Ironheart

Well, I have to admit that I was having a hard time seeing why fans of Bolo Yeung consider this a cult classic, because Bolo Yeung wasn't really in the movie for all that long. Yeah, he had very limited time on the screen, yet he was showcased on the movie's cover and was the only name on the cover as well. Guess it was because he was the only semi-famous performer in this 1992 movie.

The storyline in "Ironheart", as written by Lawrence Riggins, was a pretty archetypical early 1990s action martial arts screenplay, you know, where some law enforcement officer who knows martial arts takes matters into his own hands and goes postal on the bad guys. Talk about vigilante justice, huh?

It can't really be said that "Ironheart" was harboring a great many famous actors or actresses. I was familiar with Richard Norton (playing Milverstead) and of course Bolo Yeung (playing Ice), the latter whom had very limited time on the screen. The acting performances in "Ironheart" was as expected, I mean, this is an early 1990s action martial arts movie, so you're not exactly in for a Shakespearian performance of any sorts.

The martial arts sequences in the movie were fair enough, though you knew the outcome of the movie from the very beginning of each fight, and Britton K. Lee (playing John Keem) definitely had some martial arts skills, but there was just a lack of natural fluidity missing to it, as it felt somewhat scripted and rigid in its choreography.

Director Robert Clouse's 1992 movie "Ironheart" is not a movie that impressed me, and it is not a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time. Now, late in 2022, was actually the very first time I heard about it.

My rating of "Ironheart" lands on a four out of ten stars.

This film is notable as being the final movie of Director Robert Clouse. Clouse had previously directed Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, and a slew of other low budget martial arts films in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Only a few of these, such as China O' Brien, and The Big Brawl were really that good, so I was keen to see if this would be hos swansong.

Unfortunately, it isn't. It's a poorly cobbled together junkfest with little redeeming features.

The main problem is that this film was supposedly a kickstart vehicle for lead star Britton K. Lee, but the issue is that Lee was also the producer, so he basically made the film for himself.

Now there's nothing wrong with that in itself, but the problem is that Lee is neither a good actor, nor is he charismatic in any way. In previous films, Robert Clouse had Bruce Lee and Cynthia Rothrock in front of the camera - two very strong personalises who came across well on screen. Britton K. Lee has none of thee qualities, and come across as an out of place protagonist, and more like a sidekick who got his own film.

All of this could be forgiven if the martial arts action was good, but it's not. In fact - it's dire. Loads of tight shots with too much slow motion, and some clumsy choreography make this look like a TV episode.

With films like China O' Brien, fight choreographer Nijel Binns created some really cool action scenes with wide angle shots so that you could see the full glory of the fights and the actors skills, but here it just feels awkward and messy.

The film's one saving grace is that it features the legendary talents of Bolo Yeung and Richard Norton (both veterans of Hong Kong cinema,) and it's great to see them again.

They unfortunately can't save what is a dull and meandering movie with bad fight scenes and a boring plot.

Bob Clouse will always have Enter The Dragon, and no one can take that away from him, but his final word in film is not worth bothering with unless you are a super fan of Bolo Yeung.

While I agree that this was the most horrendous movie ever made, I am proud to say I own a copy simply because myself and a bunch of my friends were extras (mostly in the dance club scenes, but a few others as well. This movie had potential with Bolo and the director of Enter the Dragon signed on, but as someone who was on set most every day I can tell you that Robert Clouse was an old and confused individual, at least during the making of this movie. It was a wonder he could find his way to the set everyday. I would also like to think that this might have been a better movie if a lot of it had not been destroyed in a fire at Morning Calm studios. I can't say that it would have been for sure, but it would be nice to think so. I was actually surprised that it was ever released, and that someone like Bolo would attach his name to it without a fight. Oh well. Also look at the extras for pro wrestler Scott Levy, AKA Raven. He was a wrestler in Portland at the time...nice guy, very smart.

This movie had it all,great fighters,among them Bolo Yeung and Britton K. Lee and a descent budget,but it seems that the director did everything to ruin it.The movie starts of good,but after that it only gets worse.WHY didn't he have more fight scenes in this movie.Bolo Yeung was only in one real fight scene that I can remember,I hoped to see more of him,because he has one of the sickest styles ever.

Dont let the cover fool you,this is nothing what it could have been.

The acting was bad, and the plot, well i don't think there was one.

Some fat blonde chap who is always dressed in a dinner suit, kidnaps a sort from a nightclub, i think he then kills a copper. pointless fights then happen Kidnapped girl is put in cage on a boat, why? Tough uncompromising martial arts trained cop turns up, speaks bad english and does stuff that does not make sense. Its utter tripe. But he does have a nice car. christ on a bike, this film was a waste of 90 minutes.