There are a certain group of directors. whose love of 70’s karate and grind house B movies, have spilled over into their film making. In some cases, they base their entire film making style in paying homage to these films that they loved so much in their youth. Quentin Tarantino, the most notable in this fraternity (who once famously wanted to release rats during a premiere to recreate the feel of a grind house movie theatre), describes them as a group of ‘unique individuals’. Others, such as Robert Rodriguez and Eli Roth, have achieved their own levels of success by somehow elevating this horrible movie style beyond just nostalgic reproductions to a true art form. Making his directoral debut and anointed by this exclusive club, is RZA. I really admire RZA as an artist. He is the front man for the hip hop group The Wu Tang Clan. He came from an impoverished inner city background to become one of the foremost hip hop producers of the 90’s. In a hip hop world that glamorizes shallowness and image, RZA’s work is reflective and spiritual. He is a thinker and writer who dabbles in Buddhism. He has sought to expand his art beyond hip hop and ‘The Man with the Iron Fists’ marks his first foray into Hollywood.
For all the respect I have for RZA, I will say that, where his peers have transcended the B-movie format, he embraces it. This film is a flashback to my early childhood of watching dubbed kung fu flicks on the late night TV movie shows or on the network Sunday matinees. The acting is poor, the plot basic, and the special effects and wardrobe are cheesy at best. In this world, knowledge of different exotic types of kung fu is what is necessary to win battles. Chop house films were like the Asian version of American superheroes and I loved them despite their poor quality.
The plot involves the pursuit of a caravan of gold by rival Chinese gangs and an English adventurer (a paunchy Russell Crowe) in feudal China. A treasure chest of gold escorted by the imperial guard settles in a small town for a night of rest. The local blacksmith (RZA) is in high demand as the interested parties need weapons to prepare for the upcoming violence in order to capture the gold. The side story of how an african-american ends up being a blacksmith in feudal China was improbable, but so was the plot of this movie. Throw in a brothel run by the beautiful Madame Blossom (Lucy Liu) because you had to find some way to have sex in the midst of all this violence and you have all you need to know about this movie.
You can appreciate RZA’s love of this genre. The film does not try to be anything that it’s not. It’s a retro throw back and you can tell that as a boy RZA probably wanted to be in a kung fu film. Given this low bar of quality, i will still say that I had things about the film that could have been better given it’s limitations. The movie couldn’t decide what it was about. I think if it would have focused on RZA as the blacksmith and how he became the ‘Man with the Iron Fists’, it would have been much more coherent. Separate plot lines seemed to take the story in different ways. Russell Crowe, as the English adventurer Jack Knife. was one of the film’s high points despite the distraction of his girth. He brought a level of class to this cheese fest, but even his story was underdeveloped and confusing when it occasionally came to the forefront.
. This movie was bad, but in many ways it was meant to be bad. I enjoyed it the same way I enjoyed those movies as a kid, so in that regard; mission accomplished. Even the film credits were done in the 70’s fashion which caused pleasant nostalgia. I enjoy seeing artists like RZA extend themselves beyond their comfort zones and take a risk in their expressions. In the parlance of the film: “His Tiger style kung fu is strong”.
I give this film * star (but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it)
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