Mar
21
2017
0

Iron Fist Episode 1: Snow Gives Way Review

Directed by: John Dahl

Starring: Finn Jones, Jessica Henwick, Tom Pelphrey

Released: 03/17/2017

Iron Fist is the 4th and final show before Marvel’s combined Avengers-like show, The Defenders, which will feature Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist to fight a still unknown threat.

As a character, Iron Fist is supposed to be the most mystical of all The Defenders, but here he is portrayed as down to earth. Some might see that as refreshing, but when the adaption doesn’t resemble the original at all, that’s a problem. This first episode doesn’t feel like a super hero show; it feels like an episode of Days of our Lives.

Finn Jones plays the titular character of Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, and for those who don’t know him, he played Loras Tyrell on Game of Thrones. The problem with Finn Jones is that he’s tragically miscast here, and I’m not talking about the white-washing controversy. No, Finn Jones simply cannot carry the weight of this character, and hehas almost zero charisma in this show besides.

Jessica Stroup and Tom Pelphrey play the brother/sister combo in charge of Rand Industries now, and again they are written as soap opera characters. They almost have a sense of chemistry between them; however, it feels forced.

Which brings me to the action, or lack thereof. This show is not exciting. This show is boring, with capital B. Now I am not saying it has to have action on every corner, but the plot needs to progress. All we get is the cast making stupid choices one after another. And for characters that make stupid choices, they’re all written as if they’re very smart and with memories so impeccable that it’s immersion breaking. Some of these characters remember events from 15 years ago like they happened yesterday.

Action in this show, or what little there is, is adequate. The special effects during bog down the action and mostly look fake, and the choreography is only serviceable with fighting styles that are rather boring. When watching an intro is more exciting than watching a show, you should know you have a problem.

Overall, Iron Fist is starting off as a big misstep for both Marvel and Netflix. I enjoyed all of the other Marvel shows, even though they did have some flaws, but Iron Fist is just not interesting in the slightest.