The Man With The Iron Fists

Are you in the mood for checking out an old school King-Fu flick? How about one with an update that includes hip-hop music and stylish visuals? I was, as I went to check out the latest movie release at the local cinema The Man With The Iron Fists. Was this movie a trip down memory lane to the martial arts movies that I loved to watch as a kid over the weekend, or should I have left well enough alone? Here are my thoughts.

With an international cast that features iconic actors and actresses featuring Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, Gordon Liu and introducing Hip Hop Producer extraordinaire, the RZA who also wrote and directed. The Man With The Iron Fists is a return to the epic Kung-Fu stories of back in the day that features an action packed struggle between warriors, assassins and the lone hero that's caught in the middle.

Set in China during the nineteenth century in a small community called Jungle Village, an african american blacksmith makes his living providing weapons of death to the various clans that inhabit the village often under threat of violence.

Unrest soon develops after a routine delivery of a gold shipment is seized by one of the clans during a pit stop in Jungle Village, therefore bringing out all of the other clans who want a piece of the action. As you can expect all hell breaks loose culminating in some wild Kung-Fu action and drama. The battles that ensue threaten to destroy the village and the blacksmith must now help to defend his adopted home.

If you happen to look unfavorably at these types of movies as silly exploitation mess with extreme levels of violence and tongue in cheek dialogue that often makes no sense, this movie won't change your opinion at all. However, myself and fans all over used to get a kick out of these movies and so did all the talent that's involved including the director as you can tell that the RZA is a strong fan of this genre and it shows all throughout the film.

The direction is fast paced with very good martial arts sequences with a running tine of about an hour and a half that's over fairly quickly. Don't expect any real story as most of what happens is just a setup for the fast action and campy dialogue with a little sexuality thrown in for good measure.

While it may not win over serious movie goers, this is a treat for hardcore martial arts fans and I enjoyed it so much all the while noticing its flaws especially in the story and acting department. However Lucy Liu and Russell Crowe bring in some good acting gravitas in their scenes with Crowe stealing the show as an intelligence officer with a sharp knife to go along with his sharp personality.

In Summary: The Man With The Iron Fists is a nice little martial arts movie throwback with a little hip-hop thrown in and while it won't appeal to everyone, it seems to be OK with that.

The Man With The Iron Fists B. Rated R for strong violence, nudity and some offensive language. Providing useful articles, reviews and writings on movies and films online.