THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS (2012)

THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS (2012)

Tagline: Seven clans, a fortune in gold. Let the battle begin.

(Action, Metal Working, Martial Arts) [R]

Gentlemen, warriors, we'll see who's left standing and who's on their knees...

In the distant past, Gold Lion the Leader of the "Lions" clan is asked to guard the Governor’s gold, but he is betrayed and ends up getting killed by his own clan members, Silver and Bronze Lion. Seeking revenge X-Blade, the favorite son of Gold Lion has his mission found out quickly and ends up being hunted by Brass Body. Minding his own business Blacksmith ends up saving the life of X-Blade and ends up joining with a British man named Jack Knife to take down both Silver and Bronze Lions. Meanwhile, the Governor has also sent the Gemini and Jackal army to protect the gold in place of the Lion Clan. The gold just happens to be hidden at the brothel of Madam Blossom who has her own clan of black widows. So there is about to be a lot of fighting going on here. 

I saw this originally a little closer to the time that it came out and was not a fan of the soundtrack. After re-watching and now owning the movie it’s grown on me a little, but I am still not a huge fan. I know, I know, RZA did parts of the music and he’s the director, but yeah – in this setting, I just didn’t love the soundtrack. This movie comes across as very Quintin Tarantino-ish but at least the soundtrack to this movie is a bit better than the soundtracks in a lot of his flicks. 

Anyway – the look and feel of this movie are pretty incredible. It is very difficult to overlook the cast. One thing you can say about RZA is that they got a great crew together to work on this flick. Apparently, the main reason Russell Crowe (ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE) got involved in this is that RZA (REPO MEN) offered to teach a rugby team he partly owns how to rap (or at least give them lessons). I wasn’t blown away by Crowe in this, but he fits the role of Jack Knife perfectly. Acting-wise this was a pretty early role (non-WWE style acting) for Dave Bautista (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) and he does a solid job as Brass Body. He’s literally a dude who has skin that turns to brass whenever he wants. I loved that concept in this thing. Lucy Liu (SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS) plays Madam Blossom and just kills it. In fact, when I think about Lucy’s most iconic roles and lines in movies, this movie always comes up for me. As an example, the leading quote from the movie is from her character. We also get Jamie Chung (SUCKER PUNCH) as Lady Silk and she’s pretty decent, but the performance is a drop from her effort in SUCKER PUNCH. In the film, she is the Blacksmith’s love interest. It kind of speaks to his moral character because he’s basically dating a prostitute. Perhaps back then in feudal China, regular ladies didn’t exist? RZA is the Blacksmith and he does an amazing job here. Finally, of the main cast, we get Rick Yune (ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL) who takes on the role of Zen Yi or X-Blade. He does an awesome job here and is definitely my favorite character. Donnie Yen (JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4) was turned down for the role of Poison Dagger. 

The pacing in this movie is pretty good in the first and last acts, but the middle is pretty slow. Yes, it does build some of the backstories, but it feels a bit drawn out. I am just glad we didn’t get the 4-hour movie in two parts as was originally planned. I thought that was fine with the KILL BILL movies, but this one didn’t come across as a movie that needed all that. 

What really works in this movie is the overall look of the film. It feels big budget and the sets are all pretty fantastic. I could have done without the soundtrack as I stated, but I think I understand what RZA was going for here.  I don’t have any real complaints outside of one scene with Brass Body that I thought was pretty unnecessary, but the scene did serve a purpose. 

Overall this thing gets a 5 out of 7. I will probably watch it at least once a year or so moving forward.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF ARCADE PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.