Iron Fist Quick Review

Author:  MikeW Date: 2017-04-27T03:44:08+00:00

I just finished watching Iron Fist on Netflix and I have a few thoughts. A lot of sites have given the show some pretty negative reviews, pointing to the acting, and the story. To me the real issue is with the later and not the former.

The story centers around Danny Rand. An heir to a corporate dynasty. He and his family were lost in the Himalayas some 15 years ago and all presumed dead in a plane crash. However, Rand shows up in New York to reconnect with his past only to find no one believes him. Luckily for Danny he has mad Kung Fu skills which help navigate the big city and corporate politics.

The acting was just fine. Finn Jones made a good Danny Rand, given the material. Jessica Henwick was great as Colleen Wing. Rosario Dawson gave another good performance as Clair. Finally a special shout out to David Wenham as Harold Meacham. A nice job of making a creepy character seem likable and at times sympathetic. Not easy to do.

So the real issue with the show is the story. Way way way, too much time is spent on the Meachams and their relationships. The end result is that Danny Rand is never really developed. He kind of comes across as a spoiled naive 10 year old with delusions of grandeur, basically, an incompetent super hero.

Now if you trained with Shaolin monks for 15 years becoming a super ninja, you would have some serious skills. Not only physical skills, but mental skills as well. You would have discipline, patience, be able plan, have infiltration skills, and probably a bunch of other stuff. Other than breaking into his old house in the first episode, Danny shows a complete lack of such skills. Yes he can fight, but he is always reacting to his opponents. Never thinks things through and is mostly an emotional basket case. Bruce Lee would be disappointed.

Anyway, one has gotta hope that in future series Marvel builds the character up a bit. A hero that does not act like one simply won't work. Especially in a martial arts based universe.

Let's hope the Defenders has more butt kicking and less crying.