Iron Monkey Review
GREAT!
Iron Monkey was my movie for this Friday in Lent with the family. If you loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you will love Iron Monkey. I need to collect some details on who was in which roles, but the film is awesome. The story is a Robin Hood, Zorro type mix of good guy fighting the corrupt governor.
Donnie Yen, who has a commentary on the bonus material on the disk, does a very good job as our second male hero, Wong Kei-Ying. But when you listen to the Quentin Tarantino commentary, he tells us that Wong Kei-Ying’s song is the only hero in the film. One of those subtle things you would only get if you knew the name Wong Kei-Ying or read the film’s back story.
The actors are all great - of course I read the English subtitles for their dialogue. The film has an excellent pace, kept me on the edge of my chair never bored or knowing what would happen next. The martial arts is outstanding, and is always there as a key part of the film as a great Hong Kong film would be. Not cheesy car crash Matrix II nonsense.
The musical score keeps up with the combat and matches pace in the other scenes with mood setting for humor, suspense and emotional concerns. Music can make or break a film, and the score adds to the entire film.
Shaolin monks and their history in the beginning give a good sub plot, and provide conflict for the film.
4 stars ****
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