Sunday, April 02, 2017

Iron Fist (2017)

Yes there are spoilers.






Finn Jones – Danny Rand/Iron Fist


I lost count over how many times Danny Rand meditates in this movie. In the kung fu genre it illustrates control of oneself and considering his powers he’s also charging his chi. Problem is he seems to have meditated himself out of a personality.

I am blaming this first on the script which was slow or never highlighted an emerging danger. The first two episodes didn’t present the urgency, a threat that needs a superhero, which may have contributed me to not believe in the acting.

I did not buy the excitement he had first time back at his father’s company. Danny didn’t even look at all teary eyed having seen his home for the first time. You would think he should have acted more insulted having been committed to a mental institution. Sure there was an emotional response from Danny but he always seems to have meditated himself back to his “center”.  

If Danny can find his center then so can I, which doesn't bode well for a story. Shouldn't I be kept interested and be on the edge of my seat?

Iron Fist is a prolonged version of the first Iron Man movie because in spite of mysterious organizations, travel half the world away, the story ends up merely with the change in control of the company. Since Danny Rand is the big CEO he’s being set up as the funding arm of the Defenders once that comes out, again much like Tony Stark only without the personality and inventions.

It was only in the later episodes after some expository dialogue did it get presented that these warriors (Danny had a tail) from K’un-Lun have their feelings bottled up. There are layers that need uncovering. 

This was highlighted when Colleen was in danger as if to say she is that special girl that would take Danny out of his center. Problem is I never felt the internal storm in how Finn Jones acted – script, acting prowess or lack thereof, chemistry, or over meditation; you tell me.



Jessica Henwick – Colleen Wing

With her helmet as an X-wing pilot and now absent a beautiful younger Sand Snake of a sister in Game of Thrones, Jessica Henwick is really blooming. Perhaps she is just too beautiful.  She looks more debutante than a warrior much less a sensei.  Her students don’t look much younger than her.

On the bright side Colleen Wing has the best fight scenes, even better than Iron Fist.



Jessica Stroup – Joy Meachum

She’s looks perfect as lady CEO.  Supposedly she’s the softer side of the brother and sister tandem running Rand Corporation but she doesn’t give off that softer vibe. She is the first the let Danny back into their lives and the corporation. 

If I recall correctly I believed they hung out in one episode which was immediately after Danny was brought back in the company and then that was it. Instead of two childhood friends meeting again the scene felt more like a job interview because Joy was all business thereafter.

The lack of scenes establishing closeness made the heartbreak in Joy's character arc hard to buy.


Tom Pelphrey – Ward Meachum

I looked it up as far as finding out if brother and sister did exist in the comics.  They do.  But as to their worth in the story it feels like it could have done by just one. Ward and Joy Meachum are well portrayed and they actually have better chemistry than Danny and Colleen.



David Wenham – Harold Meachum

I liked David when he was still Faramir in Lord of the Rings but maybe it’s because it was the first time I saw him. Since then I can’t forget him narrating Leonidas’ last stand.

Harold Meachum has never had a saving grace in all of 13 episodes even with some scenes wherein he seems to be missing his daughter.  He is painful to watch especially in scenes with Danny.  Whenever there scene comes up I feel like shouting: ‘How the hell can anyone believe Harold?!?’ 

Now that I think of it how can Harold be a father figure if he and Wendell Rand are alive at the same time? Some warrior this Iron Fist is who can’t read people so obvious. 



Rosario Dawson – Claire Temple

The Defenders are being set up with a team medic it seems. 

Claire has appeared in all of the Netflix series and always at the same capacity.  Claire even has more appearances than Jeri Hoggart. For me the insistence of continually pushing Claire in every Netflix Marvel series is forcing it, if the aim is just to remind us that all these characters will one day unite in one team-up series. 

What’s Claire going to do, give a lecture on the wrongness of taking a life again? Hoggart would have been a much better fit assuming continuity and the Sokovia Accords.



I don’t know what the Hand wants as much as I don’t know what Danny wants though the name Iron Fist is repeated too many times and that he is a sworn enemy of the Hand.

As a plot twist this group pretended to be divided I’m not sure. So who are in the Hand? What are their goals in New York? Is it to create an army of sleepers penetrating all aspects of society?  Is it drugs? As far as the drug business is concerned it appeared only on episode 5; the sleepers – if that’s what they are – around episode 10. I think the existence of the Hand was mentioned only by episode 3. 

The burying of a drug business with the infrastructure of Rand Corporation was settled only with Danny resting full control of the business by the last episode. Yes it took Danny that long to zero in on Harold.

The question of the sleepers was never truly explored much less settled. There’s just this so called breakaway faction of the Hand who are training teens and people in the early 20s. This faction then acted the same as the more traditionally known Hand.

All the while the Hand, this big shadow organization stretching back through centuries, plays the part of the one holding the strings but Danny ends up in a death duel only with Harold. And then K’un-Lun appeared in the very last minute of the series suggesting failure on Danny’s part. 

What does Danny want?  What does the Hand want? I watched this series feeling I was just going through the motions.

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