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Probe Movie Review
by Preston Fillagre
Iron Monkey
Save me, Iron Monkey: some bad, bad men have decided to ignore every
nuance of Sino-Cinema perfected by Kurosawa and do a version of Zorro in
a Kimono. The Zen minimalism of Mishima is not evidenced in the noirish
visuals making the rounds for this karate chop-suey, but Mishimash is.
I'm sure no plot was harmed in the making of such a special effects
showcase, since none was written in the first place.
The mise-en-scene is most likely quite atrocious, with no thought whatsoever
given to any important cinematic issues. For example, who is meant to
be gazing upon the visage of the Iron Monkey? As Mulvey's Visual Pleasure
and Narrative Cinema has taught us (not to mention Foucault!),
women viewers are often marginalized, with little regard to their
desires and wants. Well, this film probably not only marginalizes
women, it surely relegates them to footnote status. Berger and Doane
would be appalled, and rightfully so.
Look out, Iron Monkey, behind you! It's the ghost of Bruce Lee and some Ninja
Turtles, come to punish you for making this fantasmagoria into another hellish
cartoon for "live" actors, replete with sober moralizing so that the 10
year old target audience does not develop antisocial tendencies. You'll
never take me alive... to see it.
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