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Iron Monkey
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // March 26, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
As a fairly new fan of a lot of the recent Hong Kong martial arts films, it's always a pleasure to see another brilliantly and imaginatively choreographed piece. "Iron Monkey", a fan that recieved a fairly wide re-release (it was made in 1993) in theaters last Winter, is certainly along those lines. Directed by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, the film is a consistently dazzling and wildly entertaining piece of work.
The story with most of the films in this genre is occasionally just an element to hang the action scenes upon. While the stories rarely approach the kind of scope that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" offered, there are movies (such as "Iron Monkey") in the genre where it becomes apparent that some thought was put into providing characters and situations that are at least somewhat more than slight. "Iron Monkey" is a very nice example of consistently strong and stunning action mixed in with nice helpings of story to further engage the audience.
The story here revolves around a legendary character called the Iron Monkey, who dresses up in black and robs from the rich to give to the poor. Legendary character Wong Fei Hong (here a young child) and his father Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) travel the countryside and come upon the town where Monkey has been attacking. The corrupt governor arrests young Wong Fei and will only release him once his father has taken out the Iron Monkey. What happens next is pretty obvious, but enjoyable and easy to follow.
I watch this film and find it hard to believe that anyone would not find something to appreciate about it. What I've really come to love about these pictures - and what makes them so much more entertaining than the more straightforward American action pictures - is how they turn action into an art form, using props in such a brilliant manner that I can't help being awed at the kind of craft and talent on display. All of it makes last year's attempt at copying, "The Musketeer", look positively embarassing in comparison.
Certainly, "Iron Monkey" is all about the stunts and they are spectacularly produced here, but there's also a very nice amount of story as well as great performances. This is a marvelously done action picture that fans of said genre should be delighted by.
The DVD
VIDEO: While the condition of martial arts films from even the last 5 or 6 years can sometimes be a bit dissapointing, "Iron Monkey" looks pretty stunning throughout. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen from Dimension Home Video, the picture quality was not flawless, but still remained impressive. Sharpness and detail were excellent, as the picture never showed any signs of softness, appearing consistently crisp and well-defined, even in the darker moments.
The picture's only real fault is that there is some edge enhancement that's occasionally noticable and infrequently a bit on the distracting side. Other than that, the print appears largely crisp and clean, with the exception of a couple of specks. No pixelation or any other flaws were noticed. Colors looked superb, often appearing warm and well-saturated, with no smearing or other flaws. Not quite flawless, but really nice work nonetheless. The film was restored before its theatrical release.
SOUND: Recent Dimension releases of several well-known martial arts films have dissapointed many by using new English dubbed versions of the soundtracks. Dubbing in general is widely disliked - and for good reason - but the dubbing on a few of these soundtracks was particularly dismal. Thankfully, for "Iron Monkey", the studio has apparently heard the outcry of fans and has included not only an English dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 edition of the film's soundtrack, but the original Chinese 5.1 soundtrack, as well.
Being one who dislikes dubbed soundtracks, I listened to the original language track, which was quite terrific. Surrounds energetically provided both music and distinct sound effects, while bass was also occasionally quite strong. Music and dialogue also sounded crisp and clear. The soundtrack delivers the action quite well.
MENUS: Very basic film-themed images serve as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Two interviews are included, one with a surprisingly subdued Quentin Tarantino, who provides a good overall discussion of Martial Arts and the other, with the film's star, Donnie Yen. "Sneak Peek" trailers of other Dimension genre pictures are also included.
Final Thoughts: "Iron Monkey" is a terrific martial arts film with good performances and phenomenally well-crafted and exciting action sequences. Dimension's DVD doesn't offer much in the way of supplements, but delivers good audio/video quality. Recommended.
As a fairly new fan of a lot of the recent Hong Kong martial arts films, it's always a pleasure to see another brilliantly and imaginatively choreographed piece. "Iron Monkey", a fan that recieved a fairly wide re-release (it was made in 1993) in theaters last Winter, is certainly along those lines. Directed by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, the film is a consistently dazzling and wildly entertaining piece of work.
The story with most of the films in this genre is occasionally just an element to hang the action scenes upon. While the stories rarely approach the kind of scope that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" offered, there are movies (such as "Iron Monkey") in the genre where it becomes apparent that some thought was put into providing characters and situations that are at least somewhat more than slight. "Iron Monkey" is a very nice example of consistently strong and stunning action mixed in with nice helpings of story to further engage the audience.
The story here revolves around a legendary character called the Iron Monkey, who dresses up in black and robs from the rich to give to the poor. Legendary character Wong Fei Hong (here a young child) and his father Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) travel the countryside and come upon the town where Monkey has been attacking. The corrupt governor arrests young Wong Fei and will only release him once his father has taken out the Iron Monkey. What happens next is pretty obvious, but enjoyable and easy to follow.
I watch this film and find it hard to believe that anyone would not find something to appreciate about it. What I've really come to love about these pictures - and what makes them so much more entertaining than the more straightforward American action pictures - is how they turn action into an art form, using props in such a brilliant manner that I can't help being awed at the kind of craft and talent on display. All of it makes last year's attempt at copying, "The Musketeer", look positively embarassing in comparison.
Certainly, "Iron Monkey" is all about the stunts and they are spectacularly produced here, but there's also a very nice amount of story as well as great performances. This is a marvelously done action picture that fans of said genre should be delighted by.
The DVD
VIDEO: While the condition of martial arts films from even the last 5 or 6 years can sometimes be a bit dissapointing, "Iron Monkey" looks pretty stunning throughout. Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen from Dimension Home Video, the picture quality was not flawless, but still remained impressive. Sharpness and detail were excellent, as the picture never showed any signs of softness, appearing consistently crisp and well-defined, even in the darker moments.
The picture's only real fault is that there is some edge enhancement that's occasionally noticable and infrequently a bit on the distracting side. Other than that, the print appears largely crisp and clean, with the exception of a couple of specks. No pixelation or any other flaws were noticed. Colors looked superb, often appearing warm and well-saturated, with no smearing or other flaws. Not quite flawless, but really nice work nonetheless. The film was restored before its theatrical release.
SOUND: Recent Dimension releases of several well-known martial arts films have dissapointed many by using new English dubbed versions of the soundtracks. Dubbing in general is widely disliked - and for good reason - but the dubbing on a few of these soundtracks was particularly dismal. Thankfully, for "Iron Monkey", the studio has apparently heard the outcry of fans and has included not only an English dubbed Dolby Digital 5.1 edition of the film's soundtrack, but the original Chinese 5.1 soundtrack, as well.
Being one who dislikes dubbed soundtracks, I listened to the original language track, which was quite terrific. Surrounds energetically provided both music and distinct sound effects, while bass was also occasionally quite strong. Music and dialogue also sounded crisp and clear. The soundtrack delivers the action quite well.
MENUS: Very basic film-themed images serve as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Two interviews are included, one with a surprisingly subdued Quentin Tarantino, who provides a good overall discussion of Martial Arts and the other, with the film's star, Donnie Yen. "Sneak Peek" trailers of other Dimension genre pictures are also included.
Final Thoughts: "Iron Monkey" is a terrific martial arts film with good performances and phenomenally well-crafted and exciting action sequences. Dimension's DVD doesn't offer much in the way of supplements, but delivers good audio/video quality. Recommended.
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