Iron Fist is the latest hero to join the ranks of Marvel's Netflix series for the eventual series that ties the heroes all together in the Defenders. I started the first episode, and it was not what I was expecting at all, and not in the good way.
The first two episodes are a slog to get through. Danny Rand returns from being supposedly dead after 15 years and is unintentionally hilariously similar to Arrow whereas Danny Rand is sent to a mental hospital. Then the narrative takes a hard slow churn to put forth this subplot. That maybe Danny Rand isn't Danny Rand, and this part irked me to the point where I was clenching my fists in anger and shouting at my laptop. After that point, the show finally picks up but so far I'm halfway through and it's becoming a little more tolerable.
The most disappointing thing about this show is that it lacks any sense of style or feel. Daredevil was dark, gritty, pretty much Batman. Jessica Jones was noir and detective fiction. Luke Cage was the best of Blaxploitation. Iron Fist has...nothing. I was hoping for it to play like classic kung fu movies but Iron Fist plays it completely straight. Nothing really stands out about the show except for its piss poor fight choreography. Every fight sequence feels slow and sluggish and drawn out just to pad the run time. It's not exciting or thrilling to watch at all, but I'm hoping the quality steps up after the halfway point.
Iron Fist could've been a great series, but it doesn't hit all the right points with low-quality fight sequences, a less-than-great script and bad pacing. I'm at least eager to see how Iron Fist and Luke Cage will be buddies in the Defenders series coming.
