Once the army of ninjas becomes involved, it still feels like it's too caught up in corporate struggle and murky, gritty realism to ever shoot for fun martial arts action.Īs the last member to join the roster of Netflix's "Defenders" crossover, "Iron Fist" felt like the chance to broaden the TV universe's gritty scope with levity and more fantastic elements, especially in a post-" Doctor Strange" world. The corporate plot feels too by-the-numbers to be personal, even with his name on the building.
Danny wanders through modern-day Manhattan, unsure and fairly interchangeable. Those characters felt like they had shows built around them from the ground up. It's hard not to compare the latest show in Netflix's "Defenders" lineup with those that came before, especially "Daredevil's" masterful fight choreography or "Luke Cage's" neo-noir spin on a '70s exploitation character.
The problem is that "Iron Fist" suffers from having to follow " Daredevil", " Luke Cage" and " Jessica Jones". Constantly shifting alliances, expositional monologues and even geographical location is at the mercy of the plot, leading to moments that are both overly convenient and needlessly convoluted. The supporting cast all fall victim to it at some point. It feels like she's doing a better job telling a version of Danny's grounded-in-reality story than he is but even she struggles to survive a late plot twist that seems designed more for quick shock than character development. Colleen Wing is the standout in the supporting cast, torn between personal honour, the realities of survival and the need to dish out some old-fashioned ass-kickings.