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Iron Monkey is directed by Yuen Woo-ping and stars
Yu Rong Guang, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Tsang Sze Man and
Yuen Shun-Yi. The Chinese version features music by Richard
Yuen, while the American version's score is by James L.
Venable. The film was first release in its native country
in 1993. ***
The story of Iron Monkey is a fictionalized account
of a Chinese folk hero. A doctor masquerades as a Robin
Hood-type hero, fighting against the corrupted powers that
be. Things get worse for our hero when another doctor masquerading
as a martial artist is given the task of hunting him down.
***
Iron Monkey is an entertaining film that combines martial
arts action and humor seamlessly. Unfortunately, the movie
was butchered for its stateside release by the American
distributor, resulting in an uneven, inconsistent film that
was nothing compared to the original - a true Oriental action
classic. It's disappointing that this Blu-Ray disc only
includes the butchered US cut of the movie, as this really
would have been the ideal opportunity to create the definitive
release. ***
All in all, Iron Monkey is a fun movie to watch, even
in this butchered American cut. Humor and action alike come
together and the end result is an entertaining film - though
you can't help but wonder if it would have been better if
the distributor had just released the original, uncut version
here. That said, I marginally recommend the film, though
you might want to hold out for a more definitive package.
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Image And Sound:
Iron Monkey gets an average-level Blu-Ray transfer.
This isn't a weak transfer, but it definitely doesn't compete
with the best of 1080p. It's a step up from the DVD, though
probably not the step up you'll be hoping for. The main
issue with this transfer is that it is an inconsistent one
throughout - black levels, flesh tones and the grain level
are all over the place. Another disappointment is the decision
to give lossless audio to the English language track only,
and slap a generic stereo mix on the original Chinese. Iron
Monkey isn't a major disappointment in its 1080p debut stateside,
but this reviewer can't help but think this could have been
a better release.
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