Iron Monkey full of Kung Fu action

In the wake of the mass commercial and critical success of Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Miramax Films and oft-seen auteur Quentin Tarantino raided the vaults and decided to re-release the 1993 Kung Fu cult classic "Iron Monkey," and in Cantonese, no less.\n"Iron Monkey" is essentially a Hong Kong variation on the tried and true "Robin Hood" formula. The film chronicles the misadventures of a mythic figure known coincidentally enough as Iron Monkey (Yu Rong Guang). Our title character is a masked bandit who frequently pilfers the ill-gained fortunes of corrupt Chinese officials.\nInevitably, a traveling physician known as Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) and his young son, Wong Fei Hong (Tsang Sze Man) become ensnared in the search for Iron Monkey. The elder of the two actually stands accused of being the much sought after thief and is brought before the provincial governor. But when the actual Monkey appears in court, Wong Kei-Ying is exonerated, but his problems fail to cease. The governor, in collaboration with an evil monk, hold Wong Fei Hong captive, and will continue to do so until Wong Kei-Ying captures Iron Monkey on their behalf.\nOur two heroes predictably unite to overthrow the corrupt officials and rescue Wong Fei Hong. The film's narrative serves as nothing more than a platform from which some of the most elaborate Kung Fu battles ever are staged. Yuen Wo Ping, the film's director, is best known to American audiences as the martial arts choreographer of "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger." His work here stands toe to toe with his later efforts, and in some ways even exceeds it, especially in the film's climactic battle sequence which takes place atop a sea of flaming bamboo poles.\nIt's dismaying to see audiences laughing at this film's trailer prior to its release. The title "Iron Monkey" seems to be a stumbling block for many western viewers who fail to see its correlation with Chinese mythology, and thus write the film off as crap. I was fortunate enough to see "Iron Monkey" on home video prior to its domestic theatrical release and am even more fortunate now that I've seen it in all of its 35-mm glory. "Iron Monkey" might not have the crossover appeal of "Crouching Tiger," but nonetheless is quite a spectacle in its own right.