The Man with the Iron Fists

“The Man with the Iron Fists” is modern Kung Fu flick about weapons, lust and lust for power and gold. This movie opens with the narration by the lead, Blacksmith (RZA) he gives bits of a backstory that feeds in the murder of the great leader of China’s Jungle Village by one of his own. The scene changes to the son of the murdered leader with his future wife. The son receives the bad news of his father’s death and vows revenge.

The acting by the lead is horrible, really horrible. Sadly, it is the lack of acting from the lead that turned me off for most of the film, that among other things, which I’ll get to later. Russell Crowe’s character “Jackknife” is a depraved and crude hero type, and it is conveyed well, due to Crowe’s acting skills. Madame Blossom’s (Lucy Liu) acting deserves a slight nod. The story is okay, at best, and felt as if it was either not fully thought out or just a poor leading man that couldn’t fully persuade the viewing audience of the film’s meaning or the intent of the story/plot. The best parts of the film are the Kung Fu fighting scenes, especially the ones including the character Brass. If there is any redeeming quality, it is in the masterful choreography that is obviously in place for each fighting sequence.

There were many reasons why I couldn’t enjoy the film, besides the leading actor. The violence is just (pardon the pun) overkill. When I learned that Quentin Terontino had a hand in the film, I kind of knew what to expect, but, by all accounts, even with violence in the film, it may be considered tamer if one is familiar with his other films.

The movie’s major scenes take place in a brothel run by Madame Blossom, so sex and nudity are present and have a running under theme throughout the picture. Finally, where would any secular, Hollywood film be without bad language? There are about a dozen swear words with a couple of N words in the mix.

Trying to pull any truth from this film is a challenge. There is a failed attempt to mix Biblical Christianity with Buddhism. Even though Buddhists tend to deny a Creator God, among other things that contradict Scripture. That aside, I did recall a couple of verses that I thought rang ever true.

Romans 12:19—Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord

1 Timothy 6:10—For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

I highly recommend that people avoid this film. It is an insulting, self-indulgent, violence-soaked canard—think a D grade “Kung Fu Hustle” and an F grade 70s Kung Fu flick.

Violence: Extreme / Vulgarity: Heavy to extreme—f-words, s-word, hell, ass / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Heavy to extreme—prostitutes, brothel, sex acts

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.