“Iron Fist is the most frustrating and ferociously boring example of Netflix Drift [pacing problems] in some time.”
Oh…“I’m not surprised that Iron Fist isn’t a comedy. I’m surprised that it’s so bad. And it is laughably bad.”
Oh dear…“If Iron Fist was an otherwise boring series with a hero who kicked butt in exciting ways early and often, I’d forgive the bland expository parts in the same way I do for a lot of action shows and movies. And if Finn Jones couldn’t fight but was otherwise a riveting screen presence blessed with sparkling dialogue and a compelling character arc, I’d get past the alleged living weapon’s lame physical prowess. But when neither part works at all, why would anyone but the most devout, masochistic Marvel completist want to watch?”
Yikes!“Through six episodes, in addition to failing to introduce a main character I care about at all, Iron Fist hasn't given me any season-long arc/objective that I could describe for you, much less one I'm curious to see resolved.”
Oy!“What could have been the boldest series is instead the quietest. Seriously … in the comics, the man gets his powers from punching a dragon in the heart, but that’s withheld from us? If I wanted to focus more on reality I wouldn’t spend so much time watching superhero TV.”
Oy vey zmir!“Fans feared the worst when the series was announced, and all their fears came true.”
*Sigh* So much for that!
I should get this out of the way now: I’m not a die-hard MCU fan. I like their stuff a lot, but save Iron Man none of it strikes me as an instant classic. The exceptions are the Marvel Netflix shows, all of which, at least with their debut seasons, I’d put on-par with that film. So the newest entry, aka Iron Fist, getting panned so heavily is really crushing. It’s not like this was some low-tier series, as Marvel’s made sure to give their c-list heroes the respect they deserve so far. But with this information being made available, it’s as if that “Marvel doesn’t make bad content anymore” claim is suddenly not true anymore.
Sufficed to say, the internet’s reaction has been as you’d expect. On one hand, MCU die-hards are furious, claiming that this is “a mistake”. On the other hand, MCU detractors are smiling in devilish glee and thanking the gods of karma. And then there are those in-between that are disappointed, like me. However, both extremes need addressing, so that’s what I’ll do.
First, to the fans: calm down. This isn’t the end of the world. We knew from the beginning that the MCU quality train wouldn’t last forever. It’s impossible to keep a steady influx of shows and movies and not have at least one dud, it simply took longer than expected.
Personally speaking, I’m not upset. I know Thor: The Dark World wasn’t outright panned, but it wasn’t exactly “good” either. It was the first sign in my eyes that the MCU wasn’t infallible, and that’s because I remember so little due to how uninspired it was. It, in many ways, was the film version of Iron Fist: slow, boring and inconsequential. And yes, it introduced one of the Infinity Stones, I’m aware of that, but that it took all of the flaws of Thor-Darcy, an unenthusiastic performance from Natalie Portman, a disappointing finale, forced comedy that wasn’t funny, side characters who mostly served as window dressing-and magnified them tenfold was reason enough to be let-down. I waited until I’d earned a free movie to go see it, and I never do with an MCU film!
Honestly, take a page from Cars 2. Speaking as someone who didn’t mind Cars, I was initially excited for that film. I love Pixar, and they’d yet to make a flat-out dud by that point, so I was intrigued by the possibility of a spy film from the perspective of talking cars. I know now that my hopes were unfounded, but I also didn’t mind Cars 2 all that much. I waited until it hit home video, but it had its moments, so it wasn’t a waste of time.
And that could end up being the legacy of Iron Fist. Sure, it might plod, but who’s to say it won’t be enjoyable? Remember that critics are paid to be more critical of entertainment than the average Joe, so hearing “it’s boring” doesn’t mean that it’s actually boring. Basically, don’t be discouraged and watch it anyway.
As for those celebrating with glee, grow up. So what if an MCU property finally sucks? You want me to talk about the DCEU’s quality control? Because, rest-assured, it’s far worse! You’d think a comic enterprise like DC would know how to put out solid work in-conjunction with Warner Bros., but nope! Three attempts at a shared universe so far, three reminders that a LEGO movie is doing a better job!
Secondly, why the arrogance? I know that there’s catharsis in knowing that Marvel has finally fallen on its face, but why does this a competition? Why are you so insistent that this is a “victory” after reviewers were “bribed by Marvel to give the competition bad reviews”? Ignoring how flat-out absurd that is, shouldn’t you be encouraging good entertainment, not petty rivalry? What gives?
And thirdly, if you wanna get technical, the MCU going 14 movies, 2 shows and 3 Netflix series without a single dud should be an indication that they’re doing something right. If it took that long, then clearly they’re doing something right! It’s like how Pixar’s first flop, Cars 2, came after 11 success stories: if anything, that’s something to learn from.
Besides, Marvel’s gonna recover from this. Even if Iron Fist is a dud, they’re not stopping any time soon. They going ahead with The Defenders on Netflix, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok in theatres. This is a minor setback in the grand scheme, and Marvel knows this. It might hurt them a bit in the short-term, but their long-term goal is still on-track.
Ultimately, what this should prove to everyone is that Marvel’s not perfect, and that’s okay. They’ve built up a big enough empire that they can afford a slip-up. It’s no different than the aforementioned Pixar and Cars 2, or even Studio Ghibli and Tales from Earthsea. Marvel’s not out of the game, trust me! If anything, they’ll learn from this and try harder for next time (assuming they even have to, which won’t be hard.)
So yeah, Iron Fist is the first MCU dud. But it’s not the end of the world either, and I wish people would realize that.
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