MAN WITH THE IRON FIST 2 review by: Mike Smith Thaddeus The Blacksmith (RZA) is back in this action adventure inspired by Kung-Fu classics. A reluctant villager joins forces with a mysterious outsider to fight off powerful evil forces, both earthly and otherworldly, in a 19th century Chinese mining town. Let me start by saying I didn't mind the first Man With The Iron Fist movie; it was a nice Kung-Fu action Grindhouse movie but it was forgettable. Besides the start of the film, Man With The Iron Fist 2 shys away from the Grindhouse feel of the first film and focuses more on the Kung-Fu genre. One thing I was disappointed about is that this films story isn't really based around the adventure of Thaddeus The Blacksmith. The story is about a minor who must save his village with the help of Thaddeus The Blacksmith. Man With The Iron Fist 2 just helps build the legend of Thaddeus The Blacksmith a bit more, so don't expect just to watch RZA whoop ass through the whole film like the first one. I'm not the biggest Kung-Fu movie fan but I really enjoyed myself. The fight scenes are really well done and kept me wanting more. The story is a classic stand up to evil story and this film tells it well. Unlike the first film, there are not a lot of big named stars in this movie, but it doesn't take away from the film. Everyone does a great job in Man With The Iron Fist 2 and it feels like a love letter to classic Kung-Fu films. But like all films, Man With The Iron Fist 2 does have some flaws, like the use of modern day lingo. You kind of forget that everyone is supposed to be in 19th century Chinese, even though it takes you out of the film I find it part of the charm. The music is all rap and/or big rap beats; I'm not by far a rap fan and yes I know RZA is a rapper so I knew what to expect and I enjoyed the beats and the scores. Man With The Iron Fist 2 is not a top shelf movie but I did enjoy it even though it's not what I was expecting after seeing the first film 3 years ago. This film is strongly forgettable but has some fun lines of dialog. If you want to watch something a bit different and turn your brain off for 90 minutes check this out and no you don't need to watch the first film to watch this one. Cheers and remember like won't suck as long as there is a good movie to watch. 6 out of 10 Edited by Samantha Locketwitter: FatMikeTPK Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FatMikesMovieReviews

Plot was a bit weaker than the first. These types of films are not made to win Oscars. The Rza has spoken widely on his, and the Wu- Tang Clan's love of Eastern thought and specifically Kung-Fu films. I think is just another love song to that genre and a reference to milieu that might be a little odd to westerners not familiar with the Asian culture. I think the Rza in his own small way is trying to touch on concepts and loftier concepts , just not being an adept at storytelling, one can see gaps and weaknesses in the arc and theme, Story goes that there's an entity on a mining town that feeds on life force. The people of this town also have to content with oppression from the ruling clan. Meanwhile Thaddeus (RZA) is unexpectedly involved in a rebellion against the dictator. Main focus of the movie is the struggle of town folks, there's barely any continuity from the first movie and RZA himself only here as a supporting role. The plot tries to resolves its several subplots, only to be hampered with poor execution.Writing and characterization are not satisfying, it follows the usual rebellion theme with screeching pace. Though it has a couple of twists, the direction is so slow, one can skip thirty minutes of the movie and doesn't miss much. The build-up is inconsistent with shady acting, and change of setting to beach town doesn't prove to be amusing as well. Environment only consists of a dark barren town and a rural village. The use of color contrast feels archaic, it's nothing more than the visual of B-movie. Furthermore, the soundtracks don't fit the theme, it may be intended as clash of cultures, but the end result is borderline intrusive.RZA is definitely passionate about martial art movie and he invests a lot of time for this niche, but The Man with the Iron Fists 2 is a sub par action movie. It has low production value, the exotic location surprisingly isn't appealing, the script is flimsy and most importantly the action choreography is utterly disappointing. Fights are no better than scenes from ancient action flick from decades ago, and with this flaw the movie just loses its main appeal.I thought to avoid watching this movie, because is a sequel of a terrible-boring wrongly directed movie called THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS(2012), which is characterized by wrong choices and wrong decisions in all levels: Producer, Director, Actors, Writer... The first movie was a child attempt of RZA to become a Writer-Director- Producer-Music- Protagonist ...all in one: A monumental ego catastrophe.Maybe is not one of the best action movies of the year, perhaps far from that, but the movie has some valuable elements that make you feel satisfied at the end. Is a kind of crazy movie that some times make you remember the style of action of movies like Kill Bill.I give 10 stars rating, for this entertaining action movie.

If you're OK with watching B-grade type movies with weird plot holes and fight scenes where you can often spot a completely missed hit, then this movie is OK.But if you're expecting a great Kung-Fu thriller, this isn't it.There are a lot of roll-your-eyes moments, where you could see it coming a mile away and the cheese factor is high. The script seems to have been written by the black dude starring in it, at least it feels that way.It's about as good/bad as the first movie.Then there's the cheesy soundtrack. It's crap. It reminds me of Kanye's stuff. It's crap too. (I just looked up the sound track and he is actually on it, so now it makes sense).I did have fun watching it though, it's not awful if you can get past the obvious stuff and I think overall it deserves the rating it has right now.5/10

I thought to avoid watching this movie, because is a sequel of a terrible-boring wrongly directed movie called THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS(2012), which is characterized by wrong choices and wrong decisions in all levels: Producer, Director, Actors, Writer... The first movie was a child attempt of RZA to become a Writer-Director-Producer-Music-Protagonist ...all in one: A monumental ego catastrophe.But finally, I saw the movie, and I was surprised. The movie continues with the story of Thaddeus and his journey through China, but now is a well done movie, with beautiful scenes, great camera handling and photography sometimes is precious. The plot is not predictable and has enough turns to keep you attached to the action developed in the movie. Dialogues are not boring or stupid ...an sometimes you could feel some poetry and oriental wisdom expressed in the lines. Fight scenes are well done and choreographs work well. The music is also a hit. CONCLUSION: if you like the action genre, the movie deserves to be seen, and the reason for it: the well done job on the Direccion, made by Roel Reiné(Dead in Tomstone, Dead Race 2-3).Maybe is not one of the best action movies of the year, perhaps far from that, but the movie has some valuable elements that make you feel satisfied at the end. Is a kind of crazy movie that some times make you remember the style of action of movies like Kill Bill.I give 7 stars rating, for this entertaining action movie.