Starring: Donnie Yen, Rongguang Yu, Jean Wang, James Wong, Hou Hsiao, Sze-Man Tsang
Directed by: Woo-ping Yuen

Films such as the Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon have created a recent surge in martial arts movies. The lastest film to be released in the genre is entitled Iron Monkey. Does it cash in? Absolutely!

As you may or may not know, Iron Monkey was actually released overseas in 1993 and has been available on video for some time. Fans of the genre will no doubt recognise the writing (Hark Tsui, Once Upon a Time in China) and directing credits (Woo-ping Yuen, action choreographer from the Matrix and CTHD). So basically, you know Iron Monkey will have some crazy action sequences...

The story is taken from a legend in Chinese lore. The Iron Monkey (Donnie Yen) is very much like Robin Hood, stealing from a corrupt government and distributing the wealth to the less fortunate. Not even Governor Cheng's (played by James Wong) henchmen can capture the Iron Monkey. However, when a famous doctor Wong Kei - Ying (Rongguang Yu) and his son Wong Fei-Hung (Sze-Man Tsang) come to town, Governor Cheng is impressed with his fighting abilities. The Governor holds his son hostage until Dr. Wong captures the Iron Monkey.

One thing that is pleasantly surprising in Iron Monkey is that Wong Fei-Hung appears as a young child in the film. Wong Fei-Hung is of course the character from countless Asian films such as Once Upon a Time in China and Drunken Master. Even a reference to the famous Shadowless Kick and where it came from is made. Very cool indeed.

The story unfolds in a very comical way. In this way it is very different from a movie like CTHD, and very well appreciated. All of the non-fighting scenes are done in a style designed to make you laugh. For the most part it works, although it's a bit surprising at first. One of the role-reversal sketches had me laughing quite a bit.

And of course there's the fighting. AWESOME STUFF. There's quite a bit of wire work and 'speed-up', but the final scene is worth the price of admission alone. Even the young Wong Fei-Hung fights with a vengeance. The kid puts Keanu to shame.

The final word: less artsy than CTHD, and a bigger can of whoop-ass.