Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

A martial artist/doctor steals from the corrupt authorities as a masked thief to give to the poor while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt him down. But a major threat unites them as a powerful and traitorous shaolin monk takes over the authorities.The film was given a wide release in the United States by Miramax Films, backed by director Quentin Tarantino, well-known for his love of kung fu and cult cinema. It opened in October 2001 on 1,225 screens earning just over $6 million in its opening weekend and more than $14 million overall.Sadly, the American version has the politics toned down, and the soundtrack changed. It comes across as much more of a comedy. This does not make it a bad film, perhaps, but changes the tone of what was originally intended. Can the original be seen on DVD in America? I do not know.

excerpt, full review at my location - Tales of folk heroes and legends saturate the fabric of Chinese history and culture. Re-released and discovered by a wider audience after Yuen Woo-ping's astonishing success choreographing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey is a notable addition to the extensive list of historical legends committed to film. Directed by The Matrix choreographer and action master, and featuring Hong Kong and China's most vaunted action star of the moment, Donnie Yen, Iron Monkey proves to be a short but well-crafted story.Iron Monkey may not be amongst the best of Yuen Woo-ping's enviable filmography, nor of the ever-growing list of historical hero endeavours, but it is a short and fun exponent of the historical hero genre.

The amazing Iron Monkey! This movie has a legendary status amongst martial arts fans, and for good reason!Iron Monkey is the Chinese robin hood and he owns in this totally cool martial arts flick directed by Yuen Woo Ping. The action is super fast paced (again, it's like a Donnie Yen movie trademark) and filled with wires and unrealistic stuff like that. But Donnie and Rongguang excel and shows true ass kicking moves. T he story is not really special or anything, but it suffices and the acting is good. I think about 70 % of the movie consists of fight scenes, 25% dialogue and acting and 5% classic Chinese actors making funny face at the camera. If you like unrealistic and speedy martial arts flicks, then this is the movie for you.

I finally saw this movie, after years of wanting to see it, and I'm glad I finally watched it. It wasn't what I was expecting, which was another martial arts epic along the lines of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but in spite of missing my expectations, it was still a FANTASTIC movie.Reminiscent of the classic martial arts films of the past, the movie has a slightly fast-forward manic pace that ends up being rather fun. The English dubbed dialogue at first seems to have a large cheese factor, but it ends up being a good cheese, like a nice Gouda. The over-the-top laughter of the villains is GREAT! The story is good, with a bit of a Robin Hood twist, and of course, the martial arts are AMAZING. Their "Kung Fu is strong".If a martial arts movie doesn't end up being a Crouching Tiger, or Hero, then THIS is what it should be.