Siu nin Wong Fei Hung ji: Tit Ma Lau
Disney / Buena Vista | 1993 | 86 mins | Rated PG-13
While my last foray into martial arts film was the fairly serious and complex Hero, Iron Monkey is almost its polar opposite—released in 1993 and directed by famed action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, Iron Monkey simply aims to be fun. Based on the 19th Century Chinese hero, Wong Fei Hung—an herbalist and master martial artist whose life and actions have been reshaped by the countless legends and tall tales that proceeded his death. In Iron Monkey, a young Wong Fei Hung is put at the center of a story that borrows from the tales of Robin Hood and Zorro among others.
With government corruption running rampant, only one man has the courage to fight the problem, his name is Iron Monkey. The film tells the story of an adolescent named Wong Fei Hung (Tsang Sze Man) who is held captive after his father, Wong Kei Ying (Donnie Yen), is arrested and accused of being the elusive Iron Monkey. However, that distinction belongs to one Dr. Yang (Yu Rong Guang), a physician who treats any wounded guards he injures during his evening adventures. With the assistance of his wife Orchid Ho (Jean Wang), Dr. Yang frees Wong Fei Hung and eventually joins forces with Wong Kei Ying. After settling their differences, they formulate a plan to stop the town’s greedy governor (James Wong), gain the trust of the governor’s head of security, Chief Fox (Yuen Shun-Yi), and defeat Hiu Hing (Yee Kwan-Yan), al warrior monk who employs both the deadly “Flying Sleeves” and “Buddha’s Palm” techniques.
As one might imagine, with a choreographer at the helm, Iron Monkey isn’t lacking for exciting for fight scenes. As a matter of fact, the film is full of them. Filmed before CGI was par-for-the-course in cinema, the combat sequences are pretty amazing when put in their early 1990’s context. While the film itself runs through a gamut of styles from comedic moments to a tale of emotional growth, director Woo-ping never lets the action be forgotten, with the whole thing ending with a massive clash of the titans atop a pit of stakes; one that will determine whether justice or corruption will rule the region.
While the fight scenes are fabulous and some of the more comedic elements add a nice touch to Iron Monkey, the story leaves something to be desired. The screenplay by Tsui Hark, Elsa Tang, and Lau Tai Mok doesn’t offer much in between the fight scenes. Characters are hard to pinpoint—one minute they resemble a kind of cartoon character, the next a valiant warrior. There’s a general goofiness to the entire film that makes any of it difficult to take very seriously.
That being said, Iron Monkey isn’t a terrible film. Far from it; It’s just one of those movies that some people will enjoy if they can see it for what it is: a good old fashioned martial arts kick-fest and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Iron Monkey’s 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is an average presentation. Contrast fluxuates; sometimes it’s close to perfect but more often it lacks proper depth and dimensionality. Skintones and black levels bounce between natural and flat, never really showing any high definition pop. Detail is sharp and revealing. There is some minor artifacting and noticeable telecine wobble, neither issue was particularly severe. The Blu-ray edition of Iron Monkey is a solid transfer; not one of the best on the market but most fans will be pleased.
The English dubbed soundtrack is the one which has been accorded the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix, and that’s the one I listened to for the purposes of this review. The music gets a nice spread through the total soundstage, but elsewhere, audio effects aren’t always exploited for optimum use. There’s a nice openness on occasion, but the English dubbing, also results in some flat sounds from time to time.
The Chinese language mix has a Dolby Digital 5.1 track (640kbps).
The Blu-ray edition of Iron Monkey mirrors its 2002 DVD counterpart:
Presented in 480i
• Quentin Tarantino Speaks (9 minutes) about his enthusiasm for the genre and his work to get the films seen by a bigger Western audience.
• Co-star Donnie Yen Interview (6 minutes) details his education and his introduction into the world of martial arts films.
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