Review - The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Today, I'm taking a look at The Man with the Iron Fists , a 2012 martial arts film directed and co-written by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, and starring RZA, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Lucy Liu, Cung Le, Daniel Wu, Dave Bautista, Gordon Liu, and Russell Crowe. 

       So, the movie is set in Jungle Village, a village in China that is home to several feuding clans. Jungle Village is also home to a blacksmith named Thaddeus, who was emancipated from slavery in America, but was forced to flee after the accidental death of a white man. Upon washing up in China, Thaddeus was taken in by a group of monks, who took him to their monastery and trained him to use his body's energies to perform superhuman feats. Thaddeus, whose services are used for all the clans in Jungle Village, is attempting to gather enough money so his lover, Lady Silk, can buy her way out of her life of prostitution at the Pink Blossom, a brothel run by Madam Blossom. 

       One day, the Lion Clan is summoned by the region's governor, who asks the clan's leader, Gold Lion, to protect a shipment of gold that will be traveling through Jungle Village. However, Gold Lion is betrayed by his acolytes, Silver Lion and Bronze Lion, and finds himself killed during a brawl between the Lion Clan and the Hyena Clan. Cause of death? Mercury poisoning by an assassin named Poison Dagger. This causes Zen-Yi, son of Gold Lion and a warrior known as the X-Blade, to journey back to Jungle Village to avenge his father. 

       Meanwhile, a man named Jack Knife arrives in Jungle Village, and sets himself up with a room at the Pink Blossom, and makes a bit of a scene when he takes his signature blade and cuts up a man named Crazy Hippo. Poison Dagger informs Silver Lion of how the gold shipment is being escorted by the Gemini Killers, and the Emperor has dispatched a secret emissary who is already in Jungle Village. 

      Zen-Yi, meanwhile, is ambushed by members of the Rodent Clan dispatched to kill him by Silver Lion, but he easily dispatched them. As his trek back to Jungle Village resumes, he is approached by two members of the Lion Clan, who warn him of Silver Lion's treachery and escort him back to Jungle Village. To take down Zen-Yi, Silver hires a mercenary named Brass Body, whose skin can turn to brass to protect him from harm. After Brass Body's fight with Zen-Yi, Zen-Yi is rescued by Thaddeus as penance for making the weapons used when Gold Lion was killed. 

        It's not long before the Gemini Killers arrive with the gold shipment, and the Lion Clan ambushes them, and Poison Dagger kills them with his signature method of mercury poisoning. Thaddeus, while attempting to make a new suit of knives for Zen-Yi, is accosted by Silver Lion, and both his forearms are cut off by Brass Body. After the villains leave, Jack Knife collects Thaddeus and takes him somewhere safe, cauterizing his wounds and nursing him back to health. With Jack's help, Thaddeus is able to craft new forearms for himself made of iron, which Thaddeus is able to animate using his energy. Zen-Yi recovers and joins Thaddeus and Jack in their plans against Silver Lion, Poison Dagger, and Brass Body. 

        Word soon reaches the Governor about the deaths of the Gemini Killers, and the disappearance of the gold. In retribution, the Governor dispatches the Jackal Troops, armed with a Gatling gun, to either recover the gold or burn all of Jungle Village down. The Lion Clan is given a place to lay low in the Pink Blossom, with the gold being stashed in a secret underground catacomb beneath the brothel. But, Madam Blossom makes a plan with the girls of the Pink Blossom to kill the Lions and keep the gold for themselves. This almost works... except that Lady Silk is unable to kill Brass Body, who warns the Lions who weren't poisoned of the treachery and kills Lady Silk. 

         A massive set fights break out, with the Blossoms fighting the Lions, Madam Blossom fighting Bronze Lion, Zen-Yi fighting Silver Lion, Jack Knife fighting Poison Dagger, and Thaddeus fighting Brass Body. And, while Madam Blossom dies alongside Bronze Lion, Zen-Yi is able to defeat Silver Lion, as is Jack Knife able to do in his fight with Poison Dagger. Summoning all his training from the monastery, Thaddeus manages to defeat Brass Body. Jack, who turned out to be the Emperor's secret emissary, grabs a piece of gold and heads outside to call off the Jackal Troops before they open fire with their Gatling gun. 

        The next morning, the Jackal Troops escort the gold shipment to its destination, with Jack joining them on the journey. Zen-Yi reflects that, while he lost a father, he's gained a brother in Thaddeus, who vows to keep the peace in Jungle Village. 

         So, The Man with the Iron Fists is pretty entertaining as a martial arts film. And, that's the key thing to remember: it's a martial arts film, so acting and story both come SECOND. In this case, however, we got a fairly okay story, but some damn fine acting. Many agree that Byron Mann as Silver Lion and Russell Crowe as Jack Knife had easily the two best performances in the movie. But, I feel like that also short changes some of the other acting in this movie. I genuinely enjoyed RZA as Thaddeus, along with Jamie Chung as Lady Silk and Rick Yune as Zen-Yi. Lucy Liu was pretty good as Madam Blossom, and Dave Bautista was pretty menacing as Brass Body. And, I also enjoyed the duo of Andrew Lin and Grace Huang as the Gemini Killers. 

        The sets and locations in the movie were absolutely incredible. Now, while the producers felt that it would have been easier filming in America, RZA wanted authenticity for the locations and insisted on filming on location in China. Which, in my mind, was probably the smartest move, as there's just no way to replicate such gorgeous locations on a soundstage somewhere in either Los Angeles or Austin. 

        But, in a martial arts film, the martial arts are the core essential piece of the film. And in The Man with the Iron Fists, the martial arts are very well choreographed and very well handled. While there's certainly been far better martial arts put to film, there's also been far worse, to be sure. The martial arts in this movie are somewhere in the middle, at least in my opinion. 

        I think that, overall, The Man with the Iron Fists is one of those that can be appreciated by martial arts fans. It's not the greatest movie in the world, but as a fun film made by a fan of the martial arts genre, and produced by legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, it's not a bad one to watch on an afternoon. So, maybe check it out if you haven't yet. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys in the next review.