The Man with the Iron Fists is a terrible film, and also a blast to watch. This transcends the "good/bad" duality of films that many viewers possess, and in my opinion is so enjoyable because of the many issues with the film. To start, I will lambaste the poor dialogue, wooden acting, and horrid script provided in this film. RZA, star, writer and director, is no Jackie Chan, that is for sure. These issues are a detriment to the quality of the film, and many viewers may be rightfully turned off by the poor quality in the above categories.
I, however, love me a bad movie, and this one fits the bill quite well. As a fan of martial arts films from all eras, this film really captured the sleazy, low quality budget of many kung-fu films from the 70/80's. It seems RZA was emulating this style, and it works well in this case. The blood spurts, and over the top schlock here - with heads and arms lopped off, bronze fighters exploding, and so forth, make for quite the ride of hilarity and ridiculousness that kept me completely engaged. The wooden acting and horrid dialogue add a level of hilarity here that only, in my mind, keeps the engagement going. Its fun to laugh at things sometimes. The action here is of mediocre quality from a Wuxia perspective, with some good stuff, some bad stuff, and some fun stuff.
On the negative side, there are certainly issues here with the script ad direction that make for some moments of absurdity and boredom that are not fun. The pointless and oddly shot T and A portions of this film, with Russell Crowe basically having a horridly shot orgy with some prostitutes, is pointless, kind of gross to watch, and not fun.
This film gets a 6/10 for me. In my mind, this is because it achieves a level of enjoyment from many of its campy and absurd moments. The poor script, acting and direction from its main star borders on hilarity, while the campy schlock of the rest of the films makes for an enjoyable, cult-film like experience. I enjoyed this film, and would recommend it for fans of martial arts films, and those who enjoy a good bad movie.
I, however, love me a bad movie, and this one fits the bill quite well. As a fan of martial arts films from all eras, this film really captured the sleazy, low quality budget of many kung-fu films from the 70/80's. It seems RZA was emulating this style, and it works well in this case. The blood spurts, and over the top schlock here - with heads and arms lopped off, bronze fighters exploding, and so forth, make for quite the ride of hilarity and ridiculousness that kept me completely engaged. The wooden acting and horrid dialogue add a level of hilarity here that only, in my mind, keeps the engagement going. Its fun to laugh at things sometimes. The action here is of mediocre quality from a Wuxia perspective, with some good stuff, some bad stuff, and some fun stuff.
On the negative side, there are certainly issues here with the script ad direction that make for some moments of absurdity and boredom that are not fun. The pointless and oddly shot T and A portions of this film, with Russell Crowe basically having a horridly shot orgy with some prostitutes, is pointless, kind of gross to watch, and not fun.
This film gets a 6/10 for me. In my mind, this is because it achieves a level of enjoyment from many of its campy and absurd moments. The poor script, acting and direction from its main star borders on hilarity, while the campy schlock of the rest of the films makes for an enjoyable, cult-film like experience. I enjoyed this film, and would recommend it for fans of martial arts films, and those who enjoy a good bad movie.