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Posters for Badges of Fury, Fist of Legend, and Trailer for Saving General Yang
Scott Adkins Heads Toward Distant Shores
Trailer for the Princess and the Seven Kung Fu Masters
Police Story 2013 Begins Editing
Man with the Iron Fists Review
Background Info
Wu-Tang member (and martial arts fanatic) RZA finally got his chance to direct a film with Man with the Iron Fists. The movie was an homage to the traditional ways of martial arts films, having a huge number of big names backing it. Quentin Tarantino produced the film while Eli Roth helped write the screenplay. On top of this, film legends like Gordon Liu, Corey Yuen and Kuan Tai Chen also lent a hand. The cast consisted of Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, Cung Le, and Daniel Wu. Did this movie have enough love and attention to be regarded as a “classic?”
Man with the Iron Fists Trailer
Story/Characters
The Story to the Man with the Iron Fists attempts to harken back to simpler times, but it just falls apart in the process. While the basic outline can echo older martial arts films, the leaps in logic are so irrational, that it makes the whole experience confusing. Characters team up and help each other for no real reason, and there is no real explanation of why things are happening. Even the few story reveals that would have been tolerable are given away by the RZA, who also acts as a narrator for no real reason. It’s hard to understand why a story so simple can be so confusing, but the RZA manages to pull it off in the Man with the Iron Fists.
The main reason why the story is so confusing is because of the characters. Almost none of them (except for the Blacksmith) get any real depth to their characters. Of course, that could be a blessing in disguise as well. The characters may have a history together, but it’s simply shrugged off for the sake of action, but makes it hard to care about anything that happens in the movie, at all. While most of the time shallow characters are excusable in an action movie, it’s a different beast entirely when the characters actually interfere with the progression of the film.
Action/Choreography
Story and characters are meaningless if there is solid action, right? Sadly, this movie is still stuck in the era that is attempts to pay homage to. The fights aren’t creative or unique, just gory for the sake of being gory. Corey Yuen does a decent job with the choreography, but there just isn’t anything here that stands out. A lot of the weapons and poses are there just to look cool, and they don’t make any sense at all. Most of the ideas are reused concepts and lack originality. Even hardcore action fans will have a tough time sitting through this movie.
Own it, Watch it, Try it, or Skip it?
What is the point of this pose?
Some people will argue that the Man with the Iron Fists is a satire, while others say it’s just a bad movie. Here’s the thing; if you can’t tell whether the movie is serious or not, there is a problem. With terrible dialogue, a confusing plot, and bad action, there isn’t a single redeeming factor to this movie. Even if you turn your brain off, some jumps in the film are just too big and distorting, causing you to ask what is going on and why everything is happening. Some will find enjoyment out of this type of film, but most will look at it, shake their head, and realize that some things are left better in our minds as nostalgia.
Skip it
The RZA has been working on a project known as the Man with the Iron Fists. He wrote the script along with Eli Roth, who is serving as a producer of the film along with Quentin Tarentino. The RZA will be playing the lead role, but has a plethora of supporting members including Gordon Liu, Leung Kar-yen, Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Daniel Wu, Celina Jade, and Rick Yune (just to name a few.)
The choreography for the film will be done by Corey Yuen, while Marrese Crump and Ian Powers will be providing the doubling work in the film. It seems like the RZA has all the cards in his hand, but I can’t help but feel a little worried about the film. Of course, that’s probably more of a personal thing than anything else.
Those of you that have been around me know that I don’t like the RZA, but I’m also aware that there are fans of his work. I can’t say that I’m excited for the project, but I’m eager to see if I’m proven wrong. I have no problem with admitting being wrong if the trailer blows me away, and I haven’t seen any images or footage from the film. While having a strong cast and choreographer is a great start, it all depends on the vision of the team and where they go.
I’ll keep you guys posted on any new info I find.
Source: Impact Online
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John Woo was given the Lifetime Achievement award at the Venice Film festival. Several stars were there to honor Woo, and both Quentin Tarantino and Tsui Hark spoke about the iconic director. Tarentino spoke of how he could talk ‘all night’ about Woo (more…)
