Review of The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) by David W — 30 Sep 2015

An overly ambitious mess but overall fun to watch. Incredible effort was put into the set design and really great ideas in terms of choreography, visuals and characters. This was indeed a labour of love and although I appreciated the thought there were elements that really annoyed me. The hip hop flavour did absolutely nothing for the film. It detracted from it.

I don't mind wire-fu but if the laws of physics are to be defied at least complete the illusion. Weak point of impact, unbalanced cause and effect and unnatural body positioning made scenes, especially the opening, seem much less exciting. If one is to enjoy a Kung Fu movie at least get the fight scenes right. There were saving graces though such as the battle in the brothel.

I also think RZA should work harder on perfecting his skills as a film maker, put his ego aside and take himself out of acting. He's TERRIBLE! His dumb, emotionless looking mug was the tipping point for me. To put himself in the lead and have absolutely zero charisma is the worst decision he could have made. Even as a humble, downtrodden blacksmith you've got to have a little spark.

On the other hand, I'm glad Bautista is getting some good parts. He's very likeable, delivers his lines naturally and has potential to be a real actor.

This could have been an awesome flick! To use the excuse that it's his first attempt is crap. There was so much good, someone had to know what they were doing. It was simply a few bad choices, ego and laziness that failed this movie. So disappointing.