Left for dead by his brother after a terrible betrayal, martial arts Master Wen Biao (Zhang Zhen-Huan) lives in seclusion with the young ferry-woman who rescued him, Mandy. When two small-town boys arrive to discover the secret of the martial art Monkey Fist, everyones world is about to change, and an epic power struggle is about to be resolved. Drunken Monkey is brilliant chopsocky fun from the legendary Shaw Brothers. At turns comic and dramatic, but always damn cool, this film represents everything that right about low-budget Asian cinema. It an instant classic, and in the wake of Kill Bill, a good introduction to the industry for anyone who not experimented before. Initially relegated to comic relief, its halfway into the film before the bizarrely linked small-town boys play with any sort of significance to the story. Wu Jing is fantastic as the great uncle who takes the call of Monkey Fist to avenge his new master, Wen Biao, and the mix between comedy and drama is realised expertly. Perhaps the most recognizable cast-member to western audiences, Kill Bills Gordon Liu puts in an appearance as a police constable helped by Wen Biao before his betrayal, and his performance in later scenes, as he rediscovers the man who helped him, is one of the finest among the cast. Its silly, its unbelievable and its over-the-top, but none of that matters. Drunken Monkey is deliciously entertaining well worth a look. If youve not explored Asian cinema until Kill Bill, its not too late, and Drunken Monkey is a great place to start.
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