Yu Rong-Guang in "Iron Monkey."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Yu Rong-Guang Director: Yuen Wo Ping Rated: PG-13, with violence Length: 86 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(October 12, 2001) -- Imagine showing a great Western such as Unforgiven or High Noon in a distant rural village in China.

Suppose people really liked the film, so you went back later and showed them another good Western, though maybe not quite as classic. Maybe Rio Bravo or Ride the High Country.

That sort of cross-cultural education is happening in reverse this week, with the opening in U.S. theaters of Iron Monkey, a Chinese action fable in the grand tradition of last year's popular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Iron Monkey actually pre-dates Crouching Tiger by seven years. But Miramax has given it a re-polish, a richer music score and new subtitles that will add greater clarity in the West.

Quite clearly, the selling point is: If you liked Crouching Tiger, check out Iron Monkey. And, oh yes, there's another attraction: Iron Monkey was directed by Yuen Wo Ping, the master of high-flying action choreography in both Crouching Tiger and The Matrix.

Like many Chinese martial arts fables, Iron Monkey tells a Robin Hood story of an outlaw hero who helps the disadvantaged against corrupt authority.

The film is a precursor to several other action films, because it tells of the youth and emergence of a mythical hero named Wong Fei Hung.

Wong has been played in several other variations by superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, especially in the Once Upon a Time in China and Drunken Master films.

In this film, the Iron Monkey (Yu Rong-Guang) is a masked hero of the Lone Ranger type who is wreaking havoc for the corrupt officials of the Ching Dynasty, circa 1860. Another kung fu master, Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) comes to town with his young son, the soon-to-be-famous Wong Fei Hung (Tsang Sze-Man).

The governor enlists the elder Wong to help find the Iron Monkey.

Eventually, Wong discovers the Iron Monkey is fighting the good fight, so he and his son soon fight alongside the Monkey to eliminate evil.

To propel his tale, Yuen Wo Ping stages several remarkable martial arts sequence. Martial arts is the correct phrase, for the artistry is undeniable.

But, although the fights are remarkable, my favorite scene finds the Iron Monkey and his female assistant using amazing spin moves and kicks simply to clean up their office after they spill a pile of papers.

As in Crouching Tiger, you'll find much of the action breathtaking and beautiful. Iron Monkey falls a bit short of Crouching Tiger's poetic grandeur; still it's quite astonishing. It's no wonder that Asians who saw Iron Monkey and related films didn't understand why Americans got so excited about Crouching Tiger.

Ang Lee's Oscar-winning epic remains a superb film but isn't the unique feat we in the West had assumed it was.

The release of the eight-year-old Iron Monkey in America enables Westerners to see a continuum of a great Chinese film tradition -- and gives us another rousing adventure to enjoy.