The Man With The Iron Fists 2

I grew up loving kung fu movies from the 70´s. Some of these films had so many cool fights, you wanted to be one of these bad ass fighters. There was something unique about the way kung fu films were made, since they really did all the fighting themselves without special effects. Stunt guys were used of course, but the fights were almost never fake, because they knew the audience wanted to see the fights look spectacular. David Carradine ( a legend and dearly missed ) made his effort with Kung Fu, the tv series. This classic tv series gave us a different look at an kung fu master, who wanted to teach people that peace is more important than violence. The legacy of David Carradine followed with him through his film career, especially for his tv series Kung Fu. When the 80´s kicked in, there were still kung fu films made, but you could tell that the world was changing. Martial arts films was taking over in a different way, especially after Jean - Claude Van Damme got his big hit with Bloodsport. As the 90´s came along, martial arts films seemed to stay popular, while kung fu films did not get much attention. It would take a long time, until director Quentin Tarantino decided to make Kill Bill Vol.1 in 2003, when we could see the kung fu cinema make a big return for the big screen. Who would have known that the sequel Kill Bill Vol.2 would be even better than the first film ? Quentin Tarantino made sure we got some really wonderful kung fu vibes with Kill Bill, and Uma Thurman did an excellent job. Film makers seemed to be interested in bringing the feeling of the kung fu films of the 70´s, and we got some more releases. But it was not until 2012, when hip hop artist RZA, decided to make his own tribute to kung fu films with The Man With The Iron Fists. With Eli Roth as one of the producers, and with an cast of Russel Crowe, Lucy Liu, Cung Le ( and many more ), i was very curious to see if this was a tribute that respects the old kung fu films. It actually managed to deliver some solid entertainement, without giving something ground breaking. There were even some hip hop influences thrown into the film, and that proved to be something different for this genre. When i found out that a sequel was coming out, with no promotion at all here in Sweden, i decided that i should take a look anyway. Is this sequel almost as good as the first film, or is this another release that should have been cancelled from the beginning ?

Thaddeus the blacksmith ( RZA ) is travelling to the monks at Wu Chi Temple on a quest on inner peace. Suddenly Thaddeus is attacked by the brother of Silver Lion and his henchmen. Thaddeus manage to defeat them, but is badly injured, and ends up in the river, floating away. In Tsai Fu village, a woman named Innocence ( Pim Pubear ), daughter of Li Kung ( Dustin Ngyen ), find Thaddeus in the river. He is brought to the home of Li Kung, where Innocence is taking care of his wounds. Since Thaddeus is an blacksmith, he is needed to make weapons, because the village is preparing to fight back against the evil silver mine owner Master Ho ( Carl Ng ). Master Ho arrange fights, to defeat every warrior who is brave enough to face them. Innocent people are dying, and Li Kung can not watch the village people become victims of this tyranny. Thaddeus wanted to live a peacefull life, but he realise that he must help the village defeat Lord Pi ( Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa ) , to make sure that they can all live a normal life again.

When you see an sequel coming out, and you did not even know it was made, this could be a bad sign of what to expect. Since i enjoyed the first film, for being a tribute to Kung Fu movies and mixing in hip hop styles into the genre, i was not sure if i wanted to see a sequel. After watching The Man With The Iron Fists 2, i can tell you that i could have skipped this one. Let´s get to the problems right away. When you see that the production budget is much smaller, with more B film actors than Russel Crowe from the first film, that is a warning sign. While the first film had some cheesy moments of acting, at least the actors were good enough to make their characters look pretty cool. In this sequel, some of the acting is so bad, i begin to wonder if director Roel Reiné just hired the ones he could find, just to finish this sequel. The kung fu scenes where they chop heads off, and other body parts feel very cheap, while they could have made some effort to make it look better. One of the few positive things are the fight sequences, they look pretty good when they get started. I realise that this is an direct dvd release, so i can´t expect this film to carry the same qualities from the first film. I have seen a lot of martial art films, kung fu films, over almost 18 years of my life, so i appreciate this genre if it is made with heart. I can see potential here in the cinematography, and in some of the fight sequences. I usually have one demand, when directors make sequels. Make them as good as the first film, or make them even better, or you might as well avoid making one. Unfortunately, we don´t get many great sequels to films nowdays. Sometimes it does happen, like with The Purge: Anarchy, i felt this film was much better than the first film, and that is always appreciated. The Man With The Iron Fists 2 is not awful all the way, there are just so many problems that should have been fixed before the film was released. Director Roel Reiné is known as the director for films like Pistol Whipped with Steven Seagal, and The Scorpion King 3, so you know instantly he is known for making low budget films. If you love kung fu movies, there are plenty of classic ones i can recommend. If you did enjoy the first film The Man With The Iron Fist, i can guarantee you will disappointed with this sequel. Maybe it is time you find another project RZA ?

Rating: DD