The Man with the Iron Fists - Action-Packed Martial Arts Movie | Kung Fu & Hip-Hop Adventure | Perfect for Movie Nights & Martial Arts Fans

I've never written a review, but it's high time for me to come out from the anonymous shadows of the internet and put my money where my mouth is. First and foremost, as if the star rating didn't give it away, I found this movie very enjoyable. However, I'm writing this review today not as praise for all its rights, but as a defense for all its wrongs. Many of the reviews I've read find the movie bland, flat, and without flare. However, given the genre it's heavily persuaded by, the American 70's kung-fu theater, this is an out and out homage to that time period and culture. The dialogue has been cited as "terrible", but honestly, who watched kung-fu movies for the dialogue? Yes, it sets the story and yes, it advances the plot, but generally most people are there to watch people beat the snot out of each other. Personally, I found the writing fine, but that's not what this review is about.Another personal favorite of the less than positive reviews is pointing out the unimaginative scenery and characters. Jungle Village. Brass Body. However, again, this is a tribute to the kung-fu theater of yesteryear. Most of the poorly dubbed movies of that era suffered from extremely simple translations and thus had direct, to the point naming conventions. This is also why, as stated in the previous paragraph, the dialogue comes off as flat, or even overly acted with no substance. Again, a call back to the cinematic era it's referencing. To be honest, though, most Asian languages are very direct in their naming. For instance, Japan in Japanese is "Nihon", with "Ni" meaning sun and "hon" meaning source, so Japan, land of the rising sun. Get it?Now, I've only seen a few references to this next particular issue, but I feel it must be addressed, and that is the soundtrack. Some have said the hip hop seems out of place and my only retort would be, "Have any of you seen Samurai Champloo?" That is a quintessential example of the perfect harmony between hip hop and the ancient Asian culture and I believe it works here as well.I could go on and on, but I'm sure many of you have stopped reading or simply made up your own mind long ago and I wouldn't be able to sway you otherwise. However, for those that have trudged along this far, I implore you to watch this film with an open mind and a laid back attitude, appreciating for what it is: a homage to a simpler time in theater. This isn't a 13 Assassins or a Hero or a Zatoichi, this is a man professing his love to a cinema that he is so fond of. I tip my hat to thee, RZA.