1993 (Lead)

The movie is a remake of a 1977 film by the same title. Set in Zhejing province during the late Qing dynasty, common people are starving due to famine and refugees are inundating Canton. The boy Wong Fei-hung and his father Wong Kei-ying, an herbal medicine doctor and martial arts master, travel to Canton to buy herbs. There, they are drawn into the exploits of the Iron Monkey, a combination Monkey King-knight errant benefactor who hides his face to right wrongs and rob from the rich to give to the poor (in actuality he is Dr. Yang, a physician who administers to the poor and rich alike, but charges according to what one can afford to pay.) Loyal to the government and a law-abiding citizen, Wong Kei-ying agrees to capture the Iron Monkey for the law. The people are enraged and won’t even sell him food. Eventually Wong Kei-ying discovers the corrupt and treacherous officials behind the faÁade of law, and he joins forces with the Iron Monkey to defeat renegade Shaolin monks and an evil eunuch who are in cahoots with the government.

While Yu Wing-gong plays the title Robin Hood-like character, Donnie Yen, in his portrayal of the noble Wong Key-ying, father of the young Wong Fei-hung (played by a young girl), steals the show. Classic action sequences alternate with strong drama centered upon a father-son story. This movie serves as a backstory for many contemporary viewers familiar with movies celebrating the adult Wong Fei-hung as hero, including Tsui Hark’s once Upon a Time in China series (and it’s no coincidence Tsui produced this one). Here the story reveals the source of Wong Fei-hung’s values his father. Mutual respect between Wong Key-ying and the Iron Monkey, despite their different approaches, celebrates Chinese culture.

Yen’s collaboration with Yuen Wo-ping on this film led to innovative and amazing action sequences. First is Yen showing off extraordinary skill using a simple umbrella as a weapon against a group of combatants. The attacks come from all sides and angles, and the choreography is three-dimensional. Next is Yen’s no shadow kicks against renegade Shaolin monks, which influenced martial arts action for the decade. The shadowless kick happens so fast that even the opponent’s eyes cannot follow it (never mind the audience). To execute the kicks, Yen designed a technique whereby he delivered a shower of kicks against a stationary opponent and under-cranked the camera to only a few frames a second. During playback, the effect is of a superhuman martial artist in action. Also spectacular is the climactic fight sequence in which Wong Key-ying and Iron Monkey join forces against the evil eunuch, fighting by balancing on poles over a raging fire.

Director: Yuen Wo-ping
Cast: Donnie Yen, Yu Wing-gong, Jean Wong Ching-ying, Tsang Sze-man, Yam Sai-koon, James Wong Jim, Yuen Sun-yi, Hau Yiu-chung, Lee Fai, Cheung Fung-nei, Chun Kwai-choi, Chan Siu-wah, Yip Choi-nam, Ko Man-dik

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