That said, I do understand the fanaticism that can grab us when we expect more than a film ultimately gives us. Some of the reviews I read for "Drunken Monkey" are two teeth away from vicious, while some reviewers are making space for it in the kung fu hall of fame. I can't say with any surety that either reaction is right.

Now, Lau Kar Lueng makes a comeback to film with this feature as both the director and main protagonist. The movie is a bit formulaic, but in the kung fu genre that's something I've accepted. To paraphrase another reviewer, "it's the same thing we've all seen before, just not as good." That sums up my biggest complaint. Jason Wu Jing does an okay job and in some places is very reminiscent of a young Jackie Chan. The biggest problem with that is in the action, comedy and training scenes he is almost completely outclassed by his senior. Everything he does in the movie seems like something Jackie did 30 years ago.

The story was twisty/turny and ushered us mostly effectively to the fight scenes. This is where we see the gems in DM. The opening fight scene was good and topped only by the over the top climactic fight. The middle of the film fight between Gordon Liu and Lau kar Leung was far too short, but a treat to see these two masters in great form. I can even forgive the obvious stunt doubles in places.

The real downfall of the film is the comedy. The parents seemed like unnecessary incidental characters and the mother especially was too annoying for words.

BUT . . . I still mostly enjoy the film. Like "Forbidden Kingdom" (which also stars two poorly used icons of kung fu cinema), "Drunken Monkey" is something you show audiences new to kung fu to get them interested and THEN you blow their socks off with Shaw Brothers CLASSICS!

Despite all of this, it is done fairly well and there are moments you will appreciate; but altogether it is not really worth it for true Asian cinephiles--but it might be cool for your preteen nephew as a warm up before you show him those real old school classics that will blow him away.

Send him some good scripts! Pangolin

Lau asked for another chance to show that he can still direct (and perform) outstanding kung fu. He does not disappoint.

When I saw “Drunken Monkey”, it was without English subtitles, hampering my ability to understand the intricacies of the plot, but not my enjoyment of the film.

It has all the old school ingredients: great chivalrous heroes, bloody betrayals, the old master in hiding, enthusiastic young pugilists that want to learn the revered "monkey" style, and awesome training sequences. At the beginning, I thought Lau's kung fu looked a little slow, a little tired. But he was only downplaying his abilities so that after he "trained harder" we could see a great jump in his power and speed. In fact, he seems to have slowed less over the years than our beloved Jackie Chan. His whirlwind fight with Lau Kar-Fai ("Gordon" Liu Chia Hui the Master Killer) is fantastic!

The movie has some comedy but seems to be played pretty straight. There IS wire work, but it's kept to a minimum, and what's there (with a few exceptions) is spectacular. In terms of believability, the shots of the monkey stylists jumping through the trees puts the bamboo forest scene from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” to shame. The end features Lau and his three students (including a beautiful young woman) facing off against the main villains in an unforgettable showdown.

A must see for all kung fu fans. Of course, I ordered the DVD as soon as HKFlix put it up for sale and can't wait to see it again (I've watched it five times already) with subtitles!

The studio promised Lau that if the film did well, they'd let him direct “The Hung Fist”. Another kung fu film, this one centering on Master Lau's family art (directly passed down to his family from Wong Fei Hung's student Butcher Wing!) of Hung Kuen. SARS kept people from seeing “Drunken Monkey” in theatres, but hopefully will still be a big hit that paves the way for more of "Pops" film magic.