Review of Iron Monkey

Introduction

This was one of the more low key releases from Hong Kong Legends, so the more casual Hong Kong movie fan might not be aware of this film at all. It`s directed by none other than Yuen Woo Ping, famous for action fighting scenes in Crouching Tiger and The Matrix. Here he directs Donnie Yen and Yu Rong Kwong who are on top form. Iron Monkey, think of him as someone keen to help the underprivileged and to right wrongs, Robin Hood like.

There`s good use of colour throughout and these scenes are reproduced beautifully on DVD, it`s hard to think that this movie is already eight years old. Iron Monkey has a distinctive and polished look which is unlike a lot of Hong Kong movies of its time. You really just have to take a look for yourself!

This is a feel good movie as we watch good triumph over evil, with some truly amazing fighting scenes, lots of roof-top action and great sound effects to match! The story has its funny moments too, it`s not too serious in the slightest, and this is why it`s so instantly watchable. Watching the movie with subtitles sticks to the tradition of Chinese story translation, it`s amusing and tells the story well, I coudln`t imagine it any other way. Great cast performances from everyone makes this a well told story, and of course I do fancy the lovely Miss Orchid... :-)

Video

There are a few signs of compression, notably in the opening scene when there`s some smoke, but I`m being really picky since the image is otherwise quite sharp and very good to look at. It`s not distracting at all and is a nicely presented 1.85:1 anamorphic print. Good level of detail throughout, and the colours are truly outstanding. There`s never a dull moment of film to look at.

Audio

I found the English dubbing to be poor compared to listening to the Cantonese track, maybe down to the dubbing. The Cantonese language track though is top notch and I think it`s the best way to watch the movie. It`s nicely balanced and has great over the top sound effects. Don`t expect too much from all your speakers however.

Features

This features the now usual very stylish animated menus which HKL are known for. Further Attractions has trailers for other Hong Kong Legends DVDs. There`s a Picture Gallery here, but it`s a shame that the pics are framed with an HKL border, this makes look quite amateurish, plus these look like grabs taken from the movie and offer nothing new. There are also two Iron Monkey trailers. There are animated biographies of Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo Ping too with voiceover man. Finally there are two interviews, one with Donnie Yen and the other with Yuen Woo Ping. Both of these are cool to watch and almost makes up for the lack of any Director Commentary.

Conclusion

This is an amazing film and from start to finish you`ll be sucked in to the story. All Woo Ping fans are likely to have this disc already. His visual style of action seen in Crouching Tiger is very much evident here. Even if you`re not a big martial arts fan, there`s a good story running under all the kung fu skill and it has good moral grounding. There`s no harsh violence as such, just well choreographed fighting which is amazing to watch. Hong Kong Legends have done a good job in putting this DVD together, it`s a well presented package and a joy to watch time and time again. Don`t let the subtitles put you off, this is a must see for everyone! Remember, if you get stung by King Kong Palm, use poison to fight poison! Highly recommended!