The Man With the Iron Fists

Questions for my readers: 

Do you like rap? (by the way these are all rhetorical so no need to answer out loud...unless you want to)

Do you like Kung-Fu?

Do you like gore and bloody violence?

If you said yes to all of these, then I would keep reading. You might like The Man With the Iron Fists. If you said no to two out of three of these questions, then chances are you wont enjoy this film. 

The Man With the Iron Fists is the directorial debut from Wu-Tang rapper, RZA (pronounced "Rizza"). And as far as directorial debuts go, it's actually quite impressive. But he also had a large dose of help from Kung-Fu expert, Quentin Taratino, as well as the consistently dark, Eli Roth. So RZA can't exactly take all the credit. But the question remains...is there all that much credit to be had? Is The Man With the Iron Fists any good? 

Meh...yes and no.

Oh...he mad!

"Yo mother f**ker I got some iron fists
Now come here and let me give you a kiss!"
I'll leave the rapping to RZA

So readers, do you want the good or the bad first? Or should I discuss how fat Russell Crowe has gotten? I mean seriously is that a fat suit? Ah but I digress...

I'll start with the negatives I suppose. The movie has really no idea what type of editing style it wants to have. It makes its "Kung-Fu" style very apparent from the get go, but it seems that each battle has a new editing technique. One of them uses some terrible slow-mo (lack of quality in cameras is the culprit), the next stays relatively normal with quick cuts from fight to fight, and the final fight scene uses a technique that splices several images together separated by black bars. They are all done in a mediocre manner and none of them stand out. Which is unfortunate with Tarantino on board because we all know he can make a stylish action scene. In addition to the odd editing, I also found that while the soundtrack was awesome, it was implemented at odd times. Would you rather have a rap song play during a fight scene or during a transition scene with story? I would like them in both, but other than the very first fight, there are none present during the remaining fights. Chock that one up as a missed opportunity, RZA. Lastly, there are some scenes that really aren't necessary. Every movie has them, but The Man With the Iron Fists has them and then leaves the audience wondering..."OK?"

Lucy Liu holding a fan with knives.
Oh this isn't a still from the movie, this is her everyday attire

A knife gun? Genius/awesome!

So what is good about Iron Fists? Well just about everything else. The big name actors that populate the movie help to give it some credibility and acting prowess. The story is simple enough that nothing is too confusing, but ultimately not really interesting enough that I actually take the time to explain it to you. But where The Man With the Iron Fists really shines? Its action scenes. They are super inventive, which I always love, and they are consistently awesome. A gun that twirls a knife? So sick. A suit of armor with hundreds of spikes that pop out around it? Even cooler! The movie screams originality not only in its inventiveness, but also its choreography. Want some girls flying around with iron scarves that have bladed edges? Wait, what? That doesn't make sense. Too bad! The Man With the Iron Fists doesn't care about a lot of things, including and specifically, physics. But that makes it all the more fun...and bloody.

Blood floats in mid-air? Silly Kung-Fu movie!

It's very clear from the get go that The Man With the Iron Fists has a VERY specific audience. I would say that I am somewhat a part of said audience but not entirely. There are people who will think it's terrible and there are people that who will think it's a classic. It's all just a matter of figuring out what part of that audience that you fit into. 

Pros:

• Great, inventive, exciting, and well choreographed fight scenes. When there is bloodshed...this movie shines
• The gore is welcomed and certainly not censored
• Having numerous stars in the movie helps to build its credibility and make the acting not terrible
• The story is simple, which it should be in a movie like this
• Unique characters as well

Cons:

• The soundtrack, while awesome, is poorly implemented within the movie. Sucks since it was supposed to be such a selling point of the movie
• The editing of fight scenes is poor and ever changing. I guess that there was really no use of shaky cam, thank God
• Several scenes are not only pointless, they leave you wondering why the hell they were included

WTF:

• Russell Crowe is fat now? I swear that had to be a fat suit...wasn't this the dude who was in Gladiator?

Rath's Review Score: 7/10