Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Critics maul ‘Iron Fist’ as drama puunches below its weight
MICHAEL CAVNA
WASHINGTON: If you’ve ever studied martial arts, you recognise this type of fighter: No matter their strength or swiftness, they are an easy target and a mess of technical vulnerabilities, leaving themselves wide open time and time again to the expertly delivered blow.
That fighter, within TV dramas, is Marvel’s Iron Fist.
The Netflix series, which debuted last week, aims to follow in the deft footsteps of its three comic-book forerunners: Daredevil; the Peabody-winning Jessica Jones; and Luke Cage.
Unfortunately, many entertainment critics conclude, the newest show quickly trips over its own laces (a feat made all the more remarkable given that Iron Fist sometimes eschews shoes).
Featuring the high-kicking, lowtier superhero co-created by the great Roy Thomas during the “Kung Fu”-loving ’70s, Iron Fist centres on the life of long-lost Danny Rand ( Games of Thrones’ Finn Jones), the prodigal twentysomething son who is ready to assume his place in the ol’ family boardroom but where he’s really trained to do business is on the streets of this alternative Big Apple.
If only the series were prepared to pack a narrative punch.
Marvel’s TV arm, led by chief Jeph Loeb, had proved nimble and opportunistic so far. The US TV critics warmed quickly to the various Marvel/Netflix shows, with Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage all scoring well cumulatively on MetaCritic.com (75, 81 and 79, respectively), and registering as fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, bringing up the rear, Iron Fist scores a woeful 35 on MetaCritic and registers as 14% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes (only 3 out of 21 reviews are positive).
It’s not just that Iron Fist is scoring low: It’s how it’s being taken down that is so devastating.
Critics are getting in their shots as if it’s a standup showdown. They are verbal fireballers throwing high heat, and Iron Fist is a poor, defenceless schlub in a dunk tank.
“Not one element of this plodding piece works,” writes Variety’s Maureen Ryan. “The action scenes lack spark, snap, and originality. None of the characters makes any lasting impression.” Ouch The show is “devoid of vision” and “lacking in executional chops”, writes Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen. “It assumes its own marvelousness and proceeds tedi- ously from there, offering few satisfactions for any possible audience.” Whack Iron Fist feels “like a step backward on every level, a major disappointment that already suffers from storytelling issues through the first six episodes made available to critics”, writes the Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg, “and would probably be mercifully skippable in its entirety if it weren’t the bridge into the long-awaited Defenders crossover series.” Pow Uproxx’s Alan Sepinwall can’t even muster the engagement to get to the Defenders follow-up. “We got a show that’s so lifeless,” he writes, “that I have no interest in finishing out the season.”
And perhaps the most direct sidekick and knife- hand comes from the A.V. Club’s Danette Chavez, who says: “Filler episodes are one thing but right now Iron Fist looks like a filler season.”
And just like that, the series is down for the critical count. – Washington Post