Jump to content

Iron Fist [SPOILERS - after page 3]


RedEyedGhost

Recommended Posts

Started watching. Partially, I just don't think the lead can carry this. Partially bad writing. But more boring than unwatchable...just not any real tension or investment. But not off the charts incompetent or w/e, so far. A few ugh lines, and some pretty significant plot holes, but if the highs were higher the lows wouldn't be that remarkable IMO. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, mormont said:

I've heard the suggestion that they should do Heroes for Hire instead of a second season of either Iron Fist or Luke Cage. I think that would make sense for Iron Fist but Luke Cage, as I understand it, was in terms of ratings at least as successful as DD or JJ, so should easily sustain a season 2 in its own right.

Doing some background I read an article that stated that in the comics that making Power Man and Iron Fist broskis is what saved them, as their individual comics weren't selling.  

I can't state enough how disappointed I am with Netflix Iron Fist. Poor writing, bad dialogue, a plot that was simple yet clunky as fuck... and none of the best things about Danny Rand.

Boo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Does anyone have anything on a troubled production with this show? Everything seems so rushed, nobody is up to speed on how to fight. It looks like it was 6 months away from being ready but they shot it anyway. I wondered if there was anything about why this has happened.

There was some trouble in the lead-up to this. It was supposed to come before Luke Cage but apparently Netflix was struggling to find a showrunner or a lead actor (and there were apprently strong arguments inside Netflix over going with a white lead or an Asian-American) and the reception to the Luke Cage character in Jessica Jones was extremely strong. They found a showrunner for Luke Cage very quickly and it came together very easily, so Netflix chose to "follow the momentum" and flipped them.

Apparently there was also some discussion with the Marvel film side of things and they realised that it would make more sense for Iron Fist to follow Dr. Strange in developing the mystical side of the MCU then coming before it.

It probably could have done with some more time in the oven, but they were constrained by other factors. The Punisher moved ahead quite quickly and they got the Daredevil team to start working on The Defenders and then Jessica Jones S2 was greenlit to follow that and Iron Fist had this one slot to fit into or it simply wouldn't happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watching further, and I'm a combination of confused and bored, each probably impacting the other. 

The corporate crusader bit should have been reserved for limited use. It's both stretching credibility and losing effect.

What was going on with the tv room in the back of a truck? Like a moving lab/chemist deal? Why, what's the advantage? Presumably he/it would still need regular supplying, waste disposal etc. so what's the significance of having him live on board? I'm pretty sure I just missed an obvious explanation, this is where my lack of interest is probably compounding.

What's with the universally prudish attitude towards drugs? Also, I'm unclear as to whether the miracle heroin is safe as well as legal, and if so what's the problem? Seems like a win-win. Kinda OT, but why the 50's stewardess marketing plan?

If the 'zone' where Dany was trained is linked through once-in-fifteen-years Tibetan gate, why are they teaching him to account for his family's wealth/status in NYC? Isn't that a huge variable with little obvious relevance to their world?

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

Watching further, and I'm a combination of confused and bored, each probably impacting the other. 

 

  Hide contents

What was going on with the tv room in the back of a truck? Like a moving lab/chemist deal? Why, what's the advantage? Presumably he/it would still need regular supplying, waste disposal etc. so what's the significance of having him live on board? I'm pretty sure I just missed an obvious explanation, this is where my lack of interest is probably compounding.

 

I figured they had just brought him into the country in that crate, but I could be wrong. It wasn't always easy to stay engaged with the show while binge watching. Plus thanks to The Wire I see those crates and think human trafficking.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, RumHam said:
  Reveal hidden contents

I figured they had just brought him into the country in that crate, but I could be wrong. It wasn't always easy to stay engaged with the show while binge watching. Plus thanks to The Wire I see those crates and think human trafficking.  

Ah, ok. Could be that. More issues now, though.

 

Where does he get all these weird rules for the Bloodsport trial by combat deal? He says he'll be up against several Hand foes but must himself be alone...how/why? From the ruler in the mouth? And why is he trusting that these guys will abide by the result when the whole thing is so arbitrary? What if they keep sending opponents until he's exhausted? What's the rule on instant replay? And why is he so ok with the guy who tried to have him killed so often riding shotgun?[/spoiler]

It's getting annoying. Still watching because this (6th) is the episode many seem to think is the high water mark, but...

 

Edit: also, the lead moves like a dork, not like an athlete. Also, if his entire raison d'être is protecting that place, what's he doing road tripping to New York for 15 years (at least) Do they work in shifts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

Holy crap is this spider-woman scene bad in like every way, writing, acting, directing, probably even bad for the environment.

Yes. Might have been the worst scene of the entire show for me, especially since she could have killed him 25 times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apparently The Defenders finished shooting 2 days ago. They haven't announced a date but I've seen a lot of summer speculation, which feels too soon given Netflix's post process. I suspect it will be September, followed by The Punisher (which is about to wrap as well) in November or December and then Jessica Jones Season 2 (which starts shooting imminently) in the March slot for next year (and then we'll apparently get Daredevil Season 3 and Luke Cage Season 2, maybe even both in 2018 after JJ2).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Mexal said:

Yes. Might have been the worst scene of the entire show for me, especially since she could have killed him 25 times.

Yeah, just awful, and from the start too, no need for the pseudo-seduction crap. Just...I guess trying to get sex into the story about a celibate monk? No other explanation. Just awful. And I'm still unclear as to his solution...was it basically decide not to be poisoned?

Also, Ward's problem really escalated quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, so this is getting next level bad, but I'm slightly interested in the fact that they seem to be exploring his being potentially nuts. Earlier there was a comment on his training being abuse, which also has interesting implications. I fear that the overall acting and writing will keep this from paying off, though. But I've entered that place where you're almost daring yourself to keep watching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

Spoilers can now be unleased.  Read further at your own discretion.

Danny Rand is a dipshit and they troll us by never showing K'un L'un or Danny fighting Shou-Loa the Undying. I mean, why would we want to see one of the coolest origins in the Marvel universe actually realize din the show? Who wants to see a dude fighting a dragon only to win and gain mystical powers? Right?

It's earned the 19% rating on RT.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finished it tonight. I liked it more than Luke Cage, mostly because the quality was much more even throughout. Luke Cage was swingy personified, a couple of great episodes, several middling episodes, and quite a few outright terrible episodes. This didn't have any terrible episodes, but the great episodes were lacking too. The choreography was astoundingly bad. Is backing your ass up into somebody a legit kung-fu move? Because that was done at least twice in this show. They probably should have used some editing tricks to make the fighting more interesting... filmed it slow and methodically and then fed us a sped up version, because the biggest issue was how damn slow the fights looked. I don't get the love the actress who played Colleen is getting - I thought she was quite wooden. Maybe she's getting praise because she was playing off of a fence post in Finn Jones. A lot of stupid in the show too, my favorite was "You have a lab at Rand, right? You can get sodium pentathol there." 

Hopefully they combine seasons 2 of this and Luke Cage and form something palatable.

 

10 hours ago, James Arryn said:

Someone is making money off spoilers now? The end is nigh.

It took me awhile to figure out WTF you meant by this; after thinking about it I'm pretty sure your only exposure to the word "discretion" is from "discretionary fund."  Read more, dude, read more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RedEyedGhost said:

I finished it tonight. I liked it more than Luke Cage, mostly because the quality was much more even throughout.

I don't often say this, but what are you smoking?

Luke Cage misses Mahershala Ali after episode 7 and has a poor last episode, something it shares with DD S2, but the quality between and even within each episode of Iron Fist is all over the place. The only times it's consistent, are when it's consistently bad.

10 hours ago, James Arryn said:

Holy crap is this spider-woman scene bad in like every way, writing, acting, directing, probably even bad for the environment.

My initial reaction was very much 'WTF?' But then I got it. It's RZA leaning in to his cheesy '70s Hong Kong martial arts movie aesthetic. It's silly, but at least when the show is being silly, it's kind of fun. I prefer that to Danny being all angsty and broody about his parents' murder, which Finn Jones does not pull off at all. (When he finally realises that Harold was behind the plane crash I nearly laughed out loud.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Almost every time Finn Jones is about to deliver a line, he scrunches up his face like someone's just spritzed him in the face with horse piss. Though to be fair, I pull the same face during every fight scene.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Despite the weakness of this show, I am still very excited for Defenders. Curious if Netflix can pull a better team up story than the Avengers.

And after seeing the finale of this one, I think my favorite character is Jeri Hogarth. Her reaction to seeing Harold alive is priceless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just saw this rather good article on Comicbookmovie.com about why Iron Fist needs to be White, and why changing his race would diminish the character. I can't say I have had much contact with the character before but he makes a lot of good arguments about how Danny Rands relationship with Luke Cage and Misty Night is important and their races are integral parts of their identities. 

I'm really not a fan of changing an established characters race just for the sake of diversity, or out of fear of offending those who are easily offended. The above arguments are just as strong reasons to justify Marvel / Netflix's choices I feel. 

https://www.comicbookmovie.com/tv/marvel/iron_fist/blackbeltjones-on-iron-fist-the-ivory-issue-is-there-really-a-problem-a149768

 

Quote

The Netflix series has the opportunity to really delve into these topics that we’ve seen over the decades in the comics. Yes, casting Danny as an Asian or Latino would’ve presented other opportunities as well, but Danny IS and has ALWAYS been white. So, adapting his story means you’ve got to work with what’s there, and there’s plenty there as I’ve illustrated above.

One must hope Loeb and company had all of this in mind when casting. I hope they were looking for the best actor no matter their pigmentation, but when you consider the historical meaning of Danny’s relationships, his ivory culture is important to the complexities and idiosyncrasies of said relationships.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...