The Man With The Iron Fists - 鐵拳

The Man With The Iron Fists (鐵拳) is an 2012 film. The movies stars RZA. With a rather large ensemble cast that include Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Russel Crow, Lucy Liu, David Bautista, Cung Le, and Byron Mann. With special cameos from Pam Grier, MC Jin, Daniel Wu, Grace Huang, Gordon Liu, Chen Kuan-tai, Bryan Leung, Zhu Zhu, and Terence Yin. Film primarily in Zhong Guo, you'll see a lot of actors based in HK show up in the film with "english speaking" roots.

RZA plays an iron smith that makes weapons for the different clans of Jungle Village. He is trying to save enough to buy the release of his brothel girlfriend, played by Jamie Chung. However, just as he was about to leave, a lot of gold comes through town. Bringing with it outsiders and the locals seeking to steal it. Lots and lots of fighting happens and the man with the iron fists must bring order to the town.

This movie was fun to watch. From both an "Asian American" POV and also from the POV of someone whom watches a lot of stuff from Zhong Guo, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. It had me thinking the whole film. I was looking at all the familiar faces. Wondering whom in the cast grew up or spent time schooling in the USA, Canada, or Australia. Did they come from Singapore? The set pieces also got me thinking a lot. Would this set appear in an wuxia series or movie produced by locals? Lots and lots of thoughts. This is one of the few movies that had me pausing and rewinding alot.

The movie itself as a whole was good. Entertaining. I'd prolly have repeat watches of this if it shows up on cable. I however would not rent or buy this film (I rented this time). Also, all those questions I had were hard to overlook. Which might have caused me to not enjoy the film as much. I don't know if I could have avoided this due to the casting and my personal background.

The movie ends on a cliff hanger for a sequel. With its box office performance dismal, I highly doubt we'll see one. It was a fun ride for RZA, but we'll prolly see him making an "american" film next time around.