Review: The Man With the Iron Fists
A far too low-key RZA stars as a freed slave and blacksmith in 19th
century China. No, I’m serious. He makes weapons for the two warring clans, and
is trying to save enough money to free his girlfriend Lady Silk (the gorgeous
Jamie Chung) from continuing to work in a brothel run by Madame Blossom (Lucy
Liu). Things get complicated when Silver Lion (Byron Mann) and Bronze Lion
(Cung Le) turn up to fuck shit up, looking for supposed hidden treasure and a
mercenary named Zen Yi (Rick Yune). Zen Yi is son of Gold Lion, the leader whom
Silver and Bronze Lion have overthrown. When the blacksmith refuses to tell
them where Zen Yi is, his hands are removed from the rest of his body. He is
nursed back to health by a mysterious, possibly psychotic, and frankly pervy
English brothel patron named Jack the Knife (Russell Crowe), and his hands are
replaced by huge iron fists. Now joined by Zen Yi, the trio are ready for
battle, but Silver and Bronze Lion also have the hulking assassin Brass Body
(Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista), who is very aptly named. Meanwhile, the very strange
Jack the Knife proves to be much more than meets the eye.
This 2012 homage to Asian martial arts classics of the 70s and early 80s
is directed and co-written by Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, and it’s a shame that he
also stars in it. This is a lot of fun and an impressive directorial debut, but
RZA is a terrible actor who can barely even enunciate. That latter point is
especially unfortunate, because he also made the dumbarse decision to narrate
the film too. I’m not much of a fan of hippity hop music, nor including it in a
more historical setting, but the rap music here strangely isn’t all that
inappropriate for what is essentially a Shaw Brothers update anyway.
The violent opening credits are good fun in a similar Shaw Brothers way
too. Yes, this is RZA’s version of “Kill Bill”, but with much less
spaghetti western vibes (aside from maybe Russell Crowe), and more “Monkey
Magic” with a touch of “Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain”. It’s
much more fantastical than Tarantino’s martial arts homages.
Russell Crowe, having a whale of a time, is absolutely hilarious and I
think he’s meant to be. This is certainly a better outing for him than “The
Quick and the Dead” at any rate. Lucy Liu is perfectly (type) cast in an
underdeveloped role, and former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista (Batista) is also
spot-on as a seemingly indestructible monster badass. In addition to having the
most unrealistic physique in wrestling history, here he shows lots of presence
and charisma. Rick Yune, whose character probably deserved more depth, would’ve
made for a better lead actor than RZA and has some seriously cool weapons. RZA,
sharing Tarantino’s affection for blaxploitation legend Pam Grier casts her in
a cameo role as a maid, but seemingly older and much larger, I took a while to
recognise her. Wow. Look out for Shaw Brothers mainstay (and co-star of both “Kill
Bill” films) Gordon Liu as a monk (or abbot) in the scene where RZA shaves
his head, ala Liu himself in “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin”.
Cute.
The ultra-violent finale is lots of fun, especially the bit where Lucy
Liu kicks a guy’s head off. The whole set-piece is by far the film’s highlight,
including a nice nod to “Enter the Dragon” and its hall of mirrors
finale. Fight choreographer Corey Yuen (“Lethal Weapon 4”, “The
Expendables” and director of “DOA: Dead or Alive”) definitely earns
his keep here.
If it weren’t for RZA’s ego and lack of talent and charisma, this
might’ve made it into my top 10 of 2012. Oh if only Michael Jai White, a solid
and charismatic actor and terrific fighter, had been cast. As is, it’s just
outside. If Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” films were better than many of the
films they referenced, then this film is as good as most of them, but probably
not better. Warts and all, though, it’s damn good fun, even if I can understand
why I might be the only one to like it. It’s no “Eight Diagram Pole Fighter”,
“One Armed Boxer vs. The Flying Guillotine” or even “Big Trouble in
Little China” if you want a somewhat post-modern cultural pastiche, but
it’ll do. ‘Presented’ by Quentin Tarantino, the film is scripted by RZA and “Hostel”
director Eli Roth (My guess is that the disembowelment was Roth’s input).
Rating: B-
To put it short, it's a fun movie that doesn’t stay in your mind for long but is worth a slight watch. Good review Ryan.
ReplyDeleteYeah, not every movie is going to stick with you long afterwards, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching!
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