The Man with the Iron Fists
Rated: R
Genre: Action
Street Date: February 12, 2013
Available On: DVD and Blu-ray
The Film: A large shipment of gold making its way through Jungle Village attracts the attention of various unsavory types.
The Extras: Unrated Version of the film, Deleted Scenes, On the Set with RZA
Recommendation: “The Man with the Iron Fists” is a passable tribute to the campy kung-fu films of the ’70s, but it lacks the creative genius of Quentin Tarantino or beauty of films like “Hero” or “House of Flying Daggers.” The story is extremely convoluted, the pacing is on the slow side and the action tends to be more ridiculous than it is stylistically cool. The film is more of an ensemble piece than it is about the titular character, which is a good thing because that gives Russell Crowe’s gleefully manic performance as much screen time as RZA’s withdrawn and generally lifeless blacksmith. As far as recent wuxia films go I’d rather watch “The Assassins” or “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.”
-Ryan Michael Painter
(Copyright 2013 Sinclair Broadcast Group)