Iron Fist

I was apprehensive with all the negative reviews but I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. I've really enjoyed Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil, and Iron Fist is just as entertaining. The characters are well developed and far from one dimensional. I personally found Ward Beacham to be the scene stealer (recognized him from Ozark). Each of the Defenders has a series with their own unique feel and storyline and Iron Fist adds to the build up to The Defenders series. Great characters, acting, and fight scenes, with a tense build up through the season. Ignore the hate and watch for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

I binge watched already the whole show since I'm sick at home. I was aware of all the bad critics, but I had nothing else to watch. I was pretty surprised, the show has an entertaining storytelling, good acting (I like Finn as the sometimes childlike but also wise Danny Rand), some humor, sometimes a little bit cheesy, good fight scenes (even though Daredevils hallway scene is unparalleled ). I would rate the show in line with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Daredevil is better, but Iron Fist doesn't deserve the hate. It has also three strong, interesting female characters: Rosario Dawson has a comeback as the Night Nurse, but in stronger appearance than in Daredevil or Luke Cage. Also Jessica Henwick as Coleen Wing is a great female lead and Madame Gao is a wonderful fleshed out female villain. Give it a try.

Let me start out by saying: I'm an actor, so criticizing other actors is not my thing. Also, I understand that with a series like this, the choices that are made are made by several people not just the lead actor him/herself. I say all of this because I've seen some scathing comments directed at Finn Jones. I very much enjoyed the series, and I still standby the idea that everything Marvel/Netflix has done absolutely dwarfs the CW/DC series on television..makes DC look like a childs coloring book. Even Marvel/Netflix at their weakest episodes is still better.

The thing that leaves me slightly confused is simply: Why is every supporting character on Iron Fist so much more interesting, compelling and fleshed out THEN THE IRON FIST HIMSELF?!? I mean seriously it's bizarre, I've never seen anything like it. They could have made a show entirely based on Joy and Ward Meachum and it would've been more interesting then following Danny Rand. They could've made an entire show based around Colleen Wing..again..more interesting. Clare Temple. EVEN DAVOS who was only around for 3 eps! And so on and so forth.

Before everyone throws Finn Jones to the wolves lets remember SOMEONE made the call to cast him so if you don't like his look..welp! nothing he can do about that..someone way above him thought he was the guy, then someone else wrote his character a certain way...full of holes and honestly rather bratty and childish.

I get that Danny Rand, when we meet him, is in some way still the 10 year old kid from before the crash. Perhaps the thought process was that during that time in Kun Lin he didn't quite mature the same way Joy and Ward did...makes sense. But it's a fine line playing an imbecilic child and a grown man with deep vulnerabilities and fears. Danny's outbursts of anger were almost laughable..he looked like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Now compare that to the actor who played Davos. He had the same issue...these bursts of anger from residual issues. But when his burst forth, it wasn't funny, you knew something was deeply wrong here.

The point is, this is a solidly good show, but it's main character is the weakest and least fleshed out and thats excusing the pathetic and confusing excuse for a villain Harold Meachum. For everyone throwing darts at this series, I guarantee they like everything EXCEPT...The Iron Fist.

Iron Fist falls short of previous Netflix Marvel productions.

The writing was sometimes cringe-worthy and while some blame the actors, there's only so much that can be done with a poor script.

The direction was also lacking, with oddly constructed scenes and action. It felt like the actors had little feedback on their performances, which led to the repetitive silliness.

The fight choreography... well, I'm not entirely sure there was any. Unlike Daredevil (for example), where there was a genuine sense of reality in the fight scenes, in Iron Fist it felt like the scenes in Arrow. Unlimited energy, unrealistic combat, no real damage.

That said, it's not actually horrible, and makes for a good weekend binge-watch. Just imagine you're watching a 13-hour Saturday Kung-Fu movie marathon, and set your expectations appropriately.

Cultural appropriation: a phrase that is never too far from a press review of Iron Fist. It's also what I'm focusing on here, rather than the questions about this show's pacing and editing (for the record, I think it's great).

Should a white man be playing the Iron Fist? That's the big question on the lips of many a film critic. And the answer, in my humble opinion, is 'Sure, why not?' After all, the character was white in the first place.

Is that 'cultural appropriation'? I guess so. But what's it's not is a problem, and I say that as a person of East Asian descent. There is simply nothing wrong with white people doing kung-fu, just as there's nothing wrong with a white person rapping or, indeed, a Chinese person wearing a baseball cap, while eating a Big Mac and singing Sweet Home Alabama.

Yet critics are making out that Iron Fist is like some kind of throwback to Yellow Peril characters like Fu Manchu, but it's nothing of the sort. There's a simple reason why that was offensive and why Iron Fist isn't.

Iron Fist features a white man playing a white man, whereas Fu Manchu was a Chinese man played by a white man, complete with 'slitty eye' makeup.

In spite of this obvious truth, a lot of people suggest that an Asian person would have been better suited to the role. Why? Another chop-socky Chinaman is not what the Asian community needs in terms of media representation. We need more Asian people just being people. An example that springs to mind is Glenn in The Walking Dead. He's great because he's just a regular guy, who also happens to be Asian.

But the critics continue to pile on the criticism when it comes to Iron Fist. I wonder, though, how many of those same critics heaped praise on Kill Bill, which is far more guilty of borrowing from East Asian culture than Iron Fist.

Call Iron Fist what you like. Say it's badly written or boring. That's fine. I disagree, but each to their own. Just stop getting offended about something that's not offensive - and if you aren't Asian, perhaps stop and think about what Asians actually care about.