TV Review - Iron Fist (2017)

Like with the feature films that led up to The Avengers (2012), Marvel Studios has designed four TV shows to lead up to The Defenders (2017), which is similarly about a collection of superheroes, only not as super as The Avengers, the B or rather C-team. This series is the fourth, and unfortunately Marvel has saved the least for last. This series has the least interesting characters, the least interesting premise and the least interesting action. What compounds the problems is it insists on being 13 episodes long. Unlike the three, previous shows, this one is a slow-burning, origin story. However, the three, previous began with each of their characters already possessing their powers and pretty-much owning their identities. This one isn't in media res as it were. In a way, this series starts from scratch. All three, previous shows do go back and explain how the characters came to be where they are, but this one feels more like a drag because it starts so far behind the others. It doesn't help that the story-line driving things forward is lame and the protagonist is incredibly stupid.

Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) stars as Danny Rand, the heir to a powerful company after his parents died in a plane crash. Danny was in that plane crash in the Himalayas, but he survived. He was then raised and trained by warrior monks. They say he's part of an ancient legend called the Iron Fist. He returns to New York City to reclaim his place after 15 years, but everyone has assumed him dead after so long.

What does he do when he gets into Manhattan? He strolls into a high-rise, office building like a homeless person, barefoot and disheveled. When he realizes the people in the building don't believe him because why would they, he doesn't go to the authorities. He doesn't try to get a lawyer or even go to the media. He instead starts stalking the people in the building until they have to lock him up in a loony bin.

Eventually, he does get a lawyer, but it takes four episodes for that stupidity to be cleared up. The series then plunges into a drug plot-line that just feels stretched too thin and not worthy of the time invested.

Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 1 hr. / 13 eps.
Available on Netflix.