The Man with the Iron Fists

Okay, I've never reviewed movies but I'll give it the old Jr. high try. This movie with it's solid effects and even nicer fighting is still flawed. Maybe a review is too strong of a word here's my bad/ good list. I've left a grade to give a better Idea of my disapproval.

The bad: 1. Focus the dang camera (C-), I'm not an expert but who the hell is focusing? Lucy Liu during a big speech has her helper in focus and she just off focus. If I spent $2000 on a wedding video I'd like the bride in focus, geez. The focus was out of control in a lot of places which was distracting.

2. Rza (D-) although I do really think this is a work of love and it shows, WTH was he thinking staring in this? If he's too afraid of what his friends think of him if he stops doing his best droopy impression, don't be the lead actor! I mean it's 10-20 minutes, or however long he's in this, of him looking emotionless. I mean grimace man or look sad when bad things happen! How hard is it!!

3. Flashbacks (F)There's an origin flashback an boy is it misguided and uncomfortable! It's just so underdeveloped, maybe the extended version would make sense of it but it really could have been shot better. I imagine this is to Southern Americans (not South America, the Hey Y'all kind etc), what bad American war movies are to Germans. If you're gonna deface us do it with a little finesse.

4. Character motivations sucked(big ol' F), I mean really sucked! I would have been happy to give this a 7 if the characters would make a little sense. Somethings could have been resolved easily I think by just a few lines of dialogue but nope it's all thrown at you with no solid direction.

5. The "almost" makes it a crime(F), like where was everyone's head? You have an almost great movie and no one could ask for help or give it??

6.Split screens (F), Why? Was action happening at the same time?, nope. Bad call, again in the right hands maybe. Here 4 minutes of film that wasn't worth the editing time.

The good:

1. Costumes(B+) were cool, I liked them even the goofy ones, had no problems really. The wigs were really fun and funny.

2. The action(A-), was really great. Fun and funny with no real let downs you get into it and the end battle to me wasn't disappointing except for rza's acting but he was actually passable here(sort of).

3. Effects(A), yup solid, don't care if it looks Kill Billish. Come on, I've actually watched anime since forever and that's how blood sprays in most of those. Dumb to even bring kill bill into this(sort of).

4. Weapons(A+) lots of great gags and deaths. You can tell a lot of time went into conceiving these and the deaths.

5.The villain(A++), Silver Lion and Bronze Lion are great and eat up the screen, none of the heroes come close to these two guys charisma on screen! I mean why the heroes played it so straight without any wink wink moments is beyond me. Did they really think this was a serious movie?

Which comes to my overall review! 5/10 C+, basically there's a lot going right here enough to be watchable, enjoyable even become a classic b movie. But it was so close to being more it's a little sad.

nuff said, MEMO Art

Okay so I read a lot of reviews on IMDb before deciding whether or not to watch a movie, but this is my first time writing a review. Because I was really interesting in seeing a movie by RZA and the preview made it look like a Tarantino kill bill-esque movie, which I really like. I felt I had to review this movie because the rating is currently pretty low. I watch a lot a movies and am really into writing and screen writing, so of course I wasn't expecting an exceptionally scripted or written movie.

In the past couple of days I have seen a few movies I wasn't too excited about seeing, but I'm running out of new ones. I saw Abraham Lincoln Vampire hunter, Alex Cross, and Sinister. I just watched this movie this morning and although all of those movies are very different, I was by far the most entertained by TMWTIF. I though Russel Crowe did a pretty good job with what he was given, and RZA did okay as actor and I really like when he narrated. Also the fight scenes soundtrack is really cool, with good wu-tang beats and a few verses. It was pretty cool seeing the Kung-fu fighting with the rap playing, pretty different.

All in all, if your looking for a movie with a really good storyline, plot, and script, then you probably shouldn't watch this movie. If you just want something to put on that's really cool to look at, with good music, attractive Asian women, and really good fight scenes then you probably won't be disappointed. It's a fun movie and deserves a little better rep. I'd watch a sequel.

"We had decided to leave this place, but it turns out that the universe had other plans." When a legend of a golden treasure is heard of a group of various warriors come to a village. When an evil faction looks to take control it is up to the local blacksmith (RZA) and a rogue British soldier (Crowe) to stop them and protect the village. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of movies like this. I have never really been into martial arts type movies although I have seen some really good ones. That said, while not being all that amazing of a movie itself this one was super entertaining and had some interesting fight sequences that I really enjoyed. The movie is way over the top and unbelievable, but it fit in this movie. If you are looking for an Oscar worthy type martial arts movie then I recommend 13 Assassins or War Of Arrows. This movie is really just visually fun and the fighting is entertaining, which is good sometimes. I liked it more then I expected. Overall, better then anticipated, martial arts fans may really like this. I say B.

Honestly this movie gets a bad rep right off the bat. You see that the movie is practically written, directed, produced (Al-bed Eli Roth) by a rookie film director (and rap/hip-hop legend) RZA. And you think its going to be trash... Okay got it opinions are opinions everybody has one, but take a step back and see what this movie is. Its not meant to the the next great kung-fu movie. Its not meant to be a Oscar winner. It was conceived as a new/interesting look at mixing two different things and seeing what comes out (kung-fu and hip-hop). In this regard i feel as though RZA did a good job incorporating the two together. Do not get me wrong this movie had its fair share of problems that i feel like a more seasoned Director will be able to sniff out, however that is not the case and i feel like too much banter is thrown RZA's way. Give the man a break.

All in all i though this was a enjoyable film and a movie i could watch again. I respect RZA from coming out his comfort zone and trying something new like directing and i am excited to see his future work.

It is set in nineteenth century China, Jungle Village is home to several warring clans . On the hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier descend upon a village in feudal China, where a humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers . There the African-American blacksmith (RZA) makes deadly weapons for the clans, intending to use his payments to purchase the freedom of his lover Lady Silk (Jamie Chung), and leave the village . As an undercover emissary named Jack Knife (Russell Crowe) arrives in the village to monitor the gold and takes up residence in the Pink Blossom, a brothel run by Madam Blossom (Lucy Liu) . As he leader of the clan called Gold Lion is assigned by the Governor to guard his gold that will be transported through the region . However he is double-crossed and killed by the villain Silver Lion (Byron Mann) and greedy Bronze Lion (Cung Lee) . As seven clans, taken on a fortune in gold , let the battle begin.

This luxurious Kung Fu film was spectacularly filmed with good production design , colorful cinematography , a lot of fierce struggles and breathtaking scenes . The flick displays lots of violence, action filled , thrills and groundbreaking combats . This is a colorful, Shanghai-set and quite budget movie ; leave no cliché untouched , though the fighting are magnificently staged . The flick also contains some sex scenes and nudism in charge of whores of brothel and a lot of blood and gore . The picture is full of tumultuous sequences with frenetic action , surprises ,fierce combats and rousing fights. Amid the glamour and grandeur of the scenarios is developed an intrigue about nasty clans , including betrayal , crime and exploring the dark side of Chinese power . It is a homage to Run Run Shaw classic films , a known producer , recently deceased , of Chop-Socky genre who made lots of successes such as "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" ,"Five Deadly Venoms" "Killer Clans", "Return of the Master Killer" and many others .

This rated ¨R¨ picture is starred by a lot of new and old figures from Kung Fu movies such as Cung Le , Byron Mann , Rick Yune and the veterans Gordon Liu and Dennis Chan . Furthermore , a brief cameo by mythical Pam Grier . Impressive and breathtaking fights with deadly use of fists , feet and palms , along with such weapons as swords, sticks , and lances . And hundreds of armored warriors reenacted by lots of extras . Overwhelming attacks and exciting combats very well staged , the result is a strong entry for action buffs . Kung Fu training scenes are a direct reference in ¨Kill Bill¨ by Quentin Tarantino , enhanced by the fact that Gordon Liu stars in both movies . RZA and Eli Roth worked on the screenplay together over two years, talking through every aspect of the story, down to the detail of every weapon . The first cut of the film was four hours long. RZA suggested splitting it into two films, but producer Eli Roth disagreed, and it was ultimately cut down to approximately 90 minutes. The picture finishes with an opening credits showing a demonstration of martial arts by main actors against an empty backdrop similarly to old Hong-Kong movies of the 70s.