Marvel's Iron Fist Review: 3 Ups And 7 Downs

1. A Lack Of Compelling Plot

Even with the high quality of Jessica Jones and Daredevil (the first season, anyway), there are some issues that come from having to deliver a season of 13 hour-long episodes. Indeed, it extends far beyond Marvel and Netflix, and similar problems can be found with 22-episode network shows, which often contain a lot of filler.

Even considering that, though, there is a desperate lack of plot to Iron Fist's first season. It's almost like they'd committed to this character and that's why he made it to the screen, rather than there being any actual story to tell.

The early goings concern Danny's return and subsequent taking back of Rand Enterprises, which provides a lot of tedious boardroom drama. It's a well-worn story over the last decade or so on-screen, from Batman Begins to Arrow, and while that may be part of the comics it needs something to make it distinct here, but offers nothing new while also not covering the old ground in a particularly interesting manner.

From there the show often doesn't even have a discernible plot through-line, as it moves from Gao to Bakuto to Davos to Harold, never lingering on one for long, rapidly switching direction and character traits and actions changing just as quickly, often feeling quite unsettled and unsure of exactly what it wants to do and what story it wants to tell. Again, the main issue with this is the writing - and in hindsight Scott Buck seems a particularly poor choice of showrunner - as it doesn't craft any semblance of a story worth following. Ultimately, the biggest problem with Iron Fist is just that it's really boring.

What did you think of Iron Fist? Share your thoughts down in the comments.