Transporting viewers back into 90’s cult obsession with overdramatic karate movies, The Man with the Iron Fists can be summarized perfectly with only one simple phrase: “What just happened?”
Directed, created, co- written, and starring Wu- Tang Clan rapper RZA, this kung- fu flick is a compilation of some intense action scenes, plot twists, and fake blood- lots and lots of fake blood. But of course, excessive violence is to be expected when a film is presented by Quentin Tarantino. Nonetheless, the flashy over- the- top battle sequences didn’t totally manage to compensate for the obscured plot.
In the violent place known as ‘Jungle Village,’ Blacksmith (RZA) is a humble weapons forger/ kung fu master/ avenger. He resides comfortably in this chaotic village until Gold Lion (Kuan Tai Chen), the leader of the powerful Lion clan, was executed by his dastardly second in command, Silver Lion (Byron Mann). The devious Silver Lion then proceeded to take what he wanted, do what he wanted, and kill who he wanted. Nevertheless, this coup d’etat introduced village wide turmoil, and angered some very powerful individuals. From this point on, alliances were formed between the Blacksmith and the colorful opium addict known as Jack Knife (Russell Crowe). Meanwhile, Lucy Liu’s character, Madam Blossom, is one of Jungle Village’s most successful entrepreneurs who has a plan of her own. Blossom proceeded to utilize her dormant army of ninja prostitutes to take care of business. Basically, theres a lot going on here, making it extremely easy for an audience member to get as lost as a freshman on their first day of school… at the wrong school… on the moon.
Back to the clustered storyline, this odd group engages in a final battle with the Lions impressive martial arts militia and oh, was this scene glorious. Complete with spiked suits of armor, a seemingly unlimited amount of throwing knifes, and enough fake blood to impact the drought in Africa, these cliche confrontations are what really keeps a viewer up at night- in a good way though.
However, the best part of The Man with the Iron Fist wasn’t the cinematography at all, but the music made specifically for the film. Throughout the movie, each audiotrack was outstanding and set the tone for each scene. The heavy bass and subtle melodies nearly outshined the movie it was supposed to merely accent. RZA’s soundtrack was neither overused or typical in this case.
Frankly, it would have made more sense to label this movie as a comedy, even if the hilarity of it was completely unintentional. So, while the majority of the movie was a stir fry dish of confusion, it was the cheesiness of it all that was refreshing compared what has recently been in theatres.