The Man With The Iron Fists (2012) R

A transplanted blacksmith in a tiny Chinese village is caught between clans in this "wire-fu" movie.

Presented by Quentin Tarantino and directed by rapper RZA, this is a gore-fest of a movie.  I was led to believe ahead of time that this would be horribly violent, but in reality the blood and mayhem was so unrealistic to a comical
degree that it wasn't disturbing at all, as if fifth-graders were in charge of the blood effects.

Otherwise this was a visually spectacular movie, with lush sets and costuming.  Lucy Liu was predictably great as Madam Blossom, and Russel Crowe reminded me of his serial-killer persona in Virtuosity more than once as Jack Knife.  Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I'll let you judge, but I found it nostalgic in a way.

The biggest problem I had with this film was the jarring, inconsistent stylistic choices.  I don't care if this is the new anime trend, rap music does not fit as a background for 1800's China.  Being assaulted with the n-word and f-word in the first thirty seconds in the title credits music was nearly enough to make me want to forget about watching it.

The villains were deliciously evil... the kind of evil villains who might be wearing a monocle and stroking a white Persian cat in another type of film.  However it was disappointing that we really don't meet the titular character until most of the film is over... sure the blacksmith is there, but the iron fists come much later.  Then he beats his greatest foe with barely-explained ease, and the method seemed like it was inserted as an afterthought.  As an origin story, there should have been more focus on the blacksmith and less dealing with the villains who are dead at the end of the film anyway.

Although kudos to writer/director RZA for not allowing vanity to dictate the plot.  It could have been just a little bit more about your character, though.

Not a lot of counts in this movie.  I laughed out loud once, but I didn't write it down.  I have a feeling it was at a cleverly timed bit of dialogue.  There was one holy crap moment at the beginning of the film when Jack Knife introduces himself at the brothel.  You'll know it when you see it.

Slightly vulgar, with jarring and inconsistent styles, this could have been a great film if they'd reined in the blood spurting a touch and tried for consistency in the setting.  Although I suppose asking a rapper to score a film with classical or instrumental pop music might be asking too much.  I give it a three out of five, but I'm willing to check the sequel to see if things improve.