RZA’s film debut filled with strong soundtrack, weak acting, storyline
When it comes to hip-hop artists and rappers getting into the acting business, only Eminem, with his critically acclaimed performance in “8 Mile,” and Common, with his numerous appearances in films and his starring performance on the AMC show “Hell on Wheels,” have succeeded.
For his first feature film, “The Man with the Iron Fists,” RZA — also known as Robert Fitzgerald Diggs — jumps on the wagon by taking directorial, writing, acting and composing duties. But does this Quentin Tarantino protégé present a strong start with this kung fu extravaganza? Well, yes and no.
RZA pulls a Jon Favreau and stars in the film as Blacksmith, a Buddhist weapons maker beholden to the warring clans of 19th century backwater village, Jungle City. He’s forced to fashion lethal weapons for the Lion Clan, Wolf Clan, Gemini Twins, the Eleven Rodents, etc.
From the opening sequence, you can instantly tell this isn’t a movie you’ll take seriously. It immediately jumps to a bunch of kung fu freaks beating the hell out of each other to the tune of the Wu Tang Clan’s “Shame on a N***a.” I mean, the tag line for the film is “You can’t spell Kung Fu without F and U” so you’re supposed to expect this kind of absurdity.
The specifics of the plot are about as convoluted as the election process. To put it simply, the clans come together in pursuit of a gold fortune that passes through Jungle Village and all Blacksmith wants to do is retire to the country with his beloved paramour Lady Silk (Jamie Chung).
RZA fills the cast with superpowered characters with self-evident names. Russell Crowe plays rogue British death machine Jack Knife, named after the knives he carries which double as pistols. Lucy Liu plays slashing seductress Madam Blossom, the only female character in the film who’s more than a wooing prostitute. We also get World Wrestling Entertainment’s Dave Bautista as Brass Body, a hulk who can turn his body into an indestructible gold metal.
The only two dividing aspects about this movie are the action and soundtrack. In terms of music, RZA shows how much better he is a music maker than a director, screenwriter and actor. There are times when the beats do feel too controlled, but once the soundtrack kicks up, the rapper demonstrates his knack for creating cinematic music. It’s even worth sitting through the ending credits just to listen to “The Baddest Man Alive,” a collaboration between RZA and The Black Keys.
Action-wise, RZA fills the movie with delightfully gory, absurd action scenes, offering plenty of “Holy crap!” moments. Wonderfully choreographed, these sequences provide kung fu fans with the slow-motion fist fights and gushing arteries they crave. Unfortunately, RZA clumsily handles the editing of these scenes and refuses to provide any tension to make them even the least exhilarating.
Everything else about this movie just doesn’t click. With the exception of Crowe and Liu, the actors project as much emotionality as a sumo mat. RZA is burdened by the curse that comes with rappers crossing into a whole other game: the acting game. The fact that he’s street and hip makes it difficult to accept he can blend into a period piece.
Even though it’s extremely violent and bloody, it seems like the movie shies away from its R-rated status. For a movie filled with women who are mostly nothing but characterless prostitutes, it tones down the sexuality despite all the grinding done by the kung fu experts. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but if you’re going to play a football game, why not go for the entire 60 minutes (if you know what I mean)?
Really, the only thing that “The Man with the Iron Fists” has going for it is the attention of Quentin Tarantino, who charitably presented the film as RZA’s mentor. RZA provided the music for Tarantino’s “Kill Bill,” observing his direction of the film step by step. I’m not suggesting that he tried to copy Tarantino’s style because this movie doesn’t have the same mix of hard action and dark comedy that Tarantino is known for.
RZA no doubt expresses his passion for the kung fu genre with this project, but it’s been three days since I’ve seen “The Man with the Iron Fists” and it’s already feeling pretty forgettable. This is a bad movie, but it’s a good bad movie, one that will probably never go beyond cult status.