The Man with the Iron Fists

[mooyingmantis]

Worst movie I saw this year! Opening rap was filthy. Fighting was stupid. I would say the plot was lame, but I never detected a plot.

If I had went to the local library and borrowed the DVD for free, I still would have felt ripped off!

[doug maverick]

Worst movie I saw this year! Opening rap was filthy. Fighting was stupid. I would say the plot was lame, but I never detected a plot.

If I had went to the local library and borrowed the DVD for free, I still would have felt ripped off!

think you missed the entire point of a RATED R film.

[Jimbo]

I think I enjoyed it as much as I did, mainly because I went in with very low expectations. Probably my biggest disappointments were that neither Chen Kuan-Tai nor Leung Kar-Yan had much to do at all. In fact, the only time I actually got a clear look at Leung was during the end credit sequences. I suppose they might include more on the DVD extras.

Do I feel that the movie equalled the movies it pays homage to? Not IMO. If anything, it convinced me even more that the spirit, as well as the sheer physical complexity and creativity of the old-school choreography in Chinese/HK films, is a thing of the past. Only Donnie Yen remains, and once he's gone, who knows. TMWTIF proves that, while it has some highly-trained MAists in it, nowadays that matters little with the wires, CGI, and choreography designed to help non-MAists look like MAists. Which Yuen Woo-Ping has done before, but which has become Corey Yuen's specialty.

Another big thing, as I think has been mentioned already, is RZA himself starring. I give him credit for putting himself out there, but he had no screen presence as an actor, and didn't seem convincing against Dave Bautista, even with his iron fists. IMO, someone like the aforementioned Don Cheadle or, even better, Michael Jai White, would have been much more suited to the role.

[doug maverick]

I think I enjoyed it as much as I did, mainly because I went in with very low expectations. Probably my biggest disappointments were that neither Chen Kuan-Tai nor Leung Kar-Yan had much to do at all. In fact, the only time I actually got a clear look at Leung was during the end credit sequences. I suppose they might include more on the DVD extras.

Do I feel that the movie equalled the movies it pays homage to? Not IMO. If anything, it convinced me even more that the spirit, as well as the sheer physical complexity and creativity of the old-school choreography in Chinese/HK films, is a thing of the past. Only Donnie Yen remains, and once he's gone, who knows. TMWTIF proves that, while it has some highly-trained MAists in it, nowadays that matters little with the wires, CGI, and choreography designed to help non-MAists look like MAists. Which Yuen Woo-Ping has done before, but which has become Corey Yuen's specialty.

Another big thing, as I think has been mentioned already, is RZA himself starring. I give him credit for putting himself out there, but he had no screen presence as an actor, and didn't seem convincing against Dave Bautista, even with his iron fists. IMO, someone like the aforementioned Don Cheadle or, even better, Michael Jai White, would have been much more suited to the role.

originally rza wasnt going to star in it. but i guess they couldnt find someone to play the black smith. the casting choices werent the best. with the exception ofcourse of bautista, cung le, russel crowe and oddly enough lucy liu...also jamie chung did a good job. but rick yune was horrible... he was suppose to be the lead... they needed someone stronger.

also i liked mc jins cameo... if you dont know who jin is, he was the first legit asian rapper, signed to sony records...he moved to hong kong and became a born again christian.. but the dude has skills.

[Jimbo]

I think Russell Wong would have been a much better lead than Rick Yune. I mention Russell a lot, simply because he's a very good, very underrated actor, has leading-man looks, and can also do good screen fighting, if need be.

Jamie Chung was the hottest-looking lady in the whole movie.

[GeneChing]

Colorworks Evokes Classic Martial Arts Films in Grading Universal Pictures’"The Man With the Iron Fists"
November 12, 2012
Source: Colorworks

Colorworks, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s digital intermediate facility, provided color grading services for Universal Pictures’ The Man With the Iron Fists.

The new action-adventure film presented by Quentin Tarantino marks the directorial debut of RZA, best known as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu Tang Clan, and stars RZA, Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu, Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Cung Le, Dave Bautista, Byron Mann, Daniel Wu and Pam Grier. Colorworks senior colorist Trent Johnson was tasked with finalizing the look of the film, which was shot in China by cinematographer Chi Ying Chan (credited in film as Chan Chi Ying) (Dead or Alive, Tokyo Raiders).

The film, according to Johnson, is lush and rich, in keeping with the mythic style of the classic Chinese martial arts films of the ’70s and ’80s that inspired it. “The look was imposed by the set design, by the art direction and the costumes,” said Johnson. “It’s formalized, like much of Chinese art and architecture.” Johnson developed an unusual color effect for a flashback sequence set in the United States when the film’s main character, Blacksmith (RZA), was a young man. He de-saturated the scene to black & white and then applied spot color to certain highlights. “We brought back the yellow glow of a lantern and a flame, and restored the red to blood,” he recalled. “It was important to establish that the scene was a flashback and to let the audience know that we are in a different time and place.”

Johnson took even greater liberties with a series of stylized martial arts scenes that play under the film’s end credits. “We applied different effects to each clip, all of them reminiscent of older martial arts films,” he says. “We used color reversal looks, Kodachrome looks, Ektachrome looks and similar looks that were created with film stocks.”

The coloration of this movie was so much in the style of those classic Kung Fu flicks, which I personally found very amusing. However, I think it flew way over the heads of most audiences. I've talked to a lot of young people about this (by young, I mean in their 20's or younger, long before the 'golden' era of Shaw Brothers) and none of them were impressed by MwtIF. I'm sure the color grading totally escaped their notice.

[doug maverick]

The coloration of this movie was so much in the style of those classic Kung Fu flicks, which I personally found very amusing. However, I think it flew way over the heads of most audiences. I've talked to a lot of young people about this (by young, I mean in their 20's or younger, long before the 'golden' era of Shaw Brothers) and none of them were impressed by MwtIF. I'm sure the color grading totally escaped their notice.

as a young person in their twenties i resent that remark..lol.. the coloring on this film was fantastic. i loved the way the reds popped out, and it had that old feel. but wasnt washed out..which im happy because people who shoot with the RED(the camera used for the film) never properly color grade...and the colors always look too flat and washed out.

[GeneChing]

as a young person in their twenties i resent that remark..lol..

Well, you *are* an exception when it comes to martial arts movies. Most kids your age don't have your expertise on the subject. Heck, most old fogies my age don't have it either.

While I enjoyed MwtIF, I think a lot of its entertainment value lies within knowing the genre. In discussions that I've had about it, those that know their classic kung fu films enjoyed it. Those that don't, well, they don't get it.

[Jimbo]

That's why I felt it would have an overall limited appeal. Out of the population, very few people know or care about the genre of old- school KF movies, regardless of the age group. Most awareness, if any, is as the cliche of the 'cheap, badly-dubbed kung fu movies' from Saturday afternoons. There is definitely a true fan base, an awareness that there are many excellent movies in the genre, but it's a relatively small niche.

[Blacktiger]

Saw it last night and was quite excited.

There were parts that were really cool and then as alot of people have said something was missing, dont know what exactly but...

I found the RZA painful in the extreme, If I closed my eyes it could have been afro samurai.

Hope they do another one however

[Raipizo]

Well, you *are* an exception when it comes to martial arts movies. Most kids your age don't have your expertise on the subject. Heck, most old fogies my age don't have it either.

While I enjoyed MwtIF, I think a lot of its entertainment value lies within knowing the genre. In discussions that I've had about it, those that know their classic kung fu films enjoyed it. Those that don't, well, they don't get it.

I noticed a little about that, although I'm in my 20's. I watch old Kung fu movies thought so maybe that's why.

[mickey]

Greetings,

I finally saw this. It was much better than I anticipated. It really maintained the Shaw Brothers feel. I enjoyed the opening melee and when the Black Widows went into action (completely unexpected).

mickey

[PalmStriker]

For those who have not had a chance to see this movie, including myself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A57zjclmoI

[bawang]

i didnt watch it because the lucy lee oriential prostitute monologue in the trailer weirded me out.

[GeneChing]

A Superstar In China, Daniel Wu Emerges In His Native California

July 21, 20188:15 AM ET
CHLOE VELTMAN


Daniel Wu plays the starring role in the TV series Into the Badlands, and also serves as one of its executive producers.
Aidan Monaghan/AMC

In the dystopian AMC television action series Into the Badlands, Daniel Wu stars as a lethal warrior on a quest to discover the truth about his past.

Over two decades, the 43-year-old has played leading roles in everything from romantic comedies to kung fu costume dramas. He's become a celebrity across Asia. But Badlands is the first starring role in the United States for the California native.

"As a kid growing up in the '70s, '80s, as a person of color, I didn't see a future for that," Wu says. "In my field, there was a roadblock. And so, I basically had to go to Asia and get successful there in order to come back here to have success here."

This year, Hollywood blockbusters like The Mummy, Ready Player One and Transformers: The Last Knight have done better box office numbers in China than they have in the U.S, according to Box Office Mojo. That's part of the reason why Asian-American actors are starting to snag more leading roles in U.S. films like Crazy Rich Asians and in TV shows after decades of being sidelined in this country.

Daniel Wu is one of them.

Wu grew up in the Bay Area, the son of immigrants from Shanghai. He went to the University of Oregon, and thought he'd become an architect. But in 1997, after graduating, he traveled to Hong Kong, where he was randomly spotted in a bar by a talent scout for a TV commercial.

It just so happened that Hong Kong film director Yonfan caught the ad — and gave the chiseled 20-something his first big break. The director tapped the novice to star in Bishonen, his drama about an ill-fated gay romance. But there were some challenges.

"I've never acted before," Wu says. "And my Cantonese was not good at the time. So I turned it down."

Yonfan wouldn't let go.

"By the end I was like, 'OK, if you don't blame me for screwing it up, I'll give it a shot,'" Wu says.

That was the start of Wu's fast rise to stardom in China, though it didn't exactly happen overnight.

"I came to Hong Kong as a foreigner," he says. "Even though I'm the same skin color, same hair color, same culture, I was treated differently at first."

It took a couple years, but Wu says he was welcomed.

"These are my people, my own culture, and they're accepting me," he says. "I think that's the most touching thing that's happened to me."

Over the years, Wu says he returned to the U.S. for occasional, mostly disappointing, meetings with movie executives.

"They don't really know what they're looking for," he says. "They're just looking for someone Chinese, you know, or Asian."

But slowly Wu started to find opportunities. There was the American-Chinese co-production The Man with the Iron Fists, shot in China by the rap artist and and movie director RZA, who cast Wu in a small role. The RZA says he was surprised when his local crew saw Wu as the biggest celebrity on set.

"I'm telling you, nobody gave two cents' s*** about none of us," RZA says. "When Danny came on the set, everybody went crazy. And all of a sudden, I was making a movie."

These days, Wu is spending more time in California with his family. And after two decades of superstardom in China, Wu has finally landed a major role in the United States.

"It wasn't until Badlands came about that I really kind of moved back here, because there's a steady strong job," Wu says.

He trains at a gym near his home in Oakland. He needs to stay in shape for Into the Badlands *-- where he says he's been in more than 30 fight scenes in three seasons.

Wu says while he and a few fellow Asian-American actors are starting to get more lead roles in the U.S., there's still plenty of room for growth.

"It's still not at the point where I'd like it to be," Wu says. "But you know, I understand that it's a slow process. It's a transition."

THREADS:
Into The Badlands
The Man with the Iron Fists