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Reviews
Iron Fist (2017)
Lackluster
I really wanted to like this. Iron Fist was a childhood hero of mine, and my most anticipated of the quartet of Marvel series on Netflix. Sadly, it was the worst. I think there is a tendency for those of us who were deprived of decent super hero movies and TV shows in our child hood to just embrace anything that comes down the line that has the vague shape of past successes as "great".This feels more like a cheap knockoff of the early Netflix successes.
It closely follows the pattern of the first three Netflix series, and that is it's main flaw. It's another origin story, but not one strong enough to fill out thirteen episodes with the story line they chose. Binge-watching accentuates the flaws-the same scenes seem to play out over and over again, the dull dialogue almost verbatim from the last episode. Danny Rand has been reduced to a whiny child, almost unbearable. Claire is cut and pasted from the previous series to play nurse and wander through scenes she adds nothing to, shoe horned into action scenes she makes no sense being in.
The scenes of Danny's beginnings that would have made this interesting are all absent. Instead this series is filled with the WB super hero soap opera fluff, the one omission that had separated Marvel from the competition. The fight scenes, that really impressed in Daredevil, are mostly obscured in darkness, and otherwise fall way short of bar. I expected this series to take it to another level,but not lower level. There are even a few cringe-worthy sets towards the end, so bad I could hear MST3K robots peanut gallerying it in my head.
It isn't all bad-it's still Iron Fist, we have a decent villain, the actors aren't bad at all, though they are handcuffed by the dialogue. You could edit it down to around 100 minutes and not leave much on the floor anyone would miss. Very poor outing.
The Gunman (2015)
Not for the typical action fan.
I see many reviews expressing disappointment for what this film isn't. Why anyone would think Sean Penn has decided to suddenly become an action star is baffling. While there is some intermittent action, it's more to serve the plot than to get your Bourne on. The film serves to highlight the plight of Africa and the stripping of it's natural resources for profit-though this is more the setting for the plot rather than the story itself. The performances are what you expect from the talented cast-Penn, Trinca, Wylance and Ray Winstone all shine. If you enjoy intrigue over explosions, you will find it worth watching. It has a few drawbacks-the story telling could be a bit better,Idris Elba is a mere cameo,and Sean Penn could have had his shirt on a bit more. It's no Ronin, but good for those searching for something more than mindless on Netflix.