A Hong Kong variation on Robin Hood. The corrupt officials of a Chinese village are continually robbed by a masked bandit know as “Iron Monkey” named after a benevolent deity. When all else fails, the Govenor forces a traveling physician (Donnie Yen) into finding the bandit. The arrival of an evil Shaolin monk, brings the Physician and Iron Monkey together to battle the corrupt government. After watching films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Shaolin Soccer and immensely falling for them, I had some hesitancy with this film. With Tarantino’s name attached to the previews,

I had this growing concern that Hollywood had gripped this film a bit too hard, thus squeezing out any remaining value or originality. I had heard of the stories of Harvey “Scissorhands” and his ability to really do a number on these Asian films that find their way into our cinemas I have heard that if you ever really want to fully enjoy one of these films, do not touch those with the name Miramax stamped anywhere. With this in mind, I believe you can see where the hesitancy was coming from, but I need to be honest,

Twelve-year-old Dre Parker could have been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.