Donnie Yen, Yu Rong Guang
Yuen Wo Ping? The name may not ring a bell, but you know this Hong Kong filmmaker's magical work. He choreographed the high-flying (and widely imitated) martial-arts ballets in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In Iron Monkey, a Chinese-language action movie he directed in 1993, he gives us more of the same. This historical fantasy exists on a gravity-warping plane that lies somewhere between dream and Road Runner cartoon.
By day a village physician, Yang (Rong Guang) plays Robin Hood by night. He flies over tiled roofs and showers the poor with gold stolen from the imperial governor's plunder-rich coffers. The governor sets a visiting warrior named Wong Kei-Ying (Yen) on his trail. The fights whirl ever wilder, until by the end a third warrior has joined the battle. His booby-trapped sleeves unfurl with the playful snap of party favors. (PG-13)
Bottom Line: A kick
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