If all you've seen of The Man With The Iron Fists so far is some seriously ugly violence (beware the eye-popping still below), you may be in for a surprise. The Encounter, this three-minute animated prequel to RZA's action opus{
The setting is a Dutch slave ship on its way to China, and the action takes place during a supposedly routine port stop, during which RZA's Blacksmith encounters some trouble. What happens when iron fists meet a brass body? That would be telling, but the story is far from over and repurcussions are certain. Brass Body is played in the movie by Dave Bautista; there's a glimpse of him in the full trailer.
The violence in the clip is conveyed by amusing use of sound effects, playing up the classic martial arts movie vibe. The visuals, in the form of gorgeous Oriental washes, come courtesy of Afro Samurai producer Eric Calderon, and Manabu "Gaku" Inada, head of his own concept design studio Inada Design Inc.
Russell Crow, Lucy Liu, Jamie Chung, Pam Grier and Cung Le all join the writer / director / star RZA in the cast; Eli Roth is also part of the writing and producing mix; and Quentin Tarantino is "presenting". The Man With The Iron Fists finally punches his way onto UK screens on December 7.
{Man With The Iron Fists Poster}