SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

sarastro7 Well. I have to say I am rather amazed that this movie has a 7-star rating at IMDb. I was looking forward to Iron-Fisted Monk, but it strongly disappointed me. The plot and the characters are staggeringly formulaic, and far, far too much time is spent on the bad guys raping and massacring people with impunity (of course, this doesn't mean that there aren't several idiotic comedy scenes in it, also, complete with the worst sound effects in cinema history). There is also far too long between good fight scenes. The last ten minutes are satisfying, but everything else is decidedly below average. A very poor and disappointing effort from Sammo Hung, who has done so many other cool movies. I thought Iron-Fisted Monk would be one of his landmark efforts, but it's more of a landmark failure. It's just not in good taste, and does not deserve a rating above 3 or 4.

Guardia Excellently crafted kung-fu film dealing with the conflict between the Manchus and the Shaolin monks. We see the barbaric actions of the Manchus from early on in the film, and the tension builds quite steadily until there is only one option left: fight to the death.Sammo is brilliant as usual and his directorial talent can be identified in this film clearly. His martial artistry is great and his strength improves as things get more desperate. His use of the spear in the final reel is awesome. Also, watch out for the snake-fist styles towards the end.That said, this is a pretty challenging film in that it portrays senseless and random abuse towards women and children - well pretty much the whole village really. But I guess it makes the revenge angle all that much sweeter... and righteous: (Buddha be praised).

abentenjo Breaking barriers and setting new standards in on-screen fight choreography, Sammo's directorial debut is a must for any chop socky aficionado, and although not his best work (a warm up to Warriors Two), it can easily stand proudly amongst them. It's hodgepodge of a story acts as a boiling pot of escalating annihilation, until exploding in a fury of that unique fast and colourful Sammo choreography that we just love so much. Centring on the real-life legend of 'Miller Six' (Sammo), Iron Fisted Monk is driven by a powerful anti-Manchu narrative that feels relentless in its onslaught (they rape, kill, maim and pillage, not to mention bully little kiddies). Miller Six's uncle is killed, he learns the martial arts at the local Shaolin temple, and then off he goes for vengeance. And it's really as simple as that. This is a great movie - well choreographed (by Sammo), well directed (by Sammo) and with some great performances (especially that scoundrel Fung Hark-on who's simply irresistible as a downright evil Manchu warlord).

Azzy This movie happens to be the first directorial effort by Sammo Hung. It certainly doesn't do to badly. It starts off decently, and the learning curve is very sharp. Each fight in the movie is more surely Choreographed and is faster than the ones that preceded it. There is a prevelance of armed combat and acrobatics (non-wire) which are all well done. Sammo is as young as you'll see him in any movie except ENTER THE DRAGON. There is however an annoyingly large amount of nudity in this movie. The plot has Sammo training as a civilian in a shaolin temple in order to avenge the death of a neighbor at the hands of some manchu thugs. He has improved to the point of teaching classes to other non-monks at the temple. He decides to head out after the manchus, after his skills have reached a certain level. he is assisted by the brother of another victim of the manchu's, and his instructor, who is the title character. Sammo and the monk are both extremely fast and athletic, doing some impressive back flips and leaps. give it a try if you run across it.