Courtesy of www.filmofilia.com
Directed by: RZA
Starring: Dave Baustista, RZA, Lucy Liu and Russel Crowe
What It’s About: Artisans of kung fu converge on a village to for a cache of gold.
Rated R (for bloody violence, strong sexuality, language and brief drug use)
Runtime: 95 minutes
By Desmond Ho, Staff Writer
High profile, non-foreign kung fu movies aren’t too common these days. But leave it to RZA of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan to direct, write, compose for and star in “The Man with the Iron Fists,” a straight-up old-school kung fu flick with some modern flair.
The plot centers on The Blacksmith (played by RZA), also known as the titular Man with the Iron Fists, who wants nothing more than to get out of a small town with his prostitute girlfriend Lady Silk (Jamie Chung). Along with a man named Jack Knife (Russell Crowe) and the owner of the brothel (Lucy Liu), he gets caught up in a plot that will destroy the town. This starts when Zen-Yi’s (or, “The X-Blade,” played by Rick Yune) father Gold Lion (Chen Kuan-tai) is betrayed and killed by Silver Lion and Bronze Lion (Byron Mann and Cung Le, respectively), who then take over as leaders of the Lion clan. Naturally, Zen-Yi seeks revenge. The Lions enlist Brass Body (former WWE superstar David Bautista) to kill Zen-Yi.
The story really isn’t much to write home about. The characters are mostly one-dimensional and the film’s attempts at getting an emotional reaction from events often fall flat. There are many corny jokes in the film that seem intentional, to give it the feel of an old martial arts movie.
Odds are though, you aren’t watching this for the story, because that’s not the main focus of martial arts movies. The main focus is the cool kung fu action, and you get lots of it in this film. Rather than focusing on traditional martial arts fights, the action focuses on unique weaponry and cinematic effects. This works because it often achieves the desired coolness factor. However, much of the action relied on CGI, which I know is off-putting to some. The movie also makes use of quick cuts to cover up action, but it’s not that intrusive. This movie has style, which can make up for the plot’s shortcomings.
RZA is clearly a fan of old-school martial arts movies, and it shows in the film. There are scenes that are a direct homage to classic foreign kung fu flicks, and it has many old-school kung fu actors in supporting roles. His soundtrack is unsurprisingly great as well, as the hip-hop beats fit perfectly with the visceral action.
RZA made a perfectly entertaining martial arts movie that will please fans of classic martial arts films. If you’re looking for a great story-driven experience, you should look elsewhere, but anyone who appreciates the genre will get a kick out of it.
7/10