Under Leaf Pluck Lotus
Danny confronts Ward about some legal, synthetic heroin that Rand Industries is making. Ward shrugs it off. He doesn't see a problem with it. Joy has to deal with a group of people from Staten Island who claim that they are being affected by the toxic waste emanating from the factory that is making the syntheic heroin. Unlike her brother she has a conscience and isn't happy that they are dealing in this product or that she has to stand up for the company on this issue.
Danny pays a visit to Colleen. Colleen happens to have a student with her when she shows up. The student is Claire Temple. Danny wants to have a meal with Colleen. He insists that it isn't a date, unless Colleen wants it to be. So dumb. Claire sticks around, they talk, eventually Claire leaves.
After Claire is gone Danny talks Colleen into accompanying him to the pier that Rand Industries just bought. He is convinced that something shady is going on there. They sneak around the pier, avoiding the armed guards. Danny sneaks onto an 18-wheeler and discovers a secret chamber where the man who developed the synthetic heroin is being kept. The guy has a bodyguard. Danny tussles with the bodyguard. Danny and the scientist escape after the scientist gets very badly injured. Danny and Colleen bring the badly wounded scientist to Claire.
The scientist reveals that he works for the hand, but not willingly. They have his daughter. Claire flips out when she hears that the Hand is behind this. She calms down after Danny insists that he can handle this and looks forward to battling the Hand.
Not good. Not good at all. I got the feeling as I watched this episode that there times when I was supposed to care but I didn't. There were moments that felt like that they were supposed to be tense, but they weren't, like the scene on the pier. I'm not impressed with the actor who plays Danny Rand but I think a bigger chunk of the blame needs to be poured down the throats of the writers and the director. This show feels clunky. It lacks in subtlety. There has been little to nothing in the way of flashbacks to the monastery.
There is a definite lack of character moments in this show. There is no internal struggle for the main character like there is on the other Marvel Netflix shows. It all feels very surface level. Honestly, I'm surprised that I made it this far into the Marvel Netflix shows before getting a dud.
I'm not sure I want to continue watching. At the very least I think I need to take a week or two off before I start watching again.
Showing posts with label Iron Fist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iron Fist. Show all posts
Friday, May 5, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017
Iron Fist 1.04
Eight Diagram Dragon Palm
Danny survives the fall from the building. There's no clear explanation as to how. He is found by Ward Meachum, who is the one who pushed him from the building. Harold shows up and talks Ward into letting Danny have back his rightful place at Rand Industries. He tells Danny about how he died and was resurrected by the Hand. He swears Danny to secrecy, he can't tell Joy that her father is still alive.
There were parts of this scene that I thought were pretty weak. I'm not impressed by Finn Jones (Danny Rand). Maybe if the show were written, directed, or produced better they could compensate for the lead actor.
Colleen fights again in the steel cage for money. This time she takes on two guys at once who are both much bigger than her. There's something about the way the steel cage matches are shot that make it very unconvincing to me. I think this may be one case where it is easier in a comic book to get away with having a character with a slight build beat up a larger, tougher looking character.
Joy and Danny get attacked by some Chinatown triad gangsters. Danny fights them off but then goes looking for their boss to find out why they were attacked. The answer he gets ties back to something that happened last episode when Joy talked a businessman into selling a pier to Rand. The Hand was behind that acquisition. The triad were not aware that the Hand was involved. The triad leader apologizes to Danny and quickly backs down when he finds out.
It isn't enough for Harold. Once he finds out about what happened he asks Madame Gao for permission to get retribution for what happened to his daughter. It seems like they are setting Harold up to be the big bad guy in this season. I hope that is not the case. I hope that the confrontation between Danny and Harold happens within the next couple episodes.
I was not impressed by this episode. It exhibited the same sort of problems that I saw in the previous one. The biggest problem is probably the lead actor. I don't find the story to be very compelling or cohesive. Hopefully it will get better in the next nine episodes.
Danny survives the fall from the building. There's no clear explanation as to how. He is found by Ward Meachum, who is the one who pushed him from the building. Harold shows up and talks Ward into letting Danny have back his rightful place at Rand Industries. He tells Danny about how he died and was resurrected by the Hand. He swears Danny to secrecy, he can't tell Joy that her father is still alive.
There were parts of this scene that I thought were pretty weak. I'm not impressed by Finn Jones (Danny Rand). Maybe if the show were written, directed, or produced better they could compensate for the lead actor.
Colleen fights again in the steel cage for money. This time she takes on two guys at once who are both much bigger than her. There's something about the way the steel cage matches are shot that make it very unconvincing to me. I think this may be one case where it is easier in a comic book to get away with having a character with a slight build beat up a larger, tougher looking character.
Joy and Danny get attacked by some Chinatown triad gangsters. Danny fights them off but then goes looking for their boss to find out why they were attacked. The answer he gets ties back to something that happened last episode when Joy talked a businessman into selling a pier to Rand. The Hand was behind that acquisition. The triad were not aware that the Hand was involved. The triad leader apologizes to Danny and quickly backs down when he finds out.
It isn't enough for Harold. Once he finds out about what happened he asks Madame Gao for permission to get retribution for what happened to his daughter. It seems like they are setting Harold up to be the big bad guy in this season. I hope that is not the case. I hope that the confrontation between Danny and Harold happens within the next couple episodes.
I was not impressed by this episode. It exhibited the same sort of problems that I saw in the previous one. The biggest problem is probably the lead actor. I don't find the story to be very compelling or cohesive. Hopefully it will get better in the next nine episodes.
Friday, April 14, 2017
Iron Fist 1.03
Rolling Thunder Cannon Punch
Colleen Wing gets a visit from some guys from Rand Security. They break into her dojo late at night. There is a brief fight wihich she wins and they go scurrying off after warning her that the guy who claims to be Danny Rand has escaped from the mental institution. As they are leaving she spots Danny, hiding on the ceiling. She helps him but insists that he cannot stay long.
Danny visits Joy at her apartment. She apologizes for drugging him and offers him $100 million to walk away from the company his father founded. He turns down her offer.
Danny attempts to re-establish his identity and his claim to the company that bears his name. He contacts Jerry Hogarth, who was his father's lawyer and played a big role in season 1 of Jessica Jones. She promises to help him. They need something to prove Danny's identity but can't seem to find any trace of anything that will help to prove that he is Danny Rand. He tries tracking down some x-rays that were taken after a skateboarding accident only to discover that someone hired by the Meachum's got there first and is about to burn the room where the records are stored. They fight but Danny isn't able to stop him from setting the room on fire.
Joy and Ward talk quite a bit about what to do about Danny. It becomes clear to me now, I don't recall if I noticed this before, that Joy does not know that their father is still alive and well. The secret seems to be eating away at Ward. Joy seems to be the tougher one in this episode. I'm really starting to wonder whose side she is on. At times it seems like she wants to side with Danny, but I'm also left wondering if that is all just a ruse. It doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibilities that she might be playing her brother and Danny off against one another. Her ultimate goal maybe to help herself.
Colleen takes part in a steel cage match. This part seemed a bit weird and out of character. Earlier in the episode she was giving one of her students a hard time for taking part in illegal fights. At first I thought she was there to find her student and make sure he was safe but he was nowhere to be seen.
Madame Gao shows up, although you only hear her voice. I suspected it was her and the credits on IMDB confirm that it was. She pays a visit to Harold Meachum to chastise him for visiting Danny in the mental hospital. She first showed up in season 1 of Daredevil. Earlier in the episode Danny mentioned to Joy that her father paid him a visit. He thought it was a dream, a side effect of the drugs they gave had him. She later mentions it to Ward. I wonder if she suspects that their father is alive?
There were a few sudden and weird twists in this episode, like the steel cage match. There was also the piece of clay pottery that Jerry Hogarth somehow got her hands on. It was a gift from Danny to Joy years ago. It seems like Joy must have somehow given it to Hogath, but why? I didn't think this episode was great. The best part is the Meachums, all three of them. Danny Rand has yet to win me over. I'm not about to give up on this show but it is far from great or without shortcomings.
Colleen Wing gets a visit from some guys from Rand Security. They break into her dojo late at night. There is a brief fight wihich she wins and they go scurrying off after warning her that the guy who claims to be Danny Rand has escaped from the mental institution. As they are leaving she spots Danny, hiding on the ceiling. She helps him but insists that he cannot stay long.
Danny visits Joy at her apartment. She apologizes for drugging him and offers him $100 million to walk away from the company his father founded. He turns down her offer.
Danny attempts to re-establish his identity and his claim to the company that bears his name. He contacts Jerry Hogarth, who was his father's lawyer and played a big role in season 1 of Jessica Jones. She promises to help him. They need something to prove Danny's identity but can't seem to find any trace of anything that will help to prove that he is Danny Rand. He tries tracking down some x-rays that were taken after a skateboarding accident only to discover that someone hired by the Meachum's got there first and is about to burn the room where the records are stored. They fight but Danny isn't able to stop him from setting the room on fire.
Joy and Ward talk quite a bit about what to do about Danny. It becomes clear to me now, I don't recall if I noticed this before, that Joy does not know that their father is still alive and well. The secret seems to be eating away at Ward. Joy seems to be the tougher one in this episode. I'm really starting to wonder whose side she is on. At times it seems like she wants to side with Danny, but I'm also left wondering if that is all just a ruse. It doesn't seem outside of the realm of possibilities that she might be playing her brother and Danny off against one another. Her ultimate goal maybe to help herself.
Colleen takes part in a steel cage match. This part seemed a bit weird and out of character. Earlier in the episode she was giving one of her students a hard time for taking part in illegal fights. At first I thought she was there to find her student and make sure he was safe but he was nowhere to be seen.
Madame Gao shows up, although you only hear her voice. I suspected it was her and the credits on IMDB confirm that it was. She pays a visit to Harold Meachum to chastise him for visiting Danny in the mental hospital. She first showed up in season 1 of Daredevil. Earlier in the episode Danny mentioned to Joy that her father paid him a visit. He thought it was a dream, a side effect of the drugs they gave had him. She later mentions it to Ward. I wonder if she suspects that their father is alive?
There were a few sudden and weird twists in this episode, like the steel cage match. There was also the piece of clay pottery that Jerry Hogarth somehow got her hands on. It was a gift from Danny to Joy years ago. It seems like Joy must have somehow given it to Hogath, but why? I didn't think this episode was great. The best part is the Meachums, all three of them. Danny Rand has yet to win me over. I'm not about to give up on this show but it is far from great or without shortcomings.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Iron Fist 1.02
Shadow Hawk Takes Flight
Danny tries talking his way out of the mental hospital. He convinces the doctor examining him that he is who he says he is, Danny Rand. That turns out not to be enough because when he starts talking about the Iron Fist the doctor insists that he will have to stay.
A lot goes on outside of the hospital. Colleen Wing is approached by Ward Meachum. He has been sent there by his father. Ward wants Colleen to sign a document saying that Danny threatened her. The Meachums know about Colleen because Danny tried calling her while he was in the hospital and they have the place bugged. Ward tries bribing Colleen. She pays Danny a visit at the hospital. I'm not sure exactly how she was able to get in, but that happened. Ultimately, even though she still isn't sure about Danny she refuses to sign the documents.
Joy Meachum starts thinking that Danny is really Danny. She sends him a big bag of M&Ms. He sends them back via Colleen. He has removed the brown M&Ms. This is enough for Joy to believe that he is Danny.
Harold Meachum, father of the Meachum siblings, watches Danny in the hospital from his apartment. He starts believing that Danny just might be who he claims to be. He pays him a visit late at night, when he is still pretty heavily drugged. He pumps him for information. He already knows that Danny claims to have been found by a couple monks and lived in a place called K'un L'un. He claims to have been a warrior and wielded the Iron Fist. He claims to be a sworn enemy of the Hand. Harold starts seeing possibilities and value in Danny. He tells Ward to have him moved to a private home where they can keep an eye on him.
It looks like that is going to happen. Danny is forced into a straight jacket but instead of being put into a vehicle he is taken to a padded cell where he is attacked by three other patients. It seems like his attackers are working for the Meachums. One of the things that Danny told Harold was that he gets stronger the more he is attacked. That is exactly what happens. Getting beaten up enables him to manifest the Iron Fist and burn through the straight jacket. Prior to that he was unable to do so because of the drugs.
He beats up his three assailants and then uses the Iron Fist to break the door to the hospital. The episode ends with him running off into the night. Ward Meachum is watching thanks to his surveillance devices. I got the impression that learning just what Danny was capable of was important enough to him that he probably was the one behind the assault.
This is show is definitely a slow burn. I'm fearful that it will won't live up to the promise it has made to me in my mind but for now I'm still enjoying it.
The episode opens with Danny still in the mental hospital. I was pretty sure that he would be out one way or another before the end of the episode. I was right but it took right up to the end of the episode for that to happen.
I lost track of time while watching. I couldn't be sure how much time had passed. There was at least one moment that felt like it might be the final scene but there was probably another 15 before the episode ended.
There is at least one mystery that is not solved in this episode. Harold Meachum comes home from visiting Danny in the hospital. There is a palm print on the window and written on the window next to it is a note that reads "where were you?" or maybe it was "where are you?" or maybe "where did you go?" I don't recall exactly. He starts to wipe it all away but then he stops and leaves it there. My first thought was that it was Ward that left the weird note but I'm starting to think that it was someone else. someone who has not been seen yet.
Danny tries talking his way out of the mental hospital. He convinces the doctor examining him that he is who he says he is, Danny Rand. That turns out not to be enough because when he starts talking about the Iron Fist the doctor insists that he will have to stay.
A lot goes on outside of the hospital. Colleen Wing is approached by Ward Meachum. He has been sent there by his father. Ward wants Colleen to sign a document saying that Danny threatened her. The Meachums know about Colleen because Danny tried calling her while he was in the hospital and they have the place bugged. Ward tries bribing Colleen. She pays Danny a visit at the hospital. I'm not sure exactly how she was able to get in, but that happened. Ultimately, even though she still isn't sure about Danny she refuses to sign the documents.
Joy Meachum starts thinking that Danny is really Danny. She sends him a big bag of M&Ms. He sends them back via Colleen. He has removed the brown M&Ms. This is enough for Joy to believe that he is Danny.
Harold Meachum, father of the Meachum siblings, watches Danny in the hospital from his apartment. He starts believing that Danny just might be who he claims to be. He pays him a visit late at night, when he is still pretty heavily drugged. He pumps him for information. He already knows that Danny claims to have been found by a couple monks and lived in a place called K'un L'un. He claims to have been a warrior and wielded the Iron Fist. He claims to be a sworn enemy of the Hand. Harold starts seeing possibilities and value in Danny. He tells Ward to have him moved to a private home where they can keep an eye on him.
It looks like that is going to happen. Danny is forced into a straight jacket but instead of being put into a vehicle he is taken to a padded cell where he is attacked by three other patients. It seems like his attackers are working for the Meachums. One of the things that Danny told Harold was that he gets stronger the more he is attacked. That is exactly what happens. Getting beaten up enables him to manifest the Iron Fist and burn through the straight jacket. Prior to that he was unable to do so because of the drugs.
He beats up his three assailants and then uses the Iron Fist to break the door to the hospital. The episode ends with him running off into the night. Ward Meachum is watching thanks to his surveillance devices. I got the impression that learning just what Danny was capable of was important enough to him that he probably was the one behind the assault.
This is show is definitely a slow burn. I'm fearful that it will won't live up to the promise it has made to me in my mind but for now I'm still enjoying it.
The episode opens with Danny still in the mental hospital. I was pretty sure that he would be out one way or another before the end of the episode. I was right but it took right up to the end of the episode for that to happen.
I lost track of time while watching. I couldn't be sure how much time had passed. There was at least one moment that felt like it might be the final scene but there was probably another 15 before the episode ended.
There is at least one mystery that is not solved in this episode. Harold Meachum comes home from visiting Danny in the hospital. There is a palm print on the window and written on the window next to it is a note that reads "where were you?" or maybe it was "where are you?" or maybe "where did you go?" I don't recall exactly. He starts to wipe it all away but then he stops and leaves it there. My first thought was that it was Ward that left the weird note but I'm starting to think that it was someone else. someone who has not been seen yet.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Iron Fist 1.01
Snow Gives Way
I didn't mean to watch the whole episode. I thought I would just give it a try. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it. I would have to say that I liked it.
Danny Rand returns to NYC. He has been missing, presumed dead, for 15 years. Now he walks around barefoot and lives on the street. He tries approaching some people he knew when he was last in New York, the Meachum siblings: Wade and Joy. They don't believe he is Danny. They sick security on him, He tries approaching them individually away from their high-rise office building in Manhattan but isn't any more successful.
Danny meets a martial arts instructor named Colleen Wing when he is hanging out in a park. He tries talking her into letting him teach a class at her school. She brushes him off but later witnesses how he deals with Meachum's security.
He tries approaching Joy one more time toward the end of the episode. This time she agrees to talk to him. He starts to tell her about what happened to him but he doesn't get very far before he realizes that the tea she gave him was drugged. He collapses and wakes up in a mental institution just in time to get injected with another sedative. The way this part is done and placed just at the end of the episode makes it seem as if all that came before was might have just been a dream. I don't think it was but the thought did occur to me.
This feels like a slow burn. There aren't a lot of fights in this episode. I can see how people who like to shotgun episodes of shows like these wouldn't be too excited after watching the first episode. It is quieter and feels more sedate than the other Marvel Netflix shows. I'm not confident that it will be in the same class as the other Marvel Netflix shows but I want to continue watching.
I'm not coming at this show with any preconceived notions of what came before it. I have read very little of the Iron Fist or Power Man and Iron Fist comic books. I haven't heard anyone praising the virtues of this show. I have heard a lot of grumbling from people who either haven't started watching it or only watched a few episodes. At the moment on Netflix the consensus rating is 1.5 out of 5.
I didn't mean to watch the whole episode. I thought I would just give it a try. I didn't love it but I also didn't hate it. I would have to say that I liked it.
Danny Rand returns to NYC. He has been missing, presumed dead, for 15 years. Now he walks around barefoot and lives on the street. He tries approaching some people he knew when he was last in New York, the Meachum siblings: Wade and Joy. They don't believe he is Danny. They sick security on him, He tries approaching them individually away from their high-rise office building in Manhattan but isn't any more successful.
Danny meets a martial arts instructor named Colleen Wing when he is hanging out in a park. He tries talking her into letting him teach a class at her school. She brushes him off but later witnesses how he deals with Meachum's security.
He tries approaching Joy one more time toward the end of the episode. This time she agrees to talk to him. He starts to tell her about what happened to him but he doesn't get very far before he realizes that the tea she gave him was drugged. He collapses and wakes up in a mental institution just in time to get injected with another sedative. The way this part is done and placed just at the end of the episode makes it seem as if all that came before was might have just been a dream. I don't think it was but the thought did occur to me.
This feels like a slow burn. There aren't a lot of fights in this episode. I can see how people who like to shotgun episodes of shows like these wouldn't be too excited after watching the first episode. It is quieter and feels more sedate than the other Marvel Netflix shows. I'm not confident that it will be in the same class as the other Marvel Netflix shows but I want to continue watching.
I'm not coming at this show with any preconceived notions of what came before it. I have read very little of the Iron Fist or Power Man and Iron Fist comic books. I haven't heard anyone praising the virtues of this show. I have heard a lot of grumbling from people who either haven't started watching it or only watched a few episodes. At the moment on Netflix the consensus rating is 1.5 out of 5.
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