Fists of Iron (1995)

Posted in Reviews by - August 27, 2017
Fists of Iron (1995)

This low-budget fight film feels like an episode of one of those soft-focus Californian soap operas, with sun-kissed locales, playboy mansions, a keyboard-based soundtrack and hammy dialogue. There’s also an interesting homoerotic vibe going on, which may or may not be intentional. Dale (Michael Worth), aka ‘Pretty Boy’, is a statuesque vision of chiseled youth who works as an average Joe mechanic. After a hard shift, he gets into all sorts of bother with the meat-headed clientele at his local (he really should consider drinking at a different bar). He lives in a caravan on a beach with his buddy Matt (Nicholas Hill), until Matt makes his debut as a bare-knuckle brawler in a millionaire’s fighting racket. Matt is promptly smashed up by the golden-haired, Aryan goliath Matthias Hues and dies a day later. Dale needs to work on his fight game if he wants revenge, so he trains with another two dudes, who may or may not also be in a relationship. Tyler (Sam J. Jones) and Daniel (Eric Lee) are wise, retired fighters who teach Dale how to kick ass, which he learns quite quickly, and the rest of the film plays out with formulaic accuracy. The chemistry between Lee, Smith and Worth is good, but no one is being particularly stretched here. Fans of retro 90s fashion should have a field day: it’s all polka dot sweat pants, loud oversized shirts with suspenders and big, big hair.

AKA: Enter the Shootfighter; Karate Tiger 8.

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Editor and creator of Kung Fu Movie Guide and the host of the Kung Fu Movie Guide Podcast. I live behind a laptop in London, UK.

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