Giallo Fanatic Quite honestly, I've never really been impressed by watching Chinese jumping around on the big screen like Peter Pan. The main reason I watched this movie is because Donnie Yen's in it. Also because Yuen Woo-ping was directing it, I liked Woo-ping's older movies, 'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, 'Magnificent Butcher' and 'Dreadnaught' to name a few. So I thought at first "Donnie Yen in a Yuen Woo-ping movie, how can it go wrong?". But then then right in the few minutes we see characters flying across the screen and I thought to myself: "Oh no, this movie isn't for me". The fact that characters can fly already made it clear to me that they will be able to break heavy blocks of wood and stone slabs easily, make inanimate objects fly 20 meters across the screen and a lot of extravaganza about making people look elegant flying across the screen. Which I really don't have any interest in. To make it worse many of the fight scenes were noticeably sped up. I find it tolerable if it is in tiny parts of the movie; also it is not foreign that some fight scenes get sped up in Chinese martial arts movies. But in 'Iron Monkey' I thought it was taken to ridiculous lengths to be any entertaining. I didn't find the plot interesting either since it is Robin Hood just in a Chinese setting.But what I did enjoy about the movie was the acting, I have a weakness for the slightly exaggerated acting of Chinese actors, it reminds me of the German Expressionistic movies I love to watch. Whenever I am tired of the American acting or European acting then I usually watch late 70's and 80's Chinese movies. I also liked the story, with Miss Orchid and Iron Monkey having a past together that gave them a strong bond. A bond which they share with deep devotion and loyalty. I find it romantic. The story of the Wongs is interesting kind of too, with Donnie playing a strict father who raise his son. With strong disciplin and some physical punishment as well. But it has been repeated many times before so it is not as interesting as the story of Iron Monkey (Yang Tianchun) and Miss Orchid. Production value looks quite impressive, but it didn't make it more interesting or entertaining in my opinion. So my opinion will be not good but not bad either. I have no interest in watching it again. 5/10

wanderingstar I saw this movie a couple of years ago and just watched it again. With 14 years since its release, I think it's safe to start calling this a "classic" of martial arts cinema. Granted, the plot is very simple, there's no real surprises. And it doesn't have the visual beauty of a film like "Hero" or "Seven Swords" but it is entertaining from start to finish with some really fantastic kung fu action (Donnie Yen coupled with martial arts director Yuen Wo-Ping - need I say more??). And it's not just Donnie Yen - the kid who plays the young Wong Fei-Hung, "Miss Orchid", and the "Iron Monkey" are all fantastic and really showcase the beauty of the art form known as kung fu.My only real complaint is that with Donnie Yen's skill, they didn't need to speed up some of the fight scenes the way they did.Also really interesting is the importance that food plays throughout the whole movie - rice, steamed buns, stewed mutton, peking duck... I wonder if this as some special significance in the Wong Fei-Hung stories?? Humour is sprinkled throughout which adds to the entertainment. There are some really great one-liners that are probably more elegant in Cantonese, but in English they are hokey and I love it... for example "You will die soon as you have been hit by my King Kong Fist!", and "You, failure! Come try that again!". You gotta love it!! My only warning is that if you aren't a martial arts film fan and are expecting Crouching Tiger, you will probably be disappointed. This is straight-up 1970's and 80's style kung fu cinema.

lz_z Depending on your tastes of course. The best Kung fu movie would be "The Prodigal Son" or Bai ga Tai. This movie is comparably more commercial, colorful and with somewhat higher production values. The kung fu choreography is of course, brilliant, with the slight exception of the final climatic fight. They also used objects for fights during this movie, didn't always fight empty handed. The emphasis seemed to be more on the situation rather than the kung fu itself. The way that the final boss was defeated was slightly disappointing and anti-climatic. Otherwise, you have a brilliant story, kickass action, plenty of humor and fantastic acting. Iron Monkey is a must watch film for both action and martial arts fans everywhere.

view_and_review No disrespect to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li, but Iron Monkey is my all time favorite. Iron Monkey should be the standard for martial arts movies. It was a perfect mixture of true martial arts, great choreography, and wire stunts. I've watched the subtitled version and the English dubbed version both with equal attention and enthusiasm. It was classic battle after classic battle. All characters, from the kid to the Iron Monkey, displayed extraordinary skills with weapons and without. The movie had fast paced fighting, old fashioned heroism, and even a bit of comedy. Iron Monkey is a masterpiece that I'll watch again and again.