1, 2, 1,2, hey check this out, it’s the review right now
I want everybody, to put your work down, put your forums down
And report to the Dissection, the Direct to DVD Dissection
Leave your big budgets at home, leaver you theaters at home
We gonna take it back to the dvd players, for this direct to DVD sequel
Freakin Awesome Network on yo’ mind all the time
It’s the review now, so just read on my FANners…
The Story
When a stranger, Thaddeus, is found badly wounded near the village, miner Li Kung and his wife Ah Ni offer him refuge. As he heals, he becomes entrenched in a conflict that pits the townsfolk against the evil Master Ho, his nefarious Beetle Clan and the terrifying Lord Pi. With Thaddeus at his side, the mild-mannered Kung transforms into a deadly warrior.
The Cast
RZA as Thaddeus aka The Man with the Iron Fists. RZA may be best known as one of the main artists who was part of the Wu-Tang Clan group, his credits in films comprise of composer credits on films like PACIFIC RIM, DJANGO UNCHAINED, 8 MILE, and more, as well as an actor in films like BRICK MANSIONS, GI JOE: RETALIATION, and as
Samurai Apocalypse in CALIFORNICATION.
Dustin Nguyen as Li Kung. He’s been in reoccuring roles on series like the original 21 JUMP STREET and the Pam Anderson vehicle VIP, as well as in films and other TV shows like LITTLE FISH, GAME OF ASSASSINS, THE UNIT, JAG, and 22 JUMP STREET.
Carl Ng as Master Ho. Before MAN IN THE IRON FISTS 2, Carl Ng has been in the tv series COVERT AFFAIRS and POINT OF ENTRY, as well as the films NEW POLICE STORY, THE VIRAL FACTOR, and something
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as The Mayor. A character actor who seems to specialize in villanous roles, Tangawa is probably best known in his role as Shang Tsung from the movie adaptation of MORTAL KOMBAT, a role he took up again in the revival, subtitled MK: LEGACY. He’s also been featured in films like LICENSE TO KILL, SHOWDOWN IN LITTLE TOKYO, the PLANET OF THE APES remake, PEARL HARBOR, and countless others in his near 30 year career. Also, he recently took on the role of another villain protagonist in another fighting gaming film series, TEKKEN, as Heihachi.
The Dissection
THE MAN IN THE IRON FISTS was a modest hit when it was initially released in late 2012. The movie was a passion project of main star RZA, as he was a big fan of the martial arts films of the 70’s which the film was inspired by. This leads us to this movie, and it’s also taking from those sources for this. However, while the first was a big brawl between a bunch of different kung fu masters, MAN IN THE IRON FISTS 2 is more in line with a wandering samurai story from that same era. However, it comes off like a pale imitation than a good tribute.
Kung (Nguyen) and Master Ho (Ng) facing off.
Some of the issues that were present in the first movie ended up being fixed in this one. The direction during the films, and especially with the fights, is much improved, the visuals in the movie do looks impressive throughout, and the music in the film is more often than not tied well with the movie and not clashing during the flow of it. Plus, the story itself is a bit better structured than in the first one, and gives a bit more detail on what the stakes are and on how it goes through 90 minutes.
However, the main issues are deep in the film. The RZAs role in the film is limited, as he starts the film badly wounded over an attack that links from the first movie, and is out of commission for the first half. The main character we follow is Kung, and we get the story developed through him and see his motivations, but he’s basically flat for most of the film. He looks agitated through most of the film, apart from moments where he’s suppose to be sad. It’s no the fault of the actor, but rather how is written. The worst is how, early on, he warns his younger brother to watch his back for people that he pissed off, and then a few scenes later he’s looking for his brother and is totally not at all worried about his safety, thinking he’s still drunk from a party the night before.
Everyone in the film has a lot of bad writing for their characters, and the antagonist of the movie, Master Ho, is the prime example of this. Every line of dialog is some stock villain line, whether it’s damning his underlings for failing, making threats to keep the village in line, making insults to the main hero, showing no respect for anyone and generally just being a douche. Granted, the whole point is for him to be a villain to be vanquished by the end, but it really leads nowhere, as he’s essentially written out of the movie by the climax to focus on a new villain for the last few minutes. It makes a lot of the big scenes in the beginning, and all the hype and peril he presented, seem meaningless.
Yeah, that’s the face of a man you can trust….
Everyone else in the movie, even the Man with the Iron Fists himself, is just flat and kind of there. There isn’t anything like the first movie’s array of characters or the wild moments from there to latch onto in this one. The whole movie feels less impressive overall.
The Verdict
Overall, MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2 improves a bit on the first film, but ends up degrades other parts that did work to do that. It would be something to rent only if you wanted to see more after the end of the first one, but since this film kind of ignores that, it might not even be enough for that.