Iron Fist

I was apprehensive with all the negative reviews but I thoroughly enjoyed every episode. I've really enjoyed Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil, and Iron Fist is just as entertaining. The characters are well developed and far from one dimensional. I personally found Ward Beacham to be the scene stealer (recognized him from Ozark). Each of the Defenders has a series with their own unique feel and storyline and Iron Fist adds to the build up to The Defenders series. Great characters, acting, and fight scenes, with a tense build up through the season. Ignore the hate and watch for yourself. You won't be disappointed.

Cultural appropriation: a phrase that is never too far from a press review of Iron Fist. It's also what I'm focusing on here, rather than the questions about this show's pacing and editing (for the record, I think it's great).

Should a white man be playing the Iron Fist? That's the big question on the lips of many a film critic. And the answer, in my humble opinion, is 'Sure, why not?' After all, the character was white in the first place.

Is that 'cultural appropriation'? I guess so. But what's it's not is a problem, and I say that as a person of East Asian descent. There is simply nothing wrong with white people doing kung-fu, just as there's nothing wrong with a white person rapping or, indeed, a Chinese person wearing a baseball cap, while eating a Big Mac and singing Sweet Home Alabama.

Yet critics are making out that Iron Fist is like some kind of throwback to Yellow Peril characters like Fu Manchu, but it's nothing of the sort. There's a simple reason why that was offensive and why Iron Fist isn't.

Iron Fist features a white man playing a white man, whereas Fu Manchu was a Chinese man played by a white man, complete with 'slitty eye' makeup.

In spite of this obvious truth, a lot of people suggest that an Asian person would have been better suited to the role. Why? Another chop-socky Chinaman is not what the Asian community needs in terms of media representation. We need more Asian people just being people. An example that springs to mind is Glenn in The Walking Dead. He's great because he's just a regular guy, who also happens to be Asian.

But the critics continue to pile on the criticism when it comes to Iron Fist. I wonder, though, how many of those same critics heaped praise on Kill Bill, which is far more guilty of borrowing from East Asian culture than Iron Fist.

Call Iron Fist what you like. Say it's badly written or boring. That's fine. I disagree, but each to their own. Just stop getting offended about something that's not offensive - and if you aren't Asian, perhaps stop and think about what Asians actually care about.

I binge watched already the whole show since I'm sick at home. I was aware of all the bad critics, but I had nothing else to watch. I was pretty surprised, the show has an entertaining storytelling, good acting (I like Finn as the sometimes childlike but also wise Danny Rand), some humor, sometimes a little bit cheesy, good fight scenes (even though Daredevils hallway scene is unparalleled ). I would rate the show in line with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, Daredevil is better, but Iron Fist doesn't deserve the hate. It has also three strong, interesting female characters: Rosario Dawson has a comeback as the Night Nurse, but in stronger appearance than in Daredevil or Luke Cage. Also Jessica Henwick as Coleen Wing is a great female lead and Madame Gao is a wonderful fleshed out female villain. Give it a try.

As a huge fan of Marvel I'm a little biased because I pretty much like everything they put out. My bias aside, Iron Fist is a pretty good show. It's definitely the weakest of all the Marvel shows but that doesn't mean it's bad. The other ones are just that good. I still think this a good show that's definitely worth watching! It's too bad that Netflix couldn't renew their contracts with Marvel and they had to stop making the Netflix Marvel shows because every single one of them was great! Now that they're on Disney they can bring these wonderful characters back. They already started to with Daredevil and Kingpin and just renewed Daredevil for another season. Now they have to do the same for The Punisher, Luke Cage amd Jessica Jones. While Iron Fist definitely won't get renewed because it was the weakest, they cam still bring some of these Iron Fist characters over to some of their other MCU shows. If you're a Marvel fan then this is a must watch!

Iron Fist falls short of previous Netflix Marvel productions.

The writing was sometimes cringe-worthy and while some blame the actors, there's only so much that can be done with a poor script.

The direction was also lacking, with oddly constructed scenes and action. It felt like the actors had little feedback on their performances, which led to the repetitive silliness.

The fight choreography... well, I'm not entirely sure there was any. Unlike Daredevil (for example), where there was a genuine sense of reality in the fight scenes, in Iron Fist it felt like the scenes in Arrow. Unlimited energy, unrealistic combat, no real damage.

That said, it's not actually horrible, and makes for a good weekend binge-watch. Just imagine you're watching a 13-hour Saturday Kung-Fu movie marathon, and set your expectations appropriately.