In Defense of Iron Fist

Did anyone else binge watch Iron Fist this past weekend?

We certainty did and our initial reaction was, what on earth is everyone talking about?

Iron Fist is unlike any other Marvel/Netflix show and after discussing it, we decided to write our honest review, and also defend it.

We are not going to rehash the whole whitewashing controversy because it’s been done to death and we have said before, in the comics, Danny Rand was always white, and while we thought initially it would be a great opportunity for them to cast an Asian/American actor, we preferred to go into this with an open mind.

Some reviewers thought the story was slow and boring. We actually disagree. Yes, there were some parts that lagged, but no show is without a bit of pacing issues. The only two problems that Seppin had (and Seppin does know a great deal about Iron Fist. He’s read the comics, unlike many others) was that we didn’t really see K’un-Lun and we also didn’t get to see the dragon Shou-Lao.

We think we may have figured out the problem that a lot of people had with the show and its main character played by Finn Jones. We’re obviously not mind readers, but perhaps the problem viewers had is not the show itself, but the tone. It was not as dark as other Netflix/Marvel shows and Iron Fist is not technically a hero. He’s not out saving Hell’s Kitchen or Harlem. He’s not going up against corporate America, although they did try and touch upon that. He not as tortured as Matt Murdoch or seeking social justice like Luke Cage. He’s not pulled into the hero stuff like Jessica Jones (Honestly, to call Jessica a hero is stretching it a bit).

And there’s a reason for that.

Danny Rand comes to New York after living in a monastery since he was ten years old. He isn’t supposed to be mature and gloomy. He’s still in a childlike mindset even though he was trained in the deadly arts. He has never been out in the real world and has no clue how to handle the changes, something  Finn Jones was able to pull off perfectly.

Danny Rand was trained for one thing and one thing only and that was to be the Iron Fist. The Immortal Weapon’s enemy has always been The Hand. He doesn’t save people. He’s usually out for himself and he only gets involved in the hero business when he teams up with Luke Cage.

He’s not supposed to be dark and brooding. We saw certain reviewers say the fighting style was too unrealistic. He didn’t seem to break a sweat…well, he shouldn’t. He is supposed to be fluid and Kung Fu comes naturally to him. He’s been doing this for a long time and he’s doesn’t have to come across as though he is fighting for his life all the time because he is the living weapon.

Some of the fight scenes in Iron Fist were pretty spectacular and we ate it up.

We also thought Colleen Wing was portrayed perfectly and we even didn’t mind Claire being such a huge presence in the show. The supporting characters of Ward and Joy Meechum were a necessary addition to the plot of Danny coming home, but it was Harold Meechum who really shined.

“That wasn’t very nice, Ward.”

Yes, we wanted to shout at Danny not to trust Harold, but again, he doesn’t know that the man who was his father’s best friend, and who he grew up thinking of as another father, was his enemy. He still was trying to desperately hold on to some part of his childhood throughout the show, until the very end.

Can we also discuss the Easter Eggs that were thrown around every episode?

Obviously, they used the show to set up The Defenders and we applaud them for that because…wow, there are just too many references to even get into.

No, Iron Fist is not perfect and we’re not trying to say that it was, but it was not the dud that everyone is making it to be. We enjoyed it and maybe it was because we didn’t go into watching the show with high expectations. We took it at face value and had fun. We didn’t try to over analyze like many other viewers and critics because at the end of the day, it’s just a show and its main purpose was to entertain us.

And it truly did.

Seppin’s Star Review: 8.7/10

Rek’s Star Review: 8.0/10

MSR’s Star Review: 7.5/10

 

~Seppin

~Rek

~MSR