Hong Kong film director and martial arts expert Yuen Woo-ping is absolutely outstanding. In "Iron Monkey," one scene I admire most is the poetically quiet, beautiful interaction of fluid movements in graceful progression: as Dr. Yang and Miss Orchid close shop (the clinic),a whiff of wind blows the papers (written prescriptions) up in the air, and Yang (who's actually Iron Monkey) elevates himself up into the air to catch the flying papers, while Orchid, with a few agile movements and glides, catches the balance of the flying papers. It's like a short interlude - a silent romantic song with punctuated accents - with a slight kick from Miss Orchid, a stool plops into place upside down as it should be on another neatly ends the piece. I actually relish this quiet segment much more than the awe-struck extensive finale scene, which is truly an amazing display of exquisitely choreographed martial art movements of three masters (two good forces tenaciously team up against one skillful evil monk) on multiple wooden poles with inferno-like fire a-dancing below. Fantastic performances from Donnie Yen as Wong Kei-ying, father of Wong Fei-hung, who's deftly portrayed by a young girl Tsang Sze-man, and Yu Rongguang as Dr. Yang/Iron Monkey, with Jean Wang as Miss Orchid, to the upstanding police chief, the devastating evil monk and all.

Iron Monkey is essentially a film about the legendary Shaolin kung-fu master (also known as drunken master) Wong Fei-hung when he was young. In fact, the alternate title is "Siunin Wong Fei-hung tsi titmalau," literally: Young Wong Fei-hung's iron monkey.

Follow this up with Jet Li's "Once Upon A Time In China 2" ("Wong Fei-hung ji yi: Naam yi dong ji keung" 1992, literally: Wong Fei-hung #2 - young man should be self-sufficiently strong) and the adult Wong Fei-hung portrayal will be better understood: why he's so good at his knowledge and practice of Chinese medicine, why he acted so restrained and coy with Aunt Yee, whom he very much loves but won't express so - all due to the austere teachings from his father as noted in "Iron Monkey." We also learn that he lost his mother at a tender young age - though from Jackie Chan's "The Legend of Drunken Master" (2000 USA, "Jui Kuen 2" 1994, literally: Drunken fist 2),we can see he has quite a wonderful stepmother - smart and wittily portrayed by Anita Mui! See it if you want another excitingly fun, martial arts action-packed drama about the adult Wong Fei-hung.

I'm not usually a fan of '90s-era Hong Kong action cinema, which is inevitably over-reliant on wirework and over the top style, but I can make an exception for IRON MONKEY, which is in itself an exceptional film. It's a retelling of the Wong Fei Hung story with a twist: this time around, Fei Hung is a child who plays a supporting role to the central thrust of the storyline which is about a Robin Hood-style freedom fighter battling corrupt politicians.

The great thing about IRON MONKEY is the action, of which there is plenty. It's ably directed by Yuen Woo Ping and, put simply, it kicks ass – despite the plentiful wirework. Donnie Yen is a past master at this kind of material and delivers an action-oriented performance that never lets you down, while the real surprise is Rongguang Yu, a very familiar face in Hong Kong cinema who proves his worth in the kung fu stakes.

The narrative is fast-paced and fuelled with conflict and action and the whole film has a colourful, old-fashioned vibe that keeps it moving merrily along. There's humour in spades, some truly devious villains, a decent script and quality performances. But it always comes back to the action, and for once IRON MONKEY deserves the hype. It's a keeper.

The Iron Monkey steals from Governor Cheng and gives to the poor. He roams the night helping the defenseless. Bumbling police chief Fox is good-hearted and obsessed with catching him. Dr. Yang treats the poor for free helped by his assistant Miss Orchid. They're both skilled in the martial arts. Yang is secretly the Iron Monkey. Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) is a principled doctor passing through town with his son. The governor takes his son prisoner until he catches the bandit Iron Monkey. As news spread, Wong is rejected by everybody in town. Only Dr. Yang and Miss Orchid are willing to help him. The arrival of the corrupt Imperial Investigator and his evil minions put everyone in danger.

Iron Monkey is reminiscent of Robin Hood. The twist is Dr. Wong and his son. Donnie Yen is terrific. The boy is precocious, acrobatic and surprisingly played by a girl. It's got loads of fun, comedy and action. It is one of the best kung fu action comedy around.