Iron Monkey

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: I've seen this movie being advertised for ages then finally decided to get it. I enjoyed it throroughly. It was funny and the action scenes were done with great precision. There is also an element of suspense. This is a great buy for your martial arts movie collection.

Rating:
Summary: The qualities of "Iron Monkey"
Review: The good:
-Super fast-paced action
-Interesting story

The bad:
-Very addictive
-That iron monkey can make you dizzy

The strange:
-Ever wish you could fight like those monkeys

The awards for:
-Best Attack-The Iron Monkey's super multi kick attack

The overall:
You like perfect action movies, you got your perfect action movie right here.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Style, No Substance!
Review: Having heard that "Iron Monkey" was suppose to be the next "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" I was rather excited. Yet upon seeing this movie I found that aside from the dazzeling martial arts fights there was no other eason to watch it. The plot, paper thin as it was, focuses on a masked hero that steals from the corrupt rich lords of a provincial chinese city to give to the poor and oppressed. The side line of another martial arts master, whose son is imprisoned by the loval governor, is forced to find this masked hero and kill him. Alirght the stage is now set for marvelous fight scenes, although most of them are quite rediculous. This film honestly feels more like a episode of the 1960's TV SERIES "Batman". From the rediculous production values, terrible acting, and the fact that no one could possible take this film seriously, all cause "Iron Monkey" to be a whole lot of style and zero substance. Only the most avid Hong Kong film fans are going to derive any enjoyment out of this film.

Rating:
Summary: ...man enough to admit it...
Review: on a previous review, i really dissed this movie... the entire thing just felt cheesy to me and the folks who recommended it over-emphasized the story against the one from 'crouching tiger'... but finally, i was able to sit back, clear my head of all previous (mis-)conceptions and watch this thing...
and you know what?
it aint too bad after all... my mistake yall... forgive me!
now... i aint gonna bend over and call this thing a 'classic', but i'm glad i held onto it for awhile and didnt sell it!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, but beware.
Review: Look out, folks, Disney's at it again. A great flick gets mashed up again by those folks at the Mouse House. I won't take stars off because of a poor DVD release, I'm not one of those guys. Like "Drunken Master 2"--er, "Legend of Drunken Master" (pffft!), if picture quality is your main concern, then go for Disney. If you want to watch a real movie, try to hunt down an imported version. Just don't buy Disney if you can help it, because they mangle every good martial arts flick they can lay their four-fingered, white-gloved hands on.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is one of the best martial arts films ever. It's definitely on my list right behind other classics like Drunken Master 2 and Fist of Legend.

What's really great is the original Cantonese track is INTACT!They also didn't mess around with the music which was a blessing. I'm glad Miramax was smart enough not to hack up such a great movie with some of the best fight scenes ever.

What's disappointing is the extras. The interviews are good but way too short and they put in random clips that doesn't reflect what they were talking about so people might have the wrong idea on who they are mentioning. I'm also wondering where's the audio commentary and where's the trailer? The trailer was pretty badass and it would've been nice to see it included in this DVD.

But this is one of the best examples of what an American release can do for a HK flick. Don't mess with the original cut, language and music and you've got a winner...

Rating:
Summary: This Movie is AWESOME
Review: This is one of the best Kung-Fu movies I've ever seen.
The plot is simple and straight forward.
The fight scenes are fairly elaborate but still seamless, probably the best wire work I've ever seen(including Matrix, though this one did not use bullet-time FX, as it was done in 1994).

The makers did not take themselves too seriously, so the movie caries a sense of light-hearted humor that I like in kung-fu movies.

This is exactly what a good-ol' kung-fu movie should be like.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: For those interested in the original version, not the one altered by Miramax, then this is the one to get. This version contains the original powerful-sounding sound effects (not the cheesy and wimpy Miramax version) as well as well as the original music. For some reason, Miramax tones down the striking sound effects for "realism" which takes away the atmosphere of a martial arts film. Why millions of fans find thundering Jedi laser sword fight sound effects "real" and those used for Asian martial arts film not real are beyond me. All in all, the quality is excellent, far better than any of the Shaw Brothers DVDs and its in fabulous widescreen.

Rating:
Summary: I Love Kungfu
Review: i saw this movie in the theatre and the video but for some reason it doesnt seem to be the same as far as the dubbing...my immagination?...maybe but i have seen the 1993 version and the dubbing is more realistic than the 1994 one. Nevertheless this movie is AWESOME!!!!!!! kungfu fans and lovers prepare to be amazed with all the action scenes! The characters and actors and actresses who played in it I thought were all perfect for their roles! I was really impressed with the young Wong Fei Hong and his martial arts! Its just totally cool even my kids love it!!! I would highly recommend this to everyone. It has very good morals and values on friendship, love and the society.

Rating:
Summary: Crouching Interest, Hidden Plotlines
Review: In the wake of the phenomenally successful CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON came this 1994 re-release of IRON MONKEY, a vastly inferior work on all counts.

Much of the critical acclaim for MONKEY called it TIGER's equal or, dare I say it, better than TIGER.

However, don't be duped. IRON MONKEY is not a bad film by any means. It has very high entertainment value, and it's story is, in fact, timeless.

Still ...

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is to literature what IRON MONKEY is to comic books. This is a flash-in-the-pan action picture, and it can very well be enjoyed and accepted on that level and that level alone. The depth and complexity of the plot that attracked so many people to TIGER is nonexistent in MONKEY b/c that isn't what this film is about.

Think ROBIN HOOD ... with kung fu.