to another during a fight.

    Many people assume The Matrix was the first film to use the technique, but the film Iron Monkey, which originally came out in ’93, uses it, and to better results.

    The film can loosely be called a Chinese Robin Hood.

    In China in the late 1800s, a corrupt but stupid governor runs a small province.

    The governor is taxing the people terribly and hoarding all the town’s food stock for himself and his nine wives, so the people are starving.

    Out of desperation, a vigilante calling himself Iron Monkey steals gold and food from the governor and redistributes it to the people.
No one knows who it is, but the head of security, Chief Fox (Shun-Yee Yuen), is trying his hardest to find out.

    A monk, Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen), is traveling through the town with his son, Wong Fei-Hung (Sze-Man Tsang), when they are arrested as part of a sweep to find Iron Monkey.

    After exhibiting excellent fighting skills, Wong Kei-Ying is ordered to assist with the hunt and capture of Iron Monkey or his son will be killed.

    To complicate matters, the governor is replaced by an evil Shaolin warlord, who is cruel and not stupid.

    Now Iron Monkey has the local security force, Wong Kei-Ying and corrupt Shaolin monks after him.

    Wong befriends the town physician, Dr. Yang (Rongguang Yu), and explains his predicament.

    Yang uses his influence and friendship with Chief Fox to get Wong’s son out of jail and back to health.

    Wong is thankful to Yang for rescuing his son and instead of just leaving town, he stays to overthrow the evil Shaolin and restore honor to the order.

    He then discovers that Yang is Iron Monkey and instead of turning him in, he joins forces with him.

    Together they fight the evil warlord.

    The fight scenes are incredible and truly do the choreographer justice.

    The fights between Iron Monkey and Wong are incredible with their speed and accuracy.

    In any of the fights, a misplaced foot or a punch not quite pulled could mean disaster.

    The most vicious fights were between the heroes and the evil Shaolin monks.

    They were so fast and so violent, it was as if someone really did get hurt.

    The camera work was good, and the script was very well written. The actors were well cast, and the characters are believable.

    One of the best characters is Chief Fox. He could have been portrayed as a mean bully who is rotten like the government he serves, but instead, he is portrayed as a hard-working civil servant who just really believes in his job and comes through for the side of good when the time comes.

    All in all, Iron Monkey is a great film that can be enjoyed by Kung-fu fans and action fans alike.

    One small postscript though ... the movie is subtitled.

    Even though the viewer gets used to it and it isn’t an issue after about 20 minutes, some viewers may want to wait for the dubbed version on video.