The Man With the Iron Fists: How not to write

[Leif Notae]

Good morning everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend so far (if you are reading this for the first time AFTER the weekend, sorry about that).

I decided it was a smart idea to walk The Man With the Iron Fists last night. I spent $9.25 (after the 8.25 charges and handling) and really wish I had gotten in for free like my friends did.

However, there is always something to be gained from a bad situation like this. Watching this was a clear reason as to why not every Average Joe can write a story. Yes, they can WRITE, but they cannot WRITE A STORY.

There were so many flaws, so many ideas left on the table, and so many ways I could think of to salvage it. It is also an homage to the kung-fu movies of old and some exploitation films as well. I wasn't expecting much, but even those slight expectations were crushed.

If you wait until the DVD comes out or its on Netflix on a rainy night, do yourself a favor and watch it. Analyze the story and see where things fall apart. If you are aware of story structure, you can see where the threads start fraying and falling apart.

Oh yes, and Russell Crowe fights a lot of cancer in this film (South Park reference, Google it if you don't understand).

Did anyone else dare to see this movie? What were your thoughts on it? Did you think the same way I did?

 

[Philip Overby]

I want to see it but I assume it's just sort of like a "popcorn movie" so I don't expect too much out of it. To me it's like trying to analyze the story structure of Transformers. If I go into a movie expecting a good story, then I'd be disappointed. If I go into a movie just expecting some fun action, then as long as that delivers, I'm cool with it. So I still plan to see it and I'll add what I think after that.

 

[Leif Notae]

I went in expecting just fun action, and it lost me after about 5 minutes so I had nothing else to do BUT analyze the structure or else I would have walked out.

 

[Saigonnus]

Haven't seen it, but it makes me think about the Hollywood I grew up with in comparison with the Hollywood now. I believe first and foremost a movie should have a solid story line whatever genre you happen to be filiming. I think too many studios now make movies just to use special effects whether they have a good storyline or not. Special effects were originally used to "enhance" the movie experience not BE the movie.

Look at the original Star Wars trilogy that came out in the late 70s early 80s, the story was good and the movies as a whole were well done. Then look at the Star Wars episodes 1-3 they put out... they were great for special effects. but the storyline was weak and many Star Wars fans were dissapointed with having waited SOOOO long for the next trilogy to be released to get Jar Jar Binks?

 

[Sheriff Woody]

A kung-fu movie directed by a rapper...hmm...I'm fairly certain the integrity of the screenwriting was not on the list of priorities for this one.

 

[Leif Notae]

Yes, you are right Woody. However, it was green lit by QT and co-written (salvaged) by Eli Roth...

 

[Sheriff Woody]

Yes, you are right Woody. However, it was green lit by QT and co-written (salvaged) by Eli Roth...

Plastering his name on a movie's marketing and giving himself a generic "producer" tag doesn't mean QT had anything to do with it. I don't know whether or not he did, but I know from previous films that he likes to put his name on for marketing purposes only. 'Quentin Tarantino presents' means little more than 'Quentin Tarantino likes this movie'.

In truth, I am not a fan of anything QT has done since Pulp Fiction (with the mild exception of the first part of Kill Bill, but definitely not the second), and Eli Roth has failed to impress me with anything he's attempted since the under-rated Cabin Fever.