Iron Monkey (少年黃飛鴻之鐵馬騮). 1993. Hong Kong/Taiwan. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping. Screenplay by Tsui Hark, Elsa Tang, Lau Tai Mok. Stunt coordination by Yuen Cheung-yan, Yuen Woo-ping, Yuen Shun-yi, Ku Huen-chiu. With Donnie Yen, Yu Rong Guang, Jean Wang. DCP courtesy Fortune Star Media. In Cantonese, Mandarin; English subtitles. 90 min.
A fictionalized prequel of sorts to the Wong Fei-hung legend, Iron Monkey follows a masked, Robin Hood–style vigilante. A physician by day who robs corrupt officials to feed the poor by night, he must form an uneasy alliance with traveling martial artist Wong Kei-ying (Donnie Yen). Yuen Woo-ping’s choreography is at its most gravity-defying here, turning bamboo poles, market stalls, and burning buildings into extensions of the fight itself. Yen, in an early starring role well before global stardom, showcased unmatched speed and lethal precision. Passionately championed by Quentin Tarantino for its 2001 American release, the film remains a definitive landmark of 1990s Hong Kong action cinema.