MovieChat Forums > Iron Fist (2017) Discussion > Finn Jones was a poor choice

Finn Jones was a poor choice

posted 8 years ago by beauq81 (1115)
21 replies | jump to latest

I haven't read the comics, so I'm just calling it as I see it.
First and foremost - Jones is not a martial artist. I'm saying as someone who's been training for over 20 years, his movements are weak, loose and robotic, especially for someone who is supposed to be a GREAT martial artist.
Second - he's overly dramatic. Part of it is the writing, but I think playing Loras Tyrell has rubbed off on him, because he's more a spoiled prince, than a warrior monk in every single way. After spending more than half of his life being drilled every day, he should be of stronger character.

[–] prometheus1816 (1060) 8 years ago

I disagree. I think Finn was a great choice. As for his physicality, Charlie Cox said himself he was clearly out of shape when he took on Daredevil. He said he finally had to quit smoking (not that he said he didn't need to) because it was hampering his ability to do the kicks, punches and such without affecting his breathing. You have to also remember that Charlie had at least five months to prepare for the role. Finn didn't have that luxury because he was pretty much straight from "Game of Thrones" straight to "Iron Fist" without a break. Under those conditions he was still contractually obligated to HBO and had to remain as he looked as Loras until he got the clearance from HBO in terms of his final severance. Actors/Actresses must maintain the appearance they have according to their contracts if such things as retakes and such are needed to bring the final product to the screen. Considering that Loras was being tortured by the Faith of the Seven and was not fed or bathed...... That was the look Finn had to maintain. He didn't start really training for IF until a scant weeks before the filming began. "Iron Fist" was rushed into production to make "The Defenders" possible. So again I don't blame Finn one bit. It was the timing.

[–] beauq81 (1115) 8 years ago

I wasn't questioning him, he did the best that he could. I'm saying they should have casted someone else.

[–] prometheus1816 (1060) 8 years ago

It's the producer's right to cast in a role anyone they please. I'm so sick and tired of seeing people believing they have the right to appropriate the producer/creator's vision. You were directly questioning him by saying that he had no right to accept the role he was given by people who know more than you! The production was rushed due to the need to get the final Defender in place to bring about The Defenders. What happened with the series, which I'm on my second view of it and find it not that bad at all...and believe me I've seen worse, was the fault of Netflix and Marvel. If there is a fault. And again I don't find an issue with the series only people who believe they have the right to their own opinions.

[–] beauq81 (1115) 8 years ago

We'll see how he does in The Defenders and s2. David Carradine got better as Kung Fu progressed.

[–] beto (143) 8 years ago

Chill mate, dude's just talking... although I agree it wasn't his fault as he said he just trained for 3 weeks, I believe.

[–] prometheus1816 (1060) 8 years ago

You "chill" mate. I had a right to state what I did.

[–] mostlikelyhigh (33) 8 years ago

He made the show exhausting to sit through.

[–] TylerAArse (2898) 8 years ago

I 100% agree. He was a horrible choice.

[–] papamihel (1616) 8 years ago

Pretty much everything is bad in this show...

[–] Sorceress (5) 8 years ago

He would not have been my first choice either. I don't pretend to know anything about martial arts but his form was glaring, especially as compared to the other actors. I've only read a few of the comics, but the writing for this Danny Rand was not what I expected. I'm not sure I liked it. Granted, that isn't Finn's fault.

[–] beauq81 (1115) 8 years ago

My point exactly. Most of it was either the writing or his inexperience.

[–] Acinca (104) 8 years ago

I didn't like Finn Jones at first for Iron Fist, but after watching the series I started to like his portrayal of the character more and more. Until I watched the series I was really hoping for Charlie Hunnam. I think that's how you spell his name, but Finn's fine. I just had to give the dude a chance.

[–] LasVegasKeith (5) 8 years ago

The major problem was one they could have solved easily but chose not to. If they had put him in a costume, well mask, then a stunt double actor who could fight properly would have been able to have been used. Finn is absolutely horrendous as a fighter. If I sat a completely uninitiated person down and showed them Daredevil and Iron First and then asked them who is the best martial artist in all of marveldom, you think anyone would say Iron Fist based on this show? He plays Danny as a whiny temperamental bitch, and his fight scenes are as I previously mentioned horrendous. Bad casting without a doubt, but it was also a badly written Danny Rand.

[–] beauq81 (1115) 8 years ago

He seems like a decent actor. The "whiny bitch" part was bad writing, he simply did what he was told. He was a bad choice in regards to his martial arts prowess. He did have a double for any acrobatic scenes, where his face didn't show, but the worst part weren't the actual fight scenes, it was the parts where he did his forms alone. It showed that he, not only has no martial arts experience, but is no athlete at all. Everything he does is just plain weak. I hope he trains harder for season 2 and the Defenders. Any work will show.

[–] prometheus1816 (1060) 8 years ago

The "whiny bitch part" I just sum up to the fact that in his mind he's still a 10 year-old mentally and has never really had the chance to deal with his parents' death.

[–] Goliard (1433) 8 years ago

Why do you assume he's 10 mentally? He wasn't frozen in stasis. He grew up like everyone else in K'un L'un. There was a trauma at that age, but that wouldn't keep him emotionally 10, any more than it would Bruce Wayne.

[–] prometheus1816 (1060) 8 years ago

Psychologists have proven that if we (humans) have a very traumatic event young in life, we retain a lot of that in our natures as we grow. He may have grown up bodily in K'un Lun, but the way that Finn Jones played him showed some of that stunting. And that was excellent on Finn's part. As for Bruce Wayne, he is stunted mentally. Like Danny he saw his parents die. That has had a lasting impact on everything he's done in his life. Look at the case of Jaycee Lee Dugard who was kidnapped at 11 by Phillip Garrido and held for 18 years against her will. She was frequently raped and abused by Garrido, even bearing two children by him that she had to give birth to without a doctor or hospital. When you talk to her as many journalists have, you see that she is still very much in that eleven year-old mentality. Finn Jones played that brilliantly.

You also have to understand what is called The Trauma Bond. Basically what happened to Danny in the aftermath of the crash and the death of his mom and dad was a trauma bond. When you look at those flashbacks where the monks are slamming him on the back with the bamboo poles, that is part of that trauma bond. While Danny may have eventually grown to be "one of them" he still has that pain in his psyche. He will always be part of two worlds because of that event that changed his life so radically.

[–] AP (5291) 8 years ago

They explain that he was traumatized as a child and Claire deduces that K'un L'un's training included burying emotions. That is a nasty combination, resulting in a man who is not stable.

I'm surprised so few peope understood that about this character.

[–] LasVegasKeith (5) 8 years ago

All that would be fine if this was a different story. This is the Iron Fist show not the Danny Rand psychology hour. I understand a little delving into his mindset but literally EVERYTHING about the way the character was portrayed was the antithesis of what he was supposed to be. We're constantly told he is the Iron Fist the chosen one, the most skilled fighter etc. And all we get is a guy who can barely fight, throws a temper tantrum whenever things don't go his way, and whose greatest accomplishment in the show is beating up some Hand students (which he needed help to do). Daredevil kicked the shit out of the real graduated hand for reference.

[–] AP (5291) 8 years ago

I got the impression Danny handled the Hand better than Daredevil did, considering Daredevil nearly died multiple times in his fights with them and needed Elektra, Stick, and Punisher. The fights in Iron Fist aren't great, but when it comes to the character, that's all he is to K'un L'un. It's all based on his ability to kick ass and not his psychological hangups.

[–] beauq81 (1115) 8 years ago

Not burying, but controlling emotions. Danny wasn't in a military boot camp, he was in a monastery, which means that, apart from his physical training, he would also have spiritual one and that he would learn how to deal with past trauma. In essence, he would still want answers and revenge, but he wouldn't fall apart every time he thinks about it.