Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie Review

A fun flick, sure, but a few major issues and an inferior cut spoil the goods...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 11, 2009

The problem with mining folklore heroes to develop new stories is that, inevitably, revisionists inject their own sensibilities into an already convoluted concoction, as if the mere act of changing a character invariably makes it better. Such has become the unfortunate posthumous fate of 19th Century Chinese hero, Wong Fei Hung -- yep, the same Wong Fei Hung Jackie Chan tackled with rubber-faced abandon in The Legend of Drunken Master -- an herbalist and master martial artist whose life and actions have been cannibalized ad nauseum by the countless legends and tall tales that proceeded his death. The rise of film and television has made it even more difficult to weed out the truth from the fiction. Jet Li stepped into Wong's shoes in Once Upon a Time in China, a national hit that spawned five sequels; the '50s and '60s gave way to dozens of varied tellings and re-tellings; and numerous Chinese actors have built their careers on the iconic warrior's brazen back. In fact, more than 100 Wong Fei Hung films and series have been produced in the last seventy years... and that number continues to grow today. Imagine William Wallace being dragged through the same process, being granted everything from superpowers to immortality, and being recycled by any genre willing to take him and you might begin to understand how unwieldy his various incarnations would become.

So with that we come to Iron Monkey, a harmless, whimsical, derivative diversion from director Yuen Woo-ping (best known on this side of the globe for his work as the action choreographer for the Matrix series) that drops a young Wong Fei Hung in a flighty genre tale culled from Robin Hood, Zorro, and every other folklore staple, Eastern or Western, its writers ever encountered.

Iron Monkey tells the tale of an adolescent named, you guessed it, Wong Fei Hung (Tsang Sze Man) who is held captive after his father, Wong Kei Ying (Hero's Donnie Yen), is arrested and accused of being an elusive rob-from-the-rich, give-to-the-poor hero called the Iron Monkey. But the masked freedom fighter in question is actually the generous Dr. Yang (The Warrior's Yu Rong Guang), a seemingly unassuming physician who graciously treats any wounded guards he injures during his moonlight shenanigans. With the help of his wife (Dark War's Jean Wang), Dr. Yang frees Wong Fei Hung and eventually joins forces with Wong Kei Ying. Afer quickly settling their differences, they set about to stop the town's greedy governor (the late James Wong), gain the trust and assistance of the governor's head of security, Chief Fox (Forbidden City Cop's Yuen Shun-Yi), and defeat Hiu Hing (Once Upon a Time in China's Yee Kwan-Yan), an evil warrior monk who employs the deadly "Flying Sleeves" and "Buddha's Palm" techniques. It all culminates in an admittedly thrilling (albeit slightly hollow) clash of the titans atop a perilous pit of stakes; one that will determine whether justice or corruption will rule the region.

The appeal of Iron Monkey lies in its exhilarating fight scenes and cartoonish gags. Unfortunately, the Weinsteins had the film cut, neutered, and restructured when they brought the film to US shores (presumably in an attempt to bolster box office returns). Blood and gore were shaved from the action sequences, a variety of changes were made to the tone (as well as the timing and frequency of its humor), and even more alterations were made to the story by way of the English dub and subtitle track. When I first saw Iron Monkey, one of my biggest problems with it was the disconnect between its action and its comedy. Lo and behold, the studio intentionally increased the separation between the two, slicing out jokes and slapstick bits that would have made the entire experience more cohesive and, by extension, enjoyable. The resulting US version (sadly, the only cut included on this Blu-ray release) is the lesser of the two, retaining the intense action beats and amusing character interactions, but inadvertently creating a vast divide between the film's two distinct personalities. While the international version of Iron Monkey still doesn't amount to the stuff of genre junkie dreams, it is a more confident and competent cut.

Where does that leave the US release? In a strange sort of limbo where entertaining scenes abound, but very little substance exists to hold them together. As it stands, the only cohesive force is the story, easily the weakest element of the production. Characters are costumed caricatures one minute, compelling warriors the next; fights explode and subside, often to the detriment of the plot; and both the film's heroes and villains begin to resemble the cheesy, one-liner-laden superheroes and super-villains of Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. Frankly, had Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe crashed into the governor's palace, clinging to the Green Goblin's glider and grasping at a loose pumpkin bomb, I wouldn't have flinched. It isn't a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, but its drama isn't meaty enough to resonate, its comedy isn't sharp enough to drum up very many laughs, and its action is dispersed too thinly, continually leaving viewers wondering when the next fight will rejuvenate the story's ailing momentum.

I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who enjoy Iron Monkey for what it is -- if our message board is any indication, many of you reading this review disagree with much of what I've written so far -- and many more who don't care about everything that's been lost in translation. Me? I had some fun watching the film's more madcap, sleeve-flinging tussles unfold, but found myself glancing at the clock far too often. Give it a rent if you're curious, but reserve your blind-buy cash for surer bets.

Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While Iron Monkey isn't over-processed like some of its Ultimate Force of Four Collection compatriots, its 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer still struggles to impress, oftentimes delivering an average, uneven presentation that fails to distinguish itself from other lackluster martial arts releases. Contrast is satisfying on occasion but frequently falls flat, robbing the image of proper depth and dimensionality. Likewise, skintones and black levels bounce between natural and dull, rarely granting foreground elements that patented high definition pop videophiles crave. Thankfully, detail is sharp and revealing (particularly when compared to the 2002 US DVD) and textures have received a noticeable boost in clarity. Object definition has been dramatically improved as well, albeit with the help of some mild edge enhancement. Sure, faint noise invades the nighttime scenery and a moderate veneer of grain is present throughout the film, but neither overtly hinders the presentation. And even though I did catch sight of some minor artifacting and noticeable telecine wobble, neither issue was severe or persistent, at least not enough to cause any serious turmoil. All things considered, the Blu-ray edition of Iron Monkey serves up a solid transfer; one that isn't strong enough to earn outright praise, but isn't problematic enough to warrant much anger either.

Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

If only there was a single word to describe the action of removing your glasses, rubbing your forehead, and exhaling an exasperated sigh... that would be a word you would find in each of my Ultimate Force of Four Collection reviews. Once again, Disney and Miramax have decided to forgo a lossless original language track, granting Iron Monkey a bold and blaring English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but cursing its Chinese language mix with a bland and bitter Dolby Digital 5.1 track (640kbps). Dialogue, sound effects, ambience, and dynamics take a hit on the film's Dolby understudy, while directionality and pan transparency lack precision and subtlety regardless of which option you choose. The nature of the effects and the tenor of the tones lend a certain nostalgic weight to the film's comedy and action sequences, but ultimately pales in comparison to the best martial arts mixes on the market. Yes, the disc's DTS-HD monster is quite loud and more than capable of turning an undiscerning ear or two, and yes, its Dolby Digital letdown still manages to get the job done. However, fans of Iron Monkey and the genre as a whole will be disappointed by what they hear. Hopefully, the studio will take notice of the outcry these Force of Four releases have generated and work to ensure future titles don't suffer the same lossy fate.

Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, the Blu-ray edition of Iron Monkey mirrors its 2002 DVD counterpart by offering nothing more than two short, underwhelming interviews -- the first with presenter Quentin Tarantino (SD, 9 minutes) and the second with star Donnie Yen (SD, 6 minutes). Neither chat reveals much about the film's production or its popularity, but I'm sure DVD owners will be pleased to know they won't have to abandon any content when they toss out their old copies.

Iron Monkey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

No, Dr. Yang... that's not what I call excellence. The Blu-ray edition of Iron Monkey may be destined for bargain bin excellence, but it takes far more than an average chopsocky actioner, its ravaged US cut, an inconsistent high definition video transfer, a lossy presentation of the film's original language mix, and a fifteen-minute supplemental package to achieve anything resembling true excellence. Alas, fans of Iron Monkey, newcomers, and martial arts enthusiasts of all stripes would be wise to rent this collective disappointment long before considering a purchase.