Iron Lion (2003)

Although mainstream martial arts movies have become somewhat of a rarity in China, the genre continues to live through B-grade direct-to-video and television venues. IRON LION is one of many and sadly its representative of the poor quality of such offerings.

This digitally-shot film is what I’d call a wire-fu movie. It combines elements of a classic kung fu movie with swordplay-style wirework action to produce a hybrid akin to the kinds of kinetic action films Jet Li was starring in during the early 1990s like FONG SAI YUK and ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA.

But more accurately, IRON LION should be called a wire-fu soap opera. Like many of China’s martial arts television series, this movie mixes its action up with heavy doses of twisty plots and emotional wrangling that in this case holds zero interest.

Set in Ming-era China, the story revolves around the rivalry between two martial arts schools that regularly compete in lion dances. Xi Xiaolong plays the star pupil of one of the schools. Through the scheming of a baddie who covets his blind gal pal, he has lost his brother, is wrongly accused of stealing money and is set up to look bad in the eyes of the public whether he wins or loses the next lion dance competition.

Joined by his martial arts brother Xie Miao (the kid in MY FATHER IS A HERO), Xi begins training for the next match with a lion head made of iron after discovering that his competitor is also using an iron lion. Meanwhile, the martial arts-trained daughter of the local governor forces the pair to teach her some of their iron lion dance tricks.

Eventually, the baddie reveals his schemes and the governor’s daughter battles it out with him while Xi and his brother compete in the lion dance competition.

The plot isn’t far off from some of Shaw Brothers’ classic kung fu titles that center on rivalries between schools. But this movie is a far cry from those films. In short, there is simply too much gabbing and not enough fighting.

What combat there is in the film is only adequately choreographed and edited by Wilson Tam. Little effort is made to hide wires as fighters zoom through the air. The camera wildly tilts left and right as combatants trade “power powder” blows with hands and feet. It feels like 1993 all over again, but this time the budget is smaller and the folks involved show less creativity and talent than past wire-fu movie makers.

The only fight I found myself enjoying was a pointless, but visually well-constructed sparring session between Xie Miao with staff in hand and relative newcomer Karen Cheung wielding twin swords. The two both show skill that in the right hands could be harnessed to a greater degree.

A true indication that the folks behind this project were running out of ideas is the inclusion of a new Bruce Lee clone. Dragon Shek, who does look a little like the late screen icon tosses in a handful of truly awful Lee-isms between his other mediocre martial arts moves. Having starred in a few recent “Brucexploitation” B-movies such as BIG BOSS UNTOUCHABLE and DRAGON IN FURY, Shek is only the latest in a long line of screen fighting impersonators who have appeared since Lee’s death in 1973.

It’s a shame that IRON LION isn’t even entertaining as a bad movie to laugh at. It’s just a bore. No visible effort is made to raise this feature, with its cheesy synth score and modest outdoor locations, beyond its many limitations. The movie is just there to fill up 90 minutes of the viewer’s life with limited amounts of mostly bland wire-fu action, bad acting and a dreadful story with a lot of empty dialogue to fast forward through.