The Man With The Iron Fists Review

A fistful of violence-Lucy Liu and Russell Crowe go head to head as Madam Blossom and Jack Knife in The Man With The Iron Fists
                                      I have always had the belief that an action film does not need to be smart or well made as long as it is entertaining. That is not to say that these things can't help-it is just to say that I never watch something such as Kill Bill thinking it is going to be a classic. The Man With The Iron Fists is both incredibly entertainingly and yet somehow a bit unsatisfying. I was having a blast watching the film but I also thought "is this ALL that this talented cast and crew come up with?" It is incredibly esoteric in both its extreme comic violence (which includes but is not limited to an eyeball falling out of a man's head and arms being cut off) and its old-school throwback plot.

                                       The film has no real plot except to say that a tourist named Jack Knife (Russell Crowe-in one of his best performances) comes to a Chinese village. This village is where gold is being shipped, a blacksmith (RZA) is in danger and many violent acts are being committed. Even as I was watching the film...I did not know who to root for or why these people are doing what they were doing. In fact....I couldn't even answer these questions after the film.

                                       While the film is self aware of how ridiculous it is most of the time...it goes into serious territory a few too many times. I never thought that I would say this about a film but this film did not need to TRY to have a plot. Sure...it never reaches plot level because it is so wacky but when it tries to get into that territory...it just falls flat. The acting is top notch, however. Crowe and RZA both give awesome a new name in their roles while David Bautista and Lucy Liu both make good villains although the audience can't really tell they are villains.

                                           If you like this type of film then go for it. If not then you may be completely bored out of your mind. It may not completely work but The Man With The Iron Fists does provide a good bit of fun. It does drag and lose its footing quite a bit but that's forgivable for a movie like this because as I said-just give me entertaining.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for bloody violence, strong sexuality, language and brief drug use)