Originally published March 17, 2017. Updated April 11, 2018.
Shaun Munro reviews the first episode of Iron Fist…
Iron Fist arrives on Netflix today amid the bad-PR double-whammy of whitewashing accusations and a fleet of negative early reviews, but for those prepared to keep an open-mind, can the streaming giant’s fourth Marvel show still deliver the goods?
Well, it seems to get one thing right from the up; the first two episodes are helmed by legendary film noir director John Dahl (Red Rock West, The Last Seduction), who in recent years has worked on a litany of acclaimed TV shows such as Dexter, Breaking Bad, Homeland, Hannibal, The Americans and House of Cards, to name just a few.
Sadly, however, this season primer isn’t the most invigorating introduction to Danny Rand (Finn Jones), who returns to New York City after being presumed dead in a plane crash with his parents, to find the family business now controlled by his parents’ scheming partner Harold Meachum (David Wenham). Rand isn’t just some bum looking to reclaim his fortune, though; he’s gained quite the Special Set of Skills since he’s been away.
It’s somewhat unfortunate that Iron Fist is the last of the four Defenders origin stories to land, because that only further highlights how uninvolving it is compared to the more rich and interesting debuts of Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Even outside of the show’s racial controversy, after seeing Marvel deal with two high-profile privileged white male protagonists in Iron Man and Doctor Strange, it’s hard to be that excited about yet another one.
Rand’s origin story is unquestionably similar to Bruce Wayne’s in Batman Begins, but that’s not the real issue here; the pilot rakes over the same morsels of Danny’s story numerous times without adding anything of particular interest. It doesn’t help that flashback snippets are interjected that look toe-curlingly cheap and, when Rand’s mother is shown being ejected out of the plane, unintentionally comical.
Even at its frothy worst – as in the Thor-Jane Foster romance – the Marvel Cinematic Universe has mostly managed to steer clear of snooze-inducing melodrama, but it veers dangerously close as Rand finds himself contending with his childhood pals Ward (Tom Pelphrey) and Joy Meachum (Jessica Stroup), who now work under their father and worry that Rand’s return threatens to undo their upcoming business expansion.
Compared to the antagonists of the other Defenders shows, neither they nor daddy dearest are especially interesting so far, though it is of course worth waiting to see how they evolve, and moreover, if a more significant, palpable threat is introduced later. Whether Joy will end up predictably becoming Rand’s ally or that will be wholly subverted – as this episode’s ending seems to imply – remains to be seen, but she’s at least the more intriguing of the sibling pair, while Ward is basically a stiff, boring douche. Wenham’s in-the-shadows baddie has potential, but there’s little indication here it’s going to be realised.
Characterisation is a problem throughout, unfortunately. Jones gives a broad portrayal of the title character that’s already earned its share of flak from various quarters, but honestly he feels largely at the mercy of a boilerplate script too derived from other, better superhero origin stories, with little in the way of unique ideas. He’s easily upstaged by the show’s most compellingly full-bodied character so far, Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing, a no-nonsense martial artist who will inevitably become Rand’s tag team partner.
When bad reviews of the season’s first six episodes came pouring in, many immediately sought to sling blame at executive producer Scott Buck after his widely-panned work on the latter seasons of Dexter. He may be an easy target, but there’s not exactly smoke without fire in this case; he wrote the screenplay for the pilot, while director Dahl disappointingly struggles with the action sequences, one visual effects moment – as Danny flips over a speeding cab – looks howlingly awful, and the cinematography has a frequently garish, overly-digital gloss to it.
Ultimately, Iron Fist feels decidedly clumsier in its storytelling and character work than its contemporaries, though the closing hook will likely keep viewers compelled enough to watch the next episode.
It’ll be curious to see if the show grows into itself at all over the remainder of the season, especially in the latter batch of episodes that weren’t pre-screened for press. At least there’s hope either way that in the long run Iron Fist can be folded into The Defenders inoffensively enough even if the show is in fact a consistent miss.
Shaun Munro
