Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Man with the Iron Fists - Great Action, Sub-Par Story



      I wasn’t sure how I felt after I finished watching “The Man with the Iron Fists” but disappointed was certainly a word that crossed my mind.  Visually the film is beautiful with incredible costumes and environments.  Performances by Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu are top notch and help to move the story line forward during times of poor writing and a lack of plot direction.  I think overall I just expected more out of this movie.  With Eli Roth as a co-writer I definitely expected WAY more out of the script.  Having loved the Hostel movies and many other examples of Roth’s work, the lack of a compelling story was difficult to overlook.  However, the martial arts are great and the film accomplishes its goal of acting as an homage to classic kung fu movies (to an extent).  The film has many similarities to the Mortal Kombat movies and franchise, focusing on elaborate fantasy characters fighting it out to the death for honor, glory, and  love.  If martial arts are your thing and you happen to be a huge Russell Crowe fan then this could be your new favorite movie.  But if you’re a classic kung fu movie aficionado then you will probably end up on the disappointed end of the spectrum because trust me when I say, it’s no Enter the Dragon.    

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