The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)

When it's over, kung fu is not hip-hop. It may work in the right filmmaker's hands, but Director/Writer Rza is not that one. The story takes place in a village in feudal China where assassins, warriors, and British soldiers try to steel a chest full of gold. In the village, a former monk turned blacksmith (Rza) tries to defend his community. There are no shortage of big names including Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, and Rick Yune, but this does not help the film, except to market it. Two things this film desperately need are: (1) replace the lead actor, which in turn would replace the director, because they are the same; and (2) make it clear who and what the story is about. Quentin Tarantino produces this awful tribute to classic kung fu films. The film would have been ten times better if he had been in the writer/director seat. The kung fu is cheesy and the gratuitous violence demoralizes the film. The acting is poor, reinforced by a weird blend of characters that make this film so awful, awful, awful.

My rating: 1.5 out of 5