The Man With the Iron Fists

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The Man With the Iron Fists

R

2012

1h 35m

Kids & Family

Action

Adventure

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Popcornmeter

52%

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83 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In 19th-century China, a stranger (RZA) settles in a jungle village and becomes its blacksmith. Radical tribal factions force him to fashion elaborate tools of destruction, and the clans' conflict soon erupts into a full war. Knowing he must take action, the blacksmith channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. Fighting beside iconic heroes, the blacksmith harnesses this incredible power to defend his adopted people from an army of soulless villains.

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Critics Consensus

Messy kung-fu homage The Man with the Iron Fists demonstrates a slavish affection for the genre it mimics, for better or worse.

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Donald Clarke

Irish Times

Dec 7, 2012

3/5

One is occasionally infuriated by the archness of the exercise. But there is a charming innocence to Fists' faith in the values of 1970s cross-cultural exploitation.

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

Dec 7, 2012

2.5/5

Predictably, this kind of gleeful fanboy excess yields diminishing returns. RZA hasn't much sense of storytelling rhythm, and lacks Tarantino's gift for turning adolescent obsessions into something uniquely personal.

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David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

Dec 7, 2012

2.5/5

Thank goodness for Russell Crowe who gives a sardonic, who-gives-a-damn performance as one of the good guys.

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Annalee Newitz

io9.com

May 23, 2018

In any case, Crowe's a hoot, RZA's instrumentals mostly deliver (save the occasional and baffling metal guitar), and I left the theater not lamenting that this movie exists. Good hustle, everybody.

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Sean Burns

Philadelphia Weekly

May 3, 2015

All that matters here are cockamamie anachronistic music cues, low-rent filmmaking and one spectacularly hammy turn from Russell Crowe.

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Jeremy Lebens

We Got This Covered

Feb 17, 2013

3/5

The Man with the Iron Fists is an off-balanced and bloated martial arts film that barely gets by on its gorgeous set design.

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Blake- N

@PBSAniDom Apr 10, 2026

The Man with the Iron Fists is a very stylized and extremely gory martial arts film that fully embraces its over-the-top violence and comic-book tone. The action scenes are creative and brutal, mixing classic kung-fu choreography with exaggerated, almost grindhouse-level blood and effects. The film’s biggest strength is its unique visual style and commitment to being wild and unapologetic. The fight sequences are intense, fast-paced, and often shockingly violent, which will definitely appeal to fans of hardcore martial arts and stylized action cinema. However, the story is fairly simple and the characters are more archetypes than deeply developed personalities. At times, the pacing feels uneven, and the heavy focus on style over substance may not work for everyone. Overall, It'sa 6/10, it’s an entertaining and chaotic martial arts experience that delivers on action and gore, even if it lacks depth.

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Ed A

@Ed_Able Feb 21, 2026

This is the very definition of artistic overreach. RZA needs to stay in his musical lane. The man cannot write, direct or Act. I also didn’t witness him engaging in any convincing fighting choreography. Who the hell green-lit this? Not even Bautista could save it.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 16, 2025

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Thomas T

@RT68500125 Aug 24, 2025

Watching this is always going to be good for me. The fighting scenes are great and the costumes are just as, if not, better.

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Chief B

@RT53266745 Sep 7, 2024

This is some serious garbage. When I heard about this movie, the Rza who did the kill Bill score and a Kung fu movie geek who incorporated Kung fu sounds and snippets from classic Kung fu movies in his hiphop productions and that Russell Crowe was in it I was happy and couldn't wait to see it.. But oh my God this movie is bad. And I mean really bad. The fight scenes are trash. The acting is trash. The sets and costumes look fake and plastic.. It's really bad

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Dick C

@Joshua19930826 Aug 30, 2023

It's a very good film, The Man with the Iron Fists, 2012...

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RZA

Director

RZA

The Blacksmith

Russell Crowe

Jack Knife

Cung Le

Bronze Lion

Lucy Liu

Madame Blossom

Rick Yune

Zen Yi

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Synopsis

In 19th-century China, a stranger (RZA) settles in a jungle village and becomes its blacksmith. Radical tribal factions force him to fashion elaborate tools of destruction, and the clans' conflict soon erupts into a full war. Knowing he must take action, the blacksmith channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. Fighting beside iconic heroes, the blacksmith harnesses this incredible power to defend his adopted people from an army of soulless villains.

Director: RZA
Producer: Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
Screenwriter: RZA, Eli Roth
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Arcade
Rating: R (Brief Drug Use|Bloody Violence|Language|Strong Sexuality)
Genre: Kids & Family, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.6M
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS

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