Marvel's Iron Fist

The show does have some good sides to it. The cast functions well for the most part. Pelphrey and Stroup does a good job of portraying corporate sharks, with some depth. And Wai Ching Ho as per usual displays an impressive ability to communicate quiet menace. Unfortunately for Finn Jones, his Danny Rand has been given some supremely unconvincing lines to perform. He comes off as more of a pouty and rebellious teen, than a grown man with a serious responsibility. Add to that fact that his martial arts scenes are terrible,and you've got some serious flaws here. I've not read the comics but I'd imagined Iron Fist to be a master of his discipline. His abilities however, clearly doesn't match his level of confidence. In the fight scenes there's is none of the ruthless,yet flowing martial arts you see in daredevil or Ip Man for example. Jones seems almost clumsy in his moves.These factors makes it all the more difficult to believe in Jones portrayal of Danny Rand, when he randomly, spouts some unmotivated foggy pseudo-philosophical line,which he doesn't even seem convinced of himself. Henwick does much more with her fight scenes. She has that edge, the rawness, combined with elegance, that one would have expected from the main character. Henwick also plays her trainer/social worker with sincerety and the right amount of energy. So there is no denying there's potential in the material, but bad lines, some pacing issues, and generally clonky martial arts, really reduces the quality of this production.