Iron Monkey 2 (1996) - Is this Donnie Yen's worst movie?

[Iron_Leopard]

A lot of help. And I need help finishing it. I've tried three times to get through this movie and I just can't do it. Why does this movie exist? Why is it so bad? Why is Donnie the fourth or fifth main character? Why does it take so long for anything to happen? Why does Hong Kong make unrelated sequels to so many movies? Why dosen't Hollywood do this? Why wasn't there a Superman V starring some unknown in a story and setting that has nothing to do with Superman?

Should I just fastforward to the end? Is there at least a decent fight scene at the end of this movie?

[DrNgor]

Donnie's (old) website suggested that he accepted the role because he was told Yuen Woo-Ping would be working on it and he signed on out of respect for Yuen, only to discover that he wasn't actually working on the movie. I liked some of the action, such as a pre-Ip Man demonstration of Wing Chun at the log yard, some rope dart from Donnie later on, and the finale is one of those insane only-in-China fights with kung fu, wire fu, object fu, and lots of property damage. The choreography was done by the same fellow who did tne Taiwanese BEST OF THE BEST copy PROMISING YOUNG BOY, which had stellar action. It also leads me to wonder if this was a Taiwanese production. It's a terrible movie, but it has some solid over-the-top fights.

[Iron_Leopard]

But isn't this around the time that Donnie and Wo Ping went their seperate ways after a falling out? Or was it this movie in paticualr that started the whole beef?

[DrNgor]

According to an interview I saw with Norman Tsui Siu Keung, their initial falling out occurred during the filming of WING CHUN.

[DrNgor]

From the "Huh! That's odd" department: the Portuguese title for this movie is Mestre Kam: A Lenda (Master Kam: The Legend).

[paimeifist]

The original post here is great, you seem genuinely angry about this movie, rofl.

 

Come on there is no way it's THAT bad man!

 

 

[Drunken Monk]

It's safe to say that Donnie's made some unusual decisions during the span of his career. "The Holy Virgin vs the Evil Dead", "Circus Kids", "Satan Returns" etc. I think this was just another of them.
While he should be appreciated for his amazing films, we can't forget the absolute shit he's been in too. Hell, even his directorial debut, "Legend of the Wolf", is a nightmare to sit through for the most part.

[DrNgor]

Donnie has stated in interviews that a lot of these 90s movies were films that he appeared in simply to pay the bills, and that he hates most of them. While he did show up in a few "important" martial arts movies in the 1990s, he didn't reach the same level of local popularity as his contemporary Jet Li did at the time (that wouldn't really come until 2005).

[Drunken Monk]

Donnie has stated in interviews that a lot of these 90s movies were films that he appeared in simply to pay the bills, and that he hates most of them. While he did show up in a few "important" martial arts movies in the 1990s, he didn't reach the same level of local popularity as his contemporary Jet Li did at the time (that wouldn't really come until 2005).

It's almost ironic that Jet and Donnie's careers ended up being opposites. Donnie never really got the early recognition that Jet got but has since become an international star, while Jet started off strong and, recently, has starred in some pretty horrendous films, tarnishing his own cinematic legacy.

[Iron_Leopard]

I know there fans of Donnie's own directorial efforts but they do nothing for me. Is it of any surprise that after he parted ways with Wo Ping that his film choices and career in general was crap? I love most of Donnie's work from "Drunken Tai Chi" through "Wing Chun" but after that I can't sit through anything he did until 2005 when he really blew up.

To be fair though I know the late 90's and early 00's weren't the best period for Hong Kong action films. Jackie and Jet weren't exactly putting out classics either.

[ShaOW!linDude]

On 12/13/2015 at 10:57 PM, Iron_Leopard said:

Should I just fastforward to the end? Is there at least a decent fight scene at the end of this movie?

To answer your original question: yes and yes. (Don't know if you actually got around to doing that or not, but it's at least worth that.)

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Iron Monkey 2

I agree with this review.

https://kiaikick.com/2015/04/02/review-iron-monkey-2-1996/

What I hated was the close range camera shots in every fight. What was with the director?

Your thoughts please?

GD Y-Y

[One Armed Boxer]

I have a pending full length review of this one due to be posted soon over at COF, so shall reserve my thoughts for then. But in short, anyone that thinks 'Iron Monkey 2' is the worst movie in Yen's filmography, obviously hasn't seen all of it.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

1 minute ago, One Armed Boxer said:

I have a pending full length review of this one due to be posted soon over at COF, so shall reserve my thoughts for then. But in short, anyone that thinks 'Iron Monkey 2' is the worst movie in Yen's filmography, obviously hasn't seen all of it.

Your right I did not watch it all. Being that it really annoyed me those too close in fight shots.

I do not think I can get past this.

Or, was is it the way Tai Sheng copied the film to DVD.

Is there a better copy that the one I own?

 

GD Y-Y

[rdenn]

cheap movie, but the fights were not to bad.

[ShaOW!linDude]

The only good parts of the film are the ones with Yen in them, which are fight scenes of which there aren't but a couple. The end fight is the best thing in the film, but I can't say it's worth watching just for that. It's nothing you haven't seen before.

[DiP]

My pick would be Iceman. Gosh, what was Yen thinking doing that one?

[One Armed Boxer]

7 hours ago, GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG said:

Or, was is it the way Tai Sheng copied the film to DVD.

Is there a better copy that the one I own?

 

GD Y-Y

The UK released Optimum Asia DVD is the one to go with - 

[One Armed Boxer]

Here it is....the review nobody asked for!   Is it still Donnie Yen's worse movie, or has it improved with age?  Check it out here - 

http://cityonfire.com/iron-monkey-2-1996-review-donnie-yen/

[DrNgor]

I never hated this movie. I Always thought of it as a cheap, old-school movie made 20 years too late.

When I showed it to my friends, one of them pointed out that the music played in the fight scenes was cribbed from True Lies.

@One Armed Boxer - Great review.

[sym8]

I saw it back in the day and hated it,have seen bits since on you tube and still have no interest in watching it again,for me what spoiled it was the look of the film and the stupid undercranking it was a waste of talent and imo his worst effort.(Great review though)

[CT KID]

This movie was bad but the worst I've seen of Yen's was that remake of Fist of Fury that came out on DVD years ago. Talking about ridiculously sped up fights, the ones in that film looked like a looney tunes cartoon! 

Edited April 25, 2017 by CT KID

[ShaOW!linDude]

For me, the definitive review of this movie is, without a doubt, @One Armed Boxer's.

[One Armed Boxer]

13 hours ago, DrNgor said:

I never hated this movie. I Always thought of it as a cheap, old-school movie made 20 years too late.

That's actually a good way to look at it, in many ways I'd bracket it with 'The Hero of Swallow' with Yuen Biao, from the same year.  Both productions feel out-of-time for 1996, and as you mention feel more like zany old-school efforts.  Unlike Biao though, Yen has had a career resurgence to say the least in recent years, which for many of his fans makes looking at older titles like this a less forgiving experience.

[DrNgor]

10 hours ago, One Armed Boxer said:

That's actually a good way to look at it, in many ways I'd bracket it with 'The Hero of Swallow' with Yuen Biao, from the same year.  Both productions feel out-of-time for 1996, and as you mention feel more like zany old-school efforts.

I think Hero of Swallow is definitely a better effort than Iron Monkey 2, although both were anachronisms by 1996, as the wire-fu boom of the early 1990s had had its swan song in 1994 and then gasped its last breath in 1995 with the commercial failure of The Blade. I personally think of Hero of Swallow as almost a dress rehearsal for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as the former has scenes that easily remind me of the latter. I vaguely remember one reviewer on CoF lamenting the praise heaped on CTHD while HoS had gone largely unnoticed (at least in the early aughts).