IRON MONKEY
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: IRON MONKEY is a movie that is easier to like than
to respect. It has a plot that could easily have been a
Zorro episode but is reframed as Chinese martial arts.
There is lots of action but if you are old enough to read
the subtitles, you have probably seen much of the plot
before. Rating: 6 (0 to 10), +1 (-4 to +4)
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON was the most successful foreign- language film ever released in the United States. It combined a story of some sophistication with some historical spectacle and more than a little martial arts action including some incredibly graceful wirework. While the market for martial arts films is still hot other distributors want to cash in. Action films like THE MUSKETEER are throwing in wirework in places where it does not belong. One previously released film featuring martial arts on and off a wire has gotten a new lease on life. The film is IRON MONKEY. It is a nice polished production from Tsui Hark, who produced the CHINESE GHOST STORY films and WICKED CITY. Superficially it looks like it is in the same class as CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. It has the acrobatics and the elegant photography. But it lacks the plot subtlety. In fact, the plotting bears no small resemblance to an episode from the adventures of that American hero from old California, El Zorro.
In IRON MONKEY, a corrupt governor rules a village and oppresses the innocent peasants forcing high taxes on them. The governor needs to tax the peasants mercilessly to support his expensive and selfish life style including gourmet food for himself and his nine beautiful wives. The one thorn in the governor's side, beside his comically inept captain of the guards, is a masked bandit who, in classic tradition, steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Wherever there is injustice, Iron Monkey seems to know it and is there to flip into action and clobber evildoers with ultra-perfect kung fu style. Nobody knows that Iron Monkey is in reality the timid-seeming village doctor and the Monkey's sidekick is the doctor's beautiful assistant. Iron Monkey is put into danger when another medical man comes to the village with a son. In addition to the healing arts, they are also secretly expert in the martial arts. They can cure or clobber. They seem to be good, but their loyalties give the impression of being with the evil governor.
The screenplay, a product of four credited writers, has more than a few plot holes and contrivances. A character only has to claim to be oppressed, truthfully or not, and immediately the Iron Monkey comes to her aid. In one case a woman only utters the words and the Monkey is there. To give the film a one-up on other martial arts films even the Shao-Lin monks whose heroic virtue is lauded in so many martial arts films have been turned to the dark side by this evil governor.
Visually the film has a few problems. The virtuosity of the martial artists is clearly excellent, but too often they rely rather obviously on wires to create an impressive appearance. Another frequent but too obvious effect is to run the film backwards. Both of these effects are extremely detectable. Wooden poles and pillars when struck like with a karate kick seem to break in perfectly smooth saw cuts. One more visual problem in a different vein: Orchid, the Iron Monkey's assistant, can dress as a man and even wear a fake mustache, but it still is hard to believe the evil governor is fooled.
Director Woo-ping Yuen loses no opportunity to show off Chinese dishes. The governor is fond of shark fin soup. The guards like Dim Sum. (Is this an anachronism?) And Orchid likes to make piquant meat dishes. They seem to have people as adept in the kitchen arts as others are in the martial arts.
If distributors are looking for a way to capture the fire of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, they will probably have to make new film. IRON MONKEY just is not in the same class. It is, however, just about right for a Saturday matinee. I rate it a 6 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. FYI: A credit at the end says "Remembering Kevin Bartnof." Who is that? Kevin Bartnof died June 30, 2001, at the age of 43. He had been a foley artist (meaning he provided basic sound effects like footsteps, doors closing, etc.) on major films like THE ABYSS, SCHINDLER'S LIST, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, and THE PERFECT STORM.
Mark R. Leeper
markrleeper@yahoo.com
Copyright 2001 Mark R. Leeper
========== X-RAMR-ID: 29824 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 255302 X-RT-TitleID: 1075984 X-RT-AuthorID: 1309 X-RT-RatingText: 6/10
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