It is a well-known fact that critics and audiences often have different responses to film/ television etc. So I wasn't particularly surprised when I saw a very high rating for Iron Fist on IMDb compared to it's 37/100 score on Metacritic. For this reason, I went into this first episode with an open mind.
I have seen maybe half of the first season of DareDevil and all of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and really enjoyed all three. Something I've noticed is how realistic everything that can be is. What I mean by that is that the dialogue, the human interaction, the plotting etc. feels so natural that the element of superhuman abilities just feels like an extension of the world, rather than anything else. We believe that Luke Cage is a real person working two jobs and still mourning the death of wife, so the fact that he is bulletproof and has super-strength doesn't faze us.
That is where, in my opinion, Iron Fist fails. The dialogue feels so forced and unnatural that every scene just feels a little off. Every scene seems to go on for slightly too long so you're left a little bored. The pacing is so jarring that after every new scene you need time to adjust. It hopped between light-hearted and dramatic so quickly that I had no idea how I was supposed to feel. And I was genuinely shocked at how choreographed the fight scenes seemed to be. Obviously fight scenes in media are choreographed, that's not the problem. The problem is that it's clear that the actors have been told exactly what to do and rehearsed it so it's clockwork, which means it's so unbelievable. I was sure that if there was one thing I could enjoy about this show it would be the action, but clearly I was wrong.
I've seen a lot of IMDb reviews where people complain that the only reason this show has not received critical acclaim is due to political correctness. That is an easy way to trick yourself into enjoying a very mediocre program. Very disappointing from a Marvel/ Netflix collaboration.
I have seen maybe half of the first season of DareDevil and all of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, and really enjoyed all three. Something I've noticed is how realistic everything that can be is. What I mean by that is that the dialogue, the human interaction, the plotting etc. feels so natural that the element of superhuman abilities just feels like an extension of the world, rather than anything else. We believe that Luke Cage is a real person working two jobs and still mourning the death of wife, so the fact that he is bulletproof and has super-strength doesn't faze us.
That is where, in my opinion, Iron Fist fails. The dialogue feels so forced and unnatural that every scene just feels a little off. Every scene seems to go on for slightly too long so you're left a little bored. The pacing is so jarring that after every new scene you need time to adjust. It hopped between light-hearted and dramatic so quickly that I had no idea how I was supposed to feel. And I was genuinely shocked at how choreographed the fight scenes seemed to be. Obviously fight scenes in media are choreographed, that's not the problem. The problem is that it's clear that the actors have been told exactly what to do and rehearsed it so it's clockwork, which means it's so unbelievable. I was sure that if there was one thing I could enjoy about this show it would be the action, but clearly I was wrong.
I've seen a lot of IMDb reviews where people complain that the only reason this show has not received critical acclaim is due to political correctness. That is an easy way to trick yourself into enjoying a very mediocre program. Very disappointing from a Marvel/ Netflix collaboration.