Movie Review: The Man with the Iron Fists

Leave it to a kung-fu obsessed rapper to make the first quality film the genre has produced in years. Unlike the other recent American attempt to pay tribute to the Asian martial arts genre of yesteryear (I'm looking at you Ninja Assassin,) The Man with the Iron Fists is the perfect martial arts film with almost unfathomable amounts of gore and cheese that is a more than worthy tribute to the world of Asian kung-fu films. The Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, who directs, writes, and stars here, understands the spirit of old-school martial arts films and applies that fully to The Man with the Iron Fists along with an undeniably cool style. While not nearly as polished or clever as his pal and filmmaking mentor Quentin Tarantino, RZA applies the same manic enthusiasm and love for his material that Tarantino demonstrates. The script from RZA and Hostel director Eli Roth is appropriately bonkers with a ridiculous plot and an overlying theme of revenge. In other words, characters betray other characters in a Chinese town know as Jungle Village and the blood starts spilling amongst rival clans and that's really all that matters about this film. The action sequences are the essence of kung-fu movies and The Man with the Iron Fists delivers big time in that area. The fight scenes are heavy on slo-mo to showcase the copious amounts of gore and are consistently very entertaining and well-choreographed. On top of quality action and a passionate directing effort from RZA, The cast is completely game for the zaniness this film has to offer. I still can't believe Russell Crowe agreed to do this film and even though he looks confused throughout, he gives an excellent over-the-top performance as an opium-smoking, knife-wielding British solider known as Jack Knife, who is one of the many colorful assassins who takes up residence in Jungle Village amidst this deadly war between clans. The Man with the Iron Fists is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a bloody fun ride if you don't mind unapologetic, full-blown cheesiness.

3.5/5 Stars