The Man with the Iron Fists

I don't know why I rolled my eyes four times when I watched this trailer.  It didn't grab me, nor excite me nor do anything besides make me think, same old, same old, Kill Bill John Wu presented by Quentin Tarantino.  For the most part, I really like Tarantino.  I like that, while one can question his originality, one cannot question his ability to bridge the film gap between Far East and West, while respectfully and lovingly taking cinematic risks.  Maybe not all were good, but I respect the man for not being afraid to try. 

They say that opinions are like assholes... everyone has got one.  I am no different.

I like Eli Roth.  I follow him on Twitter and I liked him in, Inglorious Basterds. It's cool that he's credited with co-writing this but for now, I can only comment on the trailer.

The other co-writer, who stars in this film is, RZA. I don't know what RZA is. And I don't understand why one would call himself that. I IMDB'd him and discovered that he had a small role in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. I liked that one and loved a few of Jarmusch's other films. But this is not about Jim. RZA is credited with a lot of music, and was in that controversial rap group, Wu Tang Clan.  I don't think I've ever heard any of his music. I'm reminded of what I once heard an old British woman say (completely unrelated to RZA). "How can he be famous if I've never heard of him?" Clearly he is and clearly I'm out of touch on many levels. I get that. 

Yet, he hangs with Eli Roth, so I guess it's "respect" by association.

Lucy Liu is hot but her eyes always seem emotionless.  Like she's got all the components and lovely pieces of a woman/actress, but her eyes seem lifeless, almost soul less.  Her performance in the trailer for this film seems like a carbon copy of her character from, Kill Bill. 

Speaking of, Kill Bill, did that set for the big brawl scene in The Man with the Iron Fists, the one with the stairs and upper landing not seem like the same Chinese restaurant where that ridiculous, over-the-top blood bath/blood fountain scene took place?

I used to like Korean movies, especially those directed by Chan-Wook Park and/or with Min-Sik Choi.  I watched many.  I also loved Public Enemy and Silmido and Spider Forest and R-Point and Sword in the Moon.  I find that Korean films have a tremendous sense of irony.  What I also like is that in the modern Korean films that I've enjoyed, there is little or none of that wire fighting.  You know, completely unrealistic acrobatics that just look silly (at least to me). 

Russell Crowe is a fantastic actor.  I have no criticism here.  He's a major talent.

The trailer for The Man with the Iron Fist just seemed familiar, unoriginal and almost proud of it.  It also  made me think of the comment I hear about movie trailers most often, "the movie was okay, but all the good scenes were in the trailer."

I'm sure I'll see it, but likely not on the big screen.