5 Reasons To Get Excited About The Man With The Iron Fists
4. The Cast The cast RZA has assembled makes like a fighting games character selection screen. Whether its cowboy-themed, spinning knife-toting, surly Aussie, Russell Crowe, the commanding, composed yet instantly capable of intense violence, presence of Lucy Liu (reminiscent of role in Kill Bill) or WWE wrestler-turned-actor, Dave Bautista, seemingly playing a gold-plated Incredible Hulk. In addition, Sucker Punchs Maggie Chung and Blaxploitation queen, Jackie Brown herself, Pam Grier help to fill out the female roster whilst, Rick Yune (Ninja Assassin) and Byron Man (Ryu in Street Fighter) help with the testosterone-fuelled side of things. For some added authenticity, joining them is kickboxing champion turned UFC competitor Cung Le and if anyone doubted RZAs credentials, hes the one with the massive iron fists seen punching someones eye out (literally). Unsurprisingly the cast has more than a hint of Tarantino about it, but this is no bad thing. Tarantino is a film fan first, director second. As such, one of his strengths is being able to spot the right person for the right role and hopefully this has rubbed off on his friend. RZA, a martial arts fan, is making a martial arts film, he would have known what he wanted and cast accordingly. Despite the inclusion of Crowe (which does add a little gravitas), its not Crowes name that will sell this movie, its an ensemble piece. The cast would have been assembled because theyre the right people for the right job and that job is kicking ass, dare it be said, even more so than those geriatric Expendables.