Article first published as MARVEL'S IRON FIST Review on Seat42F.
MARVEL’S IRON FIST released today. The
fourth in a series of Netflix shows from the comic creator, it is
designed to set up the final piece of the quartet for The Defenders
team, a crossover series coming soon. In an effort to get you a review
in as timely a manner as possible, this only covers the first hour of
IRON FIST (mainly spoiler-free), although all thirteen have been
released.
We open with our hero, Danny Rand (Finn
Jones, Game of Thrones), returning to New York City for the first time
in fifteen years. Barefoot, dirty, and scraggly, Danny fits in better
with the homeless denizens of the park than he does in the upscale home
and office building of his youth. Reintegrating back into the life he
has been missing from is, predictably, not an easy task. Especially when
his childhood friends, siblings Joy (Jessica Stroup, The Following) and
Ward Meachum (Tom Pelphrey, Banshee), think Danny died in a plane wreck
with his parents and don’t trust his sudden reappearance.
There’s no suspense for viewers as to
whether Danny is who he says he is. He is the title character of the
show (Rand is famously Iron Fist in the comic pages), so Marvel wouldn’t
tease us by focusing a series on an imposter. His martial arts skills
and seemingly superhuman moves confirm that for any who might still
wonder, though we don’t get the First itself right away.
What there is suspense about is what the
motive of the central villain is. It takes quite awhile for IRON FIST
to even get around to showing us the presumed bad guy, though he is
there before the end of the hour, and even after the reveal, little is
known about him. While other Netflix Marvel shows have taken their time
in their reveals, we usually get a bit more than this in the early
stages.
Instead, we’re focused on Danny’s core
problem: no one knows, or believes, who he is. This makes it impossible
for him to start over, and fans will probably be unsure as to why he
even wants to now. Why has he come home and what does he want? That
isn’t stated. Instead, the focus just seems to be on how Danny will
eventually convince the Meachums that he is legit, a frustrating and
anticlimactic question.
There are some twists in the pilot, and
while some are obvious ones, some are not. This means it is entertaining
and moves along. The pacing is in line with the other Marvel shows, and
the lack of information given to the audience does entice me to want to
watch more right away. This isn’t a show meant to be served in
single-hour portions.
But what works against IRON FIST is that
it doesn’t have as strong an identity as Jessica Jones or Luke Cage.
Both of these quickly came out of the gate with an obvious style and
mission that made them unique. IRON FIST seems much more a typical
superhero show, with Danny’s own abilities making him look more like
Spiderman without the sass, and his upper crust upbringing not feeling
especially unique.
Will IRON FIST overcome these drawbacks,
its lack of immediate hook and more typical tone? Or will this be the
weak link of the Marvel franchise, the one Netflix series from the
studio that doesn’t earn itself a second season? I like Jones and
Stroup, as well as Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones), who plays likely
love interest and Danny’s tie back to Asia Colleen Wing, so I hope
there’s something here. One hour is just not long enough for me to make
that determination.
MARVEL’S IRON FIST complete first season is available now on Netflix.
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