TV Review : Iron Fist - Episodes 7 - 13

TV Review : Iron Fist ; Episodes 7 -13 

Series continues to stumble, then falls flat on its face 

Rand looks puzzled, a common look during the series that never really changes. 

I wanted to like Iron Fist. I really did. I had  hoped that the initial problems with the series would be gradually ironed out as the show gained momentum. Granted, it did not have the ferocious pace and shocking realism of Daredevil, but it yet showed in the middle of the series that it might grow into something decent. Instead, the character of Danny Rand never developed, and interesting characters were benched in favour of the badly written mediocre ones that we had started with. 

In the middle of the season Madame Gao and the Hand lifted the series, and hinted at a greater story arc more interesting than the Meachums. Unfortunately, Gao was soon sidelined by an offshoot leader of the Hand, unconvincing played by  Ramon Rodriguez. Danny is later  joined by an old ally from home, Davos, who likewise has neither the physical presence nor the lines that can help prop up the ailing show. Even a competent veteran actress like Rosario Dawson, who was so good in Daredevil, cannot help when given cringingly bad lines in a plot that lurches around awkwardly, then ends with a disappointing anti-climax. 

But the main problem is the character of Danny Rand himself. He shows no growth or development, and continues to be the vehicle for the amateurish writing, that as many critics have pointed out, violates the golden rule of visual drama and great stories ; "Show, Don't Tell" . Rand and Colleen continue to spew out awkward and cringe-worthy dialogue as they point out the obvious and look like idiots, being outwitted by not particularly witty villains. The main villain now becomes again David Wenham, who continues to ham it up as Harold Meachum. He seems more suited to the sneaky take-over of a country club than a part of New York. Although the character of Ward Meachum becomes mildly interesting, the final battle is embarrassingly bad and leaves us still caring little about any of the main characters. Throughout, the feel is of a cheap production thrown together for daytime TV, rather than the high quality Marvel/Netflix collaborations we have become accustomed to. Disappointing. 

5/10

TV Review : Iron Fist by Marvel/Netflix

TV Review : Iron Fist by Marvel/Netflix 

Season One : Episodes 1 to 6  

Inferior to Daredevil, but then isn't everything ? 

 

image courtesy of tvweb.com

Iron Fist has come in for some pretty heavy flak from reviewers, but has been perhaps misunderstood and judged too harshly against Daredevil

 

In the latest Marvel offering, Finn Jones plays Danny Rand ; son of a billionaire and apparently  returned from the dead after a plane crash long ago. In this new Netflix collaboration then,  the last of the Defenders is ushered in. Rand has been training with warrior monks since the plane crash that orphaned him, and has become the Iron Fist ; a martial arts legend who can summon enough Chi to punch through anything. 

This is a slow start to the series, as Danny's first challenge is to re-establish his identity and claim to his inheritance, something that perhaps takes up too much story time. The initial villain is rather uninspired ; a little more Phantom of the Opera than criminal mastermind, and Danny himself comes across as naive and self-preoccupied. Some of the dialogue needs editing, and the fight scenes do not have the bone crunching realism of Daredevil. I can see why some reviewers have criticized the characters as dull, and the hero in particular as a little unlikable. Who cares what happens in this story ? 

Nonetheless, Iron Fist slowly gains momentum, particularly when some old enemies  ( and friends ) from the Daredevil world crash the party. Rand gains a sidekick who adds interest, perhaps romantically too, ( Colleen Wing as a martial-arts teacher ) and the series begins to delve into the darkness and develop a flavour of its own. Iron Fists fighting style is the more elegant dance-like Kung Fu as opposed to Daredevil's boxing and improvised brawling. Think Donnie Yen in Ip-man rather than the Punisher turning inmates into mince-meat. At first this leads to some rather unsatisfactory fight scenes, as barely any blood flies, and Danny's style seems more about dodging as opposed to dispatching opponents. Later however, the martial arts develops into some pretty spectacular flying double kicks, and our hero actually accrues the type of battle wounds that laid Daredevil on the couch so often. You begin to appreciate the beauty of the choreography, even if it still seems a little unrealistic.  Even the intro and music improves, as Trevor Morris lays down tracks reminiscent of Daft Punk in Tron Legacy.

The character of Iron Fist himself is more problematic. It takes time to reveal his code of conduct and his mission. In the first few episodes Colleen Wing is actually more interesting as a character struggling with moral dilemmas and developing a new identity. Danny seems annoyingly ignorant, and he's not the only character to seem a little unbelievable. His rivals, and then later business partners, the Meachams, lack depth and complexity, despite their centrality to the story. Luke Cage and his enemies ( and even friends ) were far more believable and interesting. It's worth remembering however, that Danny  is supposed to be returning from fifteen years in the wilderness, an isolation he was dropped into as a ten year old child. In many ways he still has the mind of a child, and one who is new to the New York city of 2017. As he gradually wises up and the battle with the real villains comes into focus, the series develops a more satisfying pace. Iron Fist still seems a little uneven  and scattered with its story lines and characters, but at least you begin to have faith that things will settle down. Maybe even the Meachams will become interesting and develop personalities beyond the corporate boardroom !

 

Ultimately this is a series that  should be given a chance and judged on its own merits. I think some reviewers are looking back and seeing Daredevil as perfection, and perhaps Luke Cage and Jessica Jones as better than they really were. Finn Jones never quite has the charisma to hold the series up on his own, but with a collective effort it bumbles through. Iron Fist stumbled a little with its entrance, but that doesn't mean it won't grow into something satisfying. People need to remember they're watching TV, not judging some new-found work of Rembrandt. Yes it's art, but it's not to be taken that seriously, and it's not finished yet.

 

7/10

Film Review : Fury by David Ayer

Under rated war film with a stand-out soundtrack

image courtesy of Columbia Pictures

 Fury passed relatively unnoticed at  the box office, making modest profits and garnering respectable nods from critics. Recently on Netflix and DVD, this war film is well-worth a second look.

In Fury, Brad Pitt plays 'WarDaddy' ; a veteran tank commander during World War Two, leading a squad of under-armoured Shermans into Germany. The Nazis may have been out-numbered and  losing at this stage, but they still had the edge in tank technology. Monster Tiger tanks are able to shoot through Shermans like butter, and shrug off their own shells like pebbles. The collapsing German front is still laced with fanatical SS, often press-ganging civilians into the last desperate gasp of the Third Reich.

Playing opposite Pitt is the rookie Norman ( Logan Lerman ), a typist drafted into the crew as an emergency replacement. The squad find themselves fighting a desperate delaying action that may well turn out to be the ultimate sacrifice. Perhaps too many shades of Private Ryan ?

In most respects though Fury stands up to Saving Private Ryan and comes off better. It's not as epic in its vision, and is purposely focused on the intimacy of five guys trying to cope with the war in a claustrophobic death-trap. Otherwise it has the same shocking realism that made Saving Private Ryan such a stand-out film in 1998. The soundtrack by Steven Price is one of the best I've heard in a long time and may live with you long after the film. Choral voices and violins are as raw as the brutal imagery.

Like truly great war films though, the most memorable moments are in the brief reposes from the action (excellent though the action scenes are in Fury ). It says a lot about this film that even Shia LaBeouf is convincing as a religious man stubbornly clinging to his faith despite the horror around him. He delivers what is probably the most chilling line in the film when he bluntly tells Norman, in the prelude to battle:
 " Wait till you see it."
"What ?"
" What men can do to each other."
The statement hangs coldly in the air, with a touch of reverence, as if the horror that man has made almost equals God's power.
Jon Bernthal is particularly effective as a frightening black-toothed southerner; the kind of bully you are uncomfortably pleased is on your side. Michael Pena rounds off a solid cast.

Halfway through the film the Americans get a brief respite in a village. A rare moment of domestic comfort occurs as WarDaddy and Norman happen upon a couple of local ladies and enjoy a home-cooked meal and a tune on the piano. When the rest of the crew crash in and ruin the moment, the superiority of the film to Private Ryan is made clearer. War ruins men, turns them into savages. Jon Berthnal's bully sours  the atmosphere like an abused child become the abuser.  Likewise, the scene portrays perhaps the central dilemma of war, or any job associated with violence. How do you fight effectively without losing all your humanity ? When Pitt eats a ruined egg rather than beat Bernthal senseless for licking it, he hints at a way. Yet Pitt, suitably physical, controls his crew with an aura of barely restrained violence, rather than with rank. What he makes Norman do in order to survive is horrifying, yet logical ;  " Do your job" is another line delivered by the crew with chilling banality. Ethics are largely out of the window for now ; especially when fighting the SS on German soil, because hesitation costs American lives.

Grim as it is, Fury ends on a satisfactory note. There's a nod to the humanity left on the other side, and the main characters redeem themselves as best as they can given the circumstances.

My only criticism of the film is we never really get to know much about the characters, but perhaps this is part of the point ; they were all just meat in a giant war-machine. Pitt's character speaks German, and there is a hint this is his heritage, not training. How does it make him feel, to fight Germans in Germany ? We never really find out, though it is hinted at with his visceral hatred of the SS compared to his relative restraint with  civilians. Likewise, the opening scene takes a moment to show him mournfully petting a German horse before regretfully sending it on its way. It's a rare moment of humanity in an otherwise blisteringly raw film, and notably one that shows gentleness to an animal, not a person. In war, people have a role to play, and unfortunately must be treated as such.

8/10

Here's a taste of that special soundtrack :
The War Is Not Over by Steven Price

Film Review : Get Out by Jordan Peele

Film Review :  Get Out by Jordan Peele

Horror-Comedy hits all the right notes and is a surprisingly  effective allegory of slavery and the African - American experience.

image courtesy of Blumhouse Productions and QC Entertainment

'Vague' Spoilers ahead.

Yes, 'Get Out' is as good as they say. 

Daniel  Kaluuya plays Chris, a young black man in America about to go through the awkwardness of meeting his white girlfriends parents for the first time.  The pair ( Alison Williams plays the girlfriend Rose ) are heading out of the city to visit the folks in an isolated rural area. Chris is already nervous about the coming weekend, and has been warned by his cousin, ( the comic relief played by Lil Rel Howery ) who only seems to be half-joking about the dangers of  being at the mercy of white folks in the middle of nowhere.  Though the initial meeting goes okay ( Rose's Dad proclaims he was a huge Obama fan and seems eager to put Chris at his ease ), Rose's mom and brother seem weirdly intense. Worse, ' the help' at the large country home are black, and seem either cowed or mentally disturbed. Chris will find no allies here. Then it turns out the entire white family is converging on the country-estate for some sort of anniversary weekend in honour of passed on Granddad.  Chris finds himself slowly confronted with a horrible truth in stages, as awkwardness turns to fear. At the end of Saturday's party, when Rose's brother ( complete with horrendous wispy hilly-billy moustache ) starts playing a banjo on the porch, to some sort of Deliverance-like tune, you know this ain't turning out good.

Throughout, Peele masterfully builds the tension with awkward humour and jarring shocks. Lead  Kaluuya is one of those gifted actors who can convey a range of emotions in a subtle shift of facial expression. We feel with him his increasing isolation as his girlfriend Rose seems only half clued in to what is going on. Why does Rose's Mom insist so on hypnotising Chris to help with cigarette addiction ? Why does the housekeeper unplug Chris's phone and then appear to have some sort of break-down when called on it ? Meanwhile a beacon of hope lies with Chris's cousin Rod, a TSA agent dog-sitting for Chris, who is determined to keep tabs on his friend.

Peele's genius is to have made this modern horror-comedy simultaneously a stunningly powerful allegory of the African American experience. For me, the pivotal moment of the film is actually when comic relief Rod reports his concerns to the local police station. Even though the officer is of colour, the palpable lack of concern for a missing black man is well conveyed.  Had this been a young blonde middle class girl, the choppers would have been in the air five minutes ago. But the knock-out punch comes when Rod delivers his theory of what may have happened. Earlier, we laughed it at  because it was intended to be comic relief. It was Rod, making us laugh, playing his role. But when we hear it delivered again and to police, the absurdity and the tragedy hit home : white people, abducting black people, and forcing them to be slaves ? It sounds ludicrous ; so viciously inhumane and ridiculous that it could not be real. Yet it did happen, to millions of Africans. Meanwhile as the horror unfolds on Chris, the bluntness of how Africans were literally treated like livestock is punched home more effectively than Twelve Years a Slave, precisely because it is portrayed in a modern context. When you  watch a film like Twelve Years a Slave, you can intellectually acknowledge it but perhaps not really feel it precisely because it is portrayed ( relatively far ) in the past. It's over, right ?  With Get Out, it's as raw as it gets. When a police car arrives near the end and you automatically expect Chris to get shot because he's black, you realise, it's not over. Not by a long way yet. 

Don't let the heavy undertones put you off from seeing Get Out. It's almost flawlessly written, shot, directed and acted, and there's enough laughter and suspense to make the horror bearable and even enjoyable in a Scream-like way. The final horror of what is to happen to Chris is original enough ( a la Human Centipede ) to make this a fresh take on the genre of horror-comedy, and will simultaneously leave you thinking about what slavery really meant, what it actually may have felt like. Powerful stuff, and skillful enough to be exhilarating and  entertaining.

9/10