Watching Marvel's Iron Fist on Netflix

[Orrex]

Kind of a stinker, and definitely the weakest installment in Marvel's Netflix titles.

It simply seems disorganized with little forward momentum and little apparent focus. It comes across as a perfunctory placeholder serving only as a run-up to The Defenders.

I'm 8 episodes in, and I simply can't stand the Danny Rand character nor the actor playing him. From the watered-down Carradine-esque platitudes to his just-got-back-from-Burning-Man™ style, I find him close to unbearable every second he's on screen. And we're supposed to believe that this chucklehead wants to take down The Hand? Even with his titular Fist, he's a far less credible adversary than Daredevil, who doesn't bring invincible glowing knuckles to the fight.


I would much rather have seen a series devoted to Colleen Wing, but naturally she's a supporting character, stumbling around in awe of Danny. For that matter, Joy and Ward are quite interesting.


If Iron Fist had been the first of the Netflix series, we'd never have seen a second one.

[exboyfil]

1. Into 3rd episode

I have to agree. I can't imagine it is from the same creative team that did Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. They would have been far better off using Moon Knight for example. Iron Fist has never been a very good character in the comics. He had to be paired with Luke Cage to even keep a comic going. Given the demonic type of trend at the end of Daredevil I would even have taken one of the dark Marvel characters instead (not Ghost Rider but maybe Son of Satan or Blade? - I am not sure).

Danny Rand is just another member of a long line of White Savior/Mighty Whitey Tropes (see The Last Samurai, Avatar, Tarzan).

[Orrex]

2. Correct all around

At a glance Moon Knight runs into Batman territory, but he carries enough mystical and psychological baggage to make him a unique character, and definitely more interesting than Iron Fist.

You're also right about the "white savior" shtick. Granted, the current series is only mirroring the source material, but that doesn't really make it any better. It seems so weird and retrograde.

[OriginalGeek]

3. is the actor who plays Danny

the one complaining all over twitter that fans don't know how to watch TV so that's why he's getting shitty reviews?

Because I have yet to meet anyone who likes the character. I.F. is getting deplorable reviews and it's almost exclusively because of him lol.

[NewJeffCT]

4. No idea on that

but, I did hear some people complaining that it was rushed into production and none of the actors had much of a chance to do kung fu training in advance, so none of the fight scenes look like they're done by masters of the martial arts.

[OriginalGeek]

5. that's what my friend here at work said

She liked Daredevil, Jessica Jones and she loved Luke Cage but she said this was just dumb and had the worst fight scenes she ever saw.

[NewJeffCT]

8. that said

I was not a huge fan of Finn Jones on Game of Thrones, though his screen time was limited.

However, I think Jessica Henwick was pretty much panned on Game of Thrones as one of the Sand Snakes (they all were, if I recall) and she's gotten excellent reviews for Iron Fist.

[OriginalGeek]

9. wait, wat?

people didn't like the sand snakes? Or just her as one?

I loved the sand snakes although I did not want to be the guy that pissed them off.


I'd watch a sand snakes spin-off lol.

[NewJeffCT]

10. The entire Dorne storyline was panned in most reviews

that I saw. And, while I liked the Sand Snakes as a straight male, I tend to agree that the overall story seemed out of place.

[OriginalGeek]

12. lol

yeah, I might have been biased...I don't think I've read up to that part in the books (assuming they were in the books) so revenge-y sand snakes seemed perfectly normal to me.

[Orrex]

6. LOL! I believe it! (spoilers)

And what a surprise to learn that I don't know how to watch TV after all these years!

Everything about him is wrong, from the casting to the costuming to the choreography to the acting to the hairstyling and so on.

I know nothing of the actor except that he's a terrible pick for this weak role.


Aside from all of that, the series simply seems to have no idea what it wants to do. Danny has half-assed flashbacks and weird monk-related hallucinations, but these appear more ore less at random and without moving the story forward.

I do find it interesting (and, from a character standpoint, understandable) that he suffered a panic attack while on the plane to China, but it passed in seconds and seemed to result in no growth or development. Further, their adventures in that fabled land looked exactly like an adventure on the New York docks but with different shrubbery. They fly there, do some punching, and fly back. WTF?


Overall, I'd say that the first half of Luke Cage is the best run of the Marvel Netflix shows, but it stumbled when they killed Cottonmouth and didn't quite recover (though Michael Colter is magnificent in the role). Jessica Jones strikes me as the strongest series from start to finish, but I've been a Daredevil fan for over 3 decades, so that's ultimately my favorite.

But Iron Fist? Yawn!

[FSogol]

7. Iron Fist's own comics are always short lived. He works best as a mellow side kick to Luke Cage.

Jim Owsley (Christoper Priest) penned Power Man and Iron Fist from 111-125 making it one of Marvel's best (and under-appreciated) titles.

[Bucky]

11. It's too much a carbon copy of Dr. Strange

How many hidden Buddhist monasteries are there up in Nepal training people in the secrets of magical fighting techniques?

[Dr. Strange]

13. First epiode was a little slow and boring.

Seeing the rich guy return home and start taking out the bad guys didn't really grab me. But once he got Diggle as a "body guard" and then Felicity Smoak started helping him, it really picked up. And the crossovers with Flash were always cool.

[Orrex]

14. That's when it really started to pick up for me.

And I won't hear a word said against Felicity Smoak, even if her name is really goofy.

[Nevernose]

15. I really like it

But I'm biased: I've been a giant fan of the character since I was a kid in the 70s.

I think IRon Fist is better than any of the CW cape shows. It's biggest problem is that it's not as good as some of the other shows. It's probably as good as Cage, but Cage had undeniable styl, attitude, and vision, so it's definitely more of a stand out. Also, as someone above said, Danny works better as a foil for Powerman.

[Orrex]

17. I was never particularly into Iron Fist

I had a handful of Luke Cage and Iron Fist comics, but I barely remember them.

All else aside, my biggest problem with the series is the primary casting. I find Finn close to unwatchable, and every time he's on screen I look forward to the next scene that doesn't include him.

[geek tragedy]

16. the corporate governance drama is less believable than a chi-powered glowing fist.

"yeah, you own most of the company, but because we're directors we don't have to care what you think."

1. Jessica Jones
2. DD season 1
3. DD season 2
4. Luke Cage








5. Iron First

[Orrex]

18. Some knucklehead upthread noted a similarity...

Between Iron Fist and the CW's Arrow, and of course he's completely correct.

Rich boy returns from years-long ordeal in exotic land, takes over company and is ousted. He also has the same hair color and similar beard.

[Dr. Strange]

20. Seriously, whole first episode...

I'm thinking, "Why is Marvel doing a reboot of Arrow?"

By the second episode, when they're switching scenes, I find myself thinking, "Oh rats, another scene with Danny," or "Oh rats, another scene with Ward." The only characters that were moderately interesting were Colleen and Harold.

I'm on episode seven, and Ward Meachum has gone from irritating cardboard cutout to a genuinely fascinating character. And Danny...uh, his fist glows sometimes.

[Orrex]

21. I'm still on episode 8

And my take on it is similar to yours. I couldn't stand Ward in the first few episodes, but now I can't wait for him to show up again.

I really liked Joy at the outset because she seemed to fluctuate between "wholly sympathetic" and "calculating manipulator," and maybe it's good that I can't quite decide where she's finally going to land.

Colleen Wing is my favorite, and she'd have been a better addition to The Defenders than Iron Bruh. And even though Claire is clearly shoehorned into the story, I like her because Rosario Dawson.


I'm also glad to see Faromir getting some long overdue screen time.

[geek tragedy]

23. Are they both comic adaptations?

Anyhow, the only entertaining character is crazy-ass Faramir.

[Orrex]

25. Yes, both are adaptations

Last edited Wed Mar 29, 2017, 06:41 AM - Edit history (1)

But Arrow is DC's Green Arrow, while Marvel's Iron Fist is DC's Arrow rebranded as Iron Fist!

[Thew]

19. Iron Fist comics

I had never really really followed this character in comics. Knew who he was, but that's about it.

But I did get the Iron Fist: Living Weapon series by Kaare Andrews that ran in 2014 for about 12 issues. Great story and amazing visuals. The first issue has him fighting ninjas (actually zombie-mechanical ninjas because comics...) along the side of a skyscraper and punching an attack helicopter.

This show is not that guy...

[link:http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21922314-iron-fist|

[Orrex]

22. One other thing (spoiler)

Claire is one of the vanishingly few civilians with direct knowledge of The Hand, and she knows that Daredevil has fought them, so why wouldn't she mention that specifically to Danny and company? She doesn't have to say "I know a blind lawyer who's a superhero," but there's no reason (in terms of narrative or basic realism) that she wouldn't say "I know a super-guy who's had some experience with The Hand."

Since by Danny's own assertion The Hand has been little more than a scary story he'd heard all of his life, you'd think that he'd benefit from some facetime with ol' Hornhead.

[geek tragedy]

24. The Defenders?

[Orrex]

26. What do you mean?

[geek tragedy]

27. .

http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/The_Defenders

[Orrex]

29. Right, but I wasn't sure why you mentioned it here

You're right that the series is the final lead-in before the upcoming Netflix Defenders series, though!

[geek tragedy]

30. point was they can only tease the crossover

Danny Rand needs some Stick lectures to reduce the sniveling

[Orrex]

31. Oh, now I get it.

You're probably right, but it really strains credibility in-universe. I mean, they're not that far from ground zero of "The Incident," so why be so cryptic and evasive when discussing superheroes who live right down the street?

And anything that reduces the sniveling is OK with me.

[MattP]

28. Legion is terrific

[Orrex]

32. I've heard that, but it's Hulu, right?

No, wait. FX, right?

Maybe it'll show up on Netflix or Amazon down the road.

[TlalocW]

33. I got through all the episodes, but it was hard to watch

Mainly because of the actor playing Fist, and they're doing on the television level what DC is doing on the movie level - rushing an individual story to prepare for the group series ala DC's Justice League.

As for the ripping off of, "Arrow," eh, I see it, but Green Arrow initially was a poor man's Batman (youthful ward, Arrowcar, Arrowcave), and then Arrow ripped off more modern Batman - master of several martial arts, more bad-ass than before, etc. It's just that Batman chose his path, and Arrow didn't. Iron Fist probably can't help but be seen as a rip-off of Arrow, but then there are only so many types of origins that you can choose from because writers can get lazy, and when it comes to the group of characters we're talking about, if you're rich, you shouldn't travel because something is going to happen while you're overseas (Arrow, Iron Fist). If you're poor, you're going to get into an accident and be granted powers (Daredevil, Jessica Jones), and if you're poor AND Black, chances are you're a prisoner who's going to be experimented on (Luke Cage).

I'm sure us comic nerds could fill each category with dozens of examples of each.

The one thing I took away from Theater Appreciation in college (other than it being an easy elective, and I really hate, "Citizen Kane&quot is that nothing is original. "You wiggle the finger on one work, and the toe moves on another," is how the professor would describe it.

TlalocW

[Orrex]

34. Aaaaannnnd I'm out

I struggled through episode nine, but I can't bring myself to watch the rest. I've read the wiki summaries for the remaining episodes, so I know how it ends and will be ready for The Defenders.

[NewJeffCT]

35. I'm on episode 11 now

of this. I don't think it's terrible, but it suffers in comparison to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and season 1 of Daredevil. I don't think The Hand has been all that great a villainous organization so far - their advantage seems to be a huge supply of disposable minions, but all but the leaders seem to fall like the proverbial wheat before a scythe when faced with Daredevil or even chi-less Iron Fist.

Other than David Tennant's Purple Man/Kilgrave, I don't think the villains have really been done well by Marvel. I'm still trying to figure out who the real bad guy is here - is it Bakuto? Is it Madame Gao? Is it David Wenham's character?

I do like Colleen Wing/Jessica Henwick quite a bit and hope she gets to eventually team up with Misty Knight from Luke Cage.

[Orrex]

36. re: The Hand

I agree that the organization has been poorly utilized so far. They come across as little more than a novelty-themed criminal syndicate. I get the sense that the writers (collectively) intend The Hand to be much more, but there's no indication that the writers have any idea of what that might be.

You're right about the disposable minions, and I'd like them to play up the obsessed cult angle, since The Hand, after all, is The Hand of the Beast. The criminal machinations are in service to that agenda, and in a "realistic" setting it's likely that the mystical aspect is downplayed or played off as kitsch, but I still want to believe that it's real (in the context of the universe) and ongoing, rather than something that they remember occasionally when it's convenient.

David Tennant was spectactular in the role, in part because he was the villain for the whole season rather than 1/3 of the season. Similarly, Vincent D'Onofrio was just about perfect as Wilson Fisk, and he likewise played the whole season.

[NewJeffCT]

37. Agree on Tennant

and also D'Onofrio. I thought Cage suffered when they "switched" villains midseason and while I liked the characters in season 2 of Daredevil (Elektra, Punisher), I thought it also suffered from the lack of a central villain for the entire season. I wrote at the time that it almost felt like Season 2A instead of an entire season 2.

[Orrex]

38. Agree completely

I've lamented Copperhead's death several times online, because he was so much more interesting and menacing than Diamondback. DB would have been a good henchman, but he lacked the presence to be a master villain. Also, the sibling rivalry angle seemed kind of weak.

Still optimistic for the rest, though!