Originally released in 1993 (in Asia and on video here), this chop-socky twill of fact, folklore, and fantasy is one high-kicking gem. In 19th-century China, the peasants of a southern province are exploited by a corrupt governor and his sadistic (and horny) order of monks. Their only hope is the masked ninja of the film's title (Yu Rong Guang), a docile doctor by day and a kung fu Robin Hood by night. Things get dicy when Wong Kei-Ying (Newton-raised Donnie Yen), one of China's most revered martial-arts masters, arrives on the scene. At first he's forced to square off against the Iron Monkey. But when a renegade Shaolin master (Yan Yee-Kwan), who's able to poison a foe with the deadly Buddha Palm and smash a wall with his Flying Sleeve, and his sidekick, the chaste but ugly Virgin Assassin (Fai Li), descend on the village, Wong has second thoughts.

The simple and efficient plot structure lets director Yuen Wo Ping (the fantastic fight choreographer for The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) flex his stylistic muscles. From the opening scene to the climactic finish, where the combatants duke it out atop a forest of fiery pillars, Yuen ratchets up the thrill factor with jaw-dropping aplomb. At the Entertainment (Swansea only) and Showcase (Warwick, Seekonk 1-10, and North Attleboro).