18. Wong Kei-Ying & The Iron Monkey Vs. Hin-Hung - Iron Monkey (1993)
Fight choreographer/director Woo-ping Yuen gained fame with American audiences thanks to the release of The Matrix in 1999, but he had been making kick-ass marital arts films long before that including the 1993 film, Iron Monkey. A Hong Kong variation on Robin Hood. The corrupt officials of a Chinese village are continually robbed by a masked bandit known simply as the "Iron Monkey" - named after a benevolent deity. When all else fails, the Governor forces a traveling physician named Wong Kei-ying (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. The finale of the film sees the two teaming up to face off against Shaolin warrior-turned-corrupt Governor, Hin-Hung (Yen Shi-Kwan). The fight takes full advantage of the fantastical martial arts skills of the three characters as they battle atop a series of bamboo poles while fire rages around them. The poles alternate between serving as precarious stepping stones and blunt weapons. The scene remains, to this day, one of the greatest wire-fu fight sequences ever put to film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4865Vc0ptnk
Jesse Gumbarge is editor and chief blogger at JarvisCity.com - He loves old-school horror films and starting pointless debates. You can reach out at: JesseGumbarge@JarvisCity.com
