Movie Review: The Man with the Iron Fists

When a movie is presented by Quentin Tarantino, you naturally expect it to be a movie worth watching. When the movie in question is related to martial arts, featuring some of the Tarantino regulars and Russell Crowe, you wait in anticipation. But is the movie worth the wait? No, for many reasons. Bad acting, bad direction and confusing editing spoils all the fun associated with watching a martial arts action movie. As a viewer, I am ready to let go of my last drop of disbelief in my system. But if you can't weave a trace of a story on top of action pieces and bad acting, there is nothing to save such a movie.

The movie is told as by the Blacksmith(RZA) and set in the Jungle Village. Not only the village has a preposterous name but also is an abode for lawless men who names end with Lion namely, Gold Lion, Silver Lion, Bronze Lion etc. When Silver Lion(Byron Mann) kills Gold Lion to usurp power and also capture the Governor's gold, all hell breaks loose in the Jungle Village. Zen Ziyi(Rick Yune), the X Blade, wants to avenge the death of his father, Gold Lion. Brass Body(David Bautista) is hired to defend Silver Lion from Zen Ziyi. At the same time, a stranger named Jack Knife(Russell Crowe) arrives in the town and hires a room at the local brothel run by Madam Blossom(Lucy Liu). Now, the stage is set for mystery and eventually the revenge.

When you watch this movie directed by RZA, you also conclude that RZA was inspired by the same kind of movies which inspired Tarantino to make the Kill Bill Volumes. But RZA's script lacks the beauty of  Tarantino's script. Tarantino's script works in multiple ways; the simplest way to see it as a movie and the most complex way is to see it as a movie which has references and homages to other movies in this genre. RZA decides to tell a story of warring clans and ends up confusing the viewer with a multitude of characters. The success of the movie is in just one thing. RZA was able to get all the famous names to sign on this venture. But the end product is so shoddy that you wonder why these famous names are doing in this venture! The biggest letdown is Russell Crowe. Even though he has a lot of funny names, this is the most inconsequential role he has done to this day.

Stay away from this.

Language: English

Genre: Action

Rating: *

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Comments

  1. "The Man With the Iron Fists" is the type of movie that feels like you are always coming in half-way through, even if you watch it from the beginning. As an exercise in genre, this is the highest compliment.

    -- topspot-official.blogspot.com --

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    Replies
    1. The idea behind this movie is to pay homage. Being a movie buff, I love this kind of genre and love the concept of paying homage. Unfortunately, the intended compliment doesn't carry weight because of the bad editing and direction. :(

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