The Man With the Iron Fists(2012)- User Reviews

As one who did his master's thesis on Asian Cinema, and was alive during the first Kung fu movie boom in 1973, and as an action filmmaker, this film reminds me of my first forays in film making: Bad story, bad action, bad character development. Yes, I made all of the same mistakes this film makes, but I had an excuse: I was 14 years old and had just seen "Karado the Hong Kong Cat" as my 'education' in film making. These filmmakers have had 40 years to examine the genre, and do it right. Good God--it's 1973 all over AGAIN. Just because RZA is from the RAP GROUP, Wu tang Clan, does not make him a kung fu film expert. From the first frames, one is put off by the lame martial arts fight scenes, which are overshadowed by the unnecessary gore--(and this from me, a filmmaker who has put enough gore in his own films to make even the strongest stomachs flip.) In addition, RZA's severely noticeable New York accent is totally incongruous with the subject and tone of the film. For years, RZA and his buds have ranted and raved about their understanding of the martial arts genre, and unfortunately all the boasting and bluster amounts to one thing: all show and no substance. In fact, for those interested, Google "Kid With The Golden Arm" and you will quickly see where the "concept" for the film came from. Amazingly enough, "Golden Arm" is a classic film, because it has a simple, coherent story line, and incredible action, as it features the stars and producers of the legendary "Five Deadly Venoms". "Kid With The Golden Arm"...."Man With the iron Fists"...hmm...Some stretch there, hhuh? Damn RZA, could you have been just a bit more creative with the title? WOW. Sorry, the film is just not good film-making--and good film making starts with a script. SCRIPT? HELLO? ANYONE? McFly? Buehler? For all we know, they made this one up as they went along. Sorry, I ejected the DVD after Russell Crowe gutted the Rhino. Maybe Crowe should have gutted the script writer too. A POOR, Poor excuse for a martial arts flick.