Jue dou Lao Hu Zhuang

ej's capsule review for kung-fu films of the chop-socky old-school - 1. basic plot type - historical; weapons used; political intrigue; determined policeman with mystery to solve; budding romance; revenge 2. plot construction - viewer will solve mystery long before the inspector, but otherwise the plot is pretty strong 3. dramatic - in parts 4. funny - in parts 5. dialog - not bad 6. cast performance - chen kuan tai and chia ling in top form 7. crew performance - decent 8. amount of fighting - lots 9. quality of fighting - good 10. special any cast or crew notes - despite u.s. video title, not related to any other 'iron monkey' film; a 'moon-lighting' film for chen kuan tai, as he was still under contract with shaw bros. at the time, and this doesn't look shaw bros. to me 11. big positive - most films of this era in 'fu films ended with the last blow of the last fight; this one actually an amusing post-script added on 12. big negative - chen kuan tai's character is too smart to have missed the solution of the crime for as long as he does bottom-line - who should see this movie - entertaining martial-arts film for any interested in the genre

Very good action movie, good for a laugh. When you first start watching It you think "come on!" but after a while you start to enjoy it a little more. A good rental or a party movie. Some of the combat is very well done. I give it a 10.

This film is a pseudo sequel to the original Iron Monkey (1977) which is in its own right a kung fu classic. This film isn't nearly as captivating or cohesive as the original & it's filled with more plot holes & cliches than you could possibly imagine. If you're a fan of old school kung fu flicks & you're willing to turn your brain off for an hour and 40 minutes then this should be somewhat enjoyable for you. On a positive note, there are countless fight scenes, interesting sets, props & cliche characters galore. Although this film doesn't live up to the original or to its own potential, it can still be somewhat enjoyable for fans of the genre.

Many times the sequel film to the original is a weak "wannabe" of the first and this film keeps that theory correct. Cool Head is a detective that is committed to his job. The first 30 minutes involves a killing that Head tries to solve. The apparent killer is captured by Head but then the detective has doubts. Then starts the confusion in this film. There are 3 women that start to follow Head around the country. Killers also track Head and try to kill him. The women help Head. Fight scenes show nothing extraordinary. The final fight is somewhat interesting but the ending is confusing as to what happens to the detective. If you have nothing else and you feel like watching a confusing martial arts film then watch this.

First off let me say that the original "Iron Monkey" (aka Iron Ape) was released in 1955. Also The Sequel (Iron Ape part 2) and The Concluding Episode (Iron Ape part 3)(Finale) were made in 1955.

"The Iron Monkey" was released in 1977. This movie is called "Duel at the Tiger Village"... I don't know why it's promoted as aka "Iron Monkey Strikes Back" or "Iron Monkey II". I guess it's to lure in sales (most people should realize this by now). It has nothing to do with Iron Monkey and never did.

For those of you that bought Iron Monkey II, oh well sorry for you. And for those that compare it to Iron Monkey (1993) are comparing apples to oranges. You might as well watch "Iron Monkey 2" (1996) and compare it to this one. These are 20 years apart....

For those of you who like the '70's fu flicks and enjoyed watching Black Belt Theatre, then you'll like this movie. It has a good story and plot, good action, so find a good print that isn't chopped and butchered and enjoy.

For those who aren't intelligent enough or too young to understand or enjoy 70's kung fu flicks, then move on and stick with your 90's movies.

I give this a 6.5