Marvel's Iron Fist Review

One thing I learned when trying to watch a Netflix show on the first day: If it's a hit, you'd have a hard time trying to watch it even with a very fast internet connection because of the traffic. That was the experience I had with Marvel's Iron Fist, the fourth series of Marvel's lineup on Netflix that will lead up to the much anticipated "The Defenders" series, alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. I couldn't watch the show on the first day, so I had  to wait it out until the traffic loosens up. I finally got to it about several days later.

Now to be fair, my knowledge of Iron Fist is quite spotty as I never got to read him in the comics. So for the most part, my exposure to Iron Fist was from other media, be it games, animated shows, etc. That being said, I am familiar with Danny Rand's origins and how he became the Iron Fist.

Surprisingly, the entire plot of Marvel's Iron Fist on Netflix is pretty much layed out in the very first episode. Danny Rand, played by Finn Jones, is a rich kid who was supposedly killed in a plane crash along with his parents more than decade ago. He arrives in New York to seek out the only remaining family he has left, the Meachums. The Meachum siblings, played by Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Stroup, aren't keen on seeing someone who is supposedly their childhood friend and thinks he is there for a hostile takeover of Rand Enterprises.  So not only Danny must prove that he is who he is, but also uncover the conspiracy behind his father's company.

As the Iron Fist, Danny Rand is the guardian of K'un-L'un, a mystical place that appears every number of years. Danny was supposed to guard the entrance for the rest of his life from intruders, but left for New York to seek out remnants of his old life. He also has a secondary role of being the sworn enemy of The Hand, which Marvel fans know were the enemies Daredevil encountered not too long ago. The Hand plays a role here as the major antagonist of the show.

Some point out that the overall plot of Iron Fist is very much similar to the Arrow TV series. I am not surprised as there are indeed parallels between the the two shows. Both Danny Rand and Oliver Queen are rich guys who became vigilantes. They deal with an organizations of skilled assassins, etc. I don't see anything wrong with it, and the way Iron Fist is executed differs from what is seen in Arrow.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the show a rating of 18% (as of this review). If you read the reviews from these media outlets, they provide one jarring narrative - Finn Jones sucks as Danny Rand, in part because of cultural appropriation. Or to put more bluntly, because Danny Rand is white. This is despite the fact that this is exactly who Danny Rand is in the comics. But I will tackle that subject later.

Despite all the hate critics give to Iron Fist, it is a huge hit for Netflix. According to Inverse.com, the data, gathered via Parrot Analytics, reveals Iron Fist being the 2nd most viewed show when it made its debut, just behind Luke Cage. You could say Iron Fist is a lot like the Transformers movies. Critics hate it, but people flock to see it anyway and being huge hits at the box office.

There are certain parts critics gave to Iron Fist of which I do tend to agree on. The series was great and it keeps me engaged and wanting to catch the next episode. However, some parts of the writing just seems 'off'.

One example is in the 2nd episode, where Danny revealed that one way of summoning the Iron Fist is if he's taken enough of a beating that would build up the energy or Chi needed to summon it. This was used only in the 2nd episode, but for the rest of episodes, this was thrown out as Danny gets beaten up.

Another is in the final episode, where Danny takes on his parent's killer, Harold Meachum, played by David Wenham. There's a scene in the rooftop where Danny enters via the door, while Harold was already pointing the gun at him, but didn't fire for several seconds until Danny started running and found a hiding spot! And THEN he starts the firing the gun!

There are also several instances where the supporting cast switch allegiances more often than not. Heels become faces, then heels, then faces; while faces turn heels, then faces, then heels again. It's pretty much annoying, to be honest, because not only you don't get as to whose side these characters are, but in many ways, the change of allegiances makes no sense.

But the one thing I completely hated most of Iron Fist, is not its writing or the characters. It's the fight choreography. This is supposed to be a martial arts series, so I expected REALLY good fight scenes like the ones from Daredevil, or The Raid movies starring Iko Uwais. I'm just surprised at how incredibly bad it is.

In an interview with the British news magazine Metro, Finn Jones described the typical shooting scenario and I quote:

It was very intense to begin with. When I first moved over to New York, before I started actually filming, I had three weeks of very intense martial arts and weight training preparation. But then unfortunately once the show started, the filming schedule was just so tight – I was working 14 hours every day, six days a week, days into nights, nights into days – and actually my schedule didn’t allow me to continue the training as much as I really hoped.

So really on my days off, I only had Sunday and half a day on Saturday off, I’d be in the gym and trying to keep up with being flexible and learning martial arts. But really, I was learning the fight scenes 15 minutes before we actually shot them because the schedule was so tight. So 15 minutes before the stunt director would talk me through the choreography and I’d just jump straight into it. It really was a baptism of fire and I just learned on the job and I’ve been doing it for 12 months now. With practice you just get better and better with dealing with that kind of schedule.

 Basically, Iron Fist was a very rushed production, and Finn Jones isn't exactly a natural in martial arts. Even if he is, the extremely short timeframe to discuss and practice before the actual shooting is just bonkers, and it shows in the final product.

Critics say the series "Into The Badlands" is a much better martial arts show than Iron Fist. I agree on the fight scenes part, but Into The Badlands is trying too hard to be a martial arts-styled Game of Thrones with a Mad Max-theme that it stinks. But that's another story.

Despite the poor choreography, I do enjoy the scenes where Danny fights certain characters as though it was a boss fight. My most favorite is one where Danny fights Zhou Cheng, played by Lewis Tan. It was the only fight scene in the series that has done incredibly well.

The series has made several callbacks to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, so if you've seen them previously, you will notice them with much excitement. You also get the occassional dialogue humor that's been the staple of Marvel as of late, which are all funny and good.

Now to discuss the controversy surrounding its casting of Finn Jones as Danny Rand. I simply do not see a problem as to why Danny Rand can't be played by a white actor, since Danny is indeed a white character in the comics. I've been reading all these comments from everyone and I fail to see their case of making Danny Rand anyone but what he's supposed to be from the comics.

Let me put it this way. If a white guy cannot be in a lead role in a martial arts film because of his skin color being "culturally inappropriate", does that mean Chuck Norris can't be in a martial arts film, even though he is CHUCK NORRIS? The idea that someone who is of Asian descent should be the one playing the lead role in a Martial Arts show or film is just pure rubbish!

Take a look back at a number of martial arts films that star non-Asian characters in lead roles. Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Cynthia Rothrock, Jason Statam, Uma Thurman. The list goes on. Did anyone complain about whitewashing? Anyone?

Others say Iron Fist isn't as well known as Captain America or Spider-Man, therefore it should not be an issue to have Danny Rand's ethnicity changed. You coulld say the same for the Guardians of The Galaxy. NOBODY knows who they are until the film came out. Did anyone call for Star-Lord to have his ethnicity changed? Of course, not!

The same case can be said for Tony Stark as Iron Man. He wasn't as popular back then until the movie came out. Nobody had any problem with his ethnicity!

To be fair, I am Asian. I was born and raised in Southeast Asia. I am aware of the lack of Asian lead actors in American shows and film, and I do support the campaign for more Asian lead actors in Hollywood. But Iron Fist is not one of them. I agree with Roy Thomas, the co-creater of Iron Fist, who said that if you want a "culturally appropriate" character, just go and make one rather than replace an existing one with it.

Look at Miles Morales for example. He is not a replacement for Peter Parker. Rather, he became a version of Spider-Man is not the de-facto replacement of the original.

To wrap this up. The so-called 'whitewashing' of Danny Rand is incredibly stupid. The choreography sucks. And parts of the writing are just off. On the other hand, the show is nevertheless engaging and keep you wanting to see the next one, you get to see lots of funny moments, and you see how this ties together to Dardevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. Despite all its flaws, Iron Fist isn't as bad as others paint it to be. I enjoyed it nonetheless and I am looking forward to upcoming The Defenders series. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Marvel's "Iron Fist" a 3 out of 5.