A local Robin Hood, Iron Monkey, defends the people of his village against the corrupt acts of the governor. Everyone who might be the Iron Monkey, no matter how unlikely, is rounded up for interrogation. A visitor from the south, Wong Kei-Ying (Donnie Yen) volunteers to catch the Iron Monkey (Yu Rongguang) in order to secure the release of the captive villagers, but his son, Wong Fei-Hung, is taken hostage as security for his pledge. The Emperor's representative, a former colleague of Wong at the Shaolin temple, takes charge of the village and the manhunt, setting up a confrontation that amplifies Wong's conflict between his sympathies and the duty that he has undertaken.

The action is very good, but too much wirework is used in the early fights, although it is well used in the spectacular final fight. The performances are generally bland, with the exception of Yuen Shun-Yi as Fox, the official in charge of conducting the manhunt, slyly sympathetic to the oppressed villagers. Most of the actors are solid kung fu performers, although the cutting is occasionally too quick, presumably to cover the limited skills of a few actors. Young Angie Tsang Sze-Man, playing Wong Fei-Hung, deserves special mention for her impressive skills.

Iron Monkey is well directed by Yuen Wo-Ping, who takes a standard kung fu plot and elevates it through well choreographed fights and a memorable concluding fight between the good guys and the leader of the bad guys.