The King of Iron Town (2004) Reviews

• The King of Indie Town.

  JongWooKimX92005-10-22

  "The King of Iron Town" is one of those "root for the underdog" stories that you can't help but love. Although I felt it was a little rushed in some spots (overall, I wouldn't have minded it drawing out a lot of the shots -- the movie's engaging enough to allow itself more than 90 minutes to let it soak in), the overall package is completely impressive. For only a $10,000 budget, Mickey Fisher and his crew have created a genuinely touching, honestly-inspired film that has something for everyone. And unlike some other independent ultra low-budget films I've seen, this one sports truly awesome performances (it's no mistake that the cast is made of professionally recognized actors). Every second of this movie speaks volumes, and the only real problem anyone should have with it is that it's over way too soon. Kudos to Mr. Fisher and the rest of Leo's Pride Entertainment for a superb entry into independent cinema.

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• Good, but would have been a lot better as a short film.

  MBunge2011-07-03

  This movie is like a bunch of pretty threads that have been inexpertly woven together into an awkward looking sweater. Writer/director Mickey Fisher and his cast do some things quite well, but the whole production is less than the sum of its parts. It's like somebody who could have made a good short film tried to make a feature and didn't really know how to fill up the extra time. The result is a number of individual scenes that are very appealing scattered amongst some stuff that's remarkably more amateurish. Tyler Wells (Jonathan Clark) is a 30 year old factory worker whose glorious football career died in a high school car accident that left him with a bum arm. Tyler does have a smokin' hot wife named Hope (Kate Arrington) with a kid on the way and a couple of buddies named Kel and Weej (Mickey Fisher and Scott Hunt) who are even lower on life's totem pole than Tyler is, so you'd think he'd be pretty happy. But Tyler is still haunted by the thought he'll never be what he once dreamed of and worked so hard for, so he decides to enter a local tough man contest for a last grasp at being special. Unfortunately, his estranged brother Gabe (Dominic Bogart) has also entered the contest as a way to get out from under Tyler's shadow, which he's felt blanketed by his whole life. Will these battling brothers rediscover their love for each other in the ring? Well, that actually happens long before the tough man contest, resulting in an extended anti-climax that highlights writer/director Fisher's ignorance on how to tell a feature length story. The best moments in The King Of Iron Town are when Fisher has two characters in a scene where they just talk about their hopes and their fears and their frustrations. Whether it's Hope trying to penetrate Tyler's yearning for more than what he has in life or Tyler and Gabe confronting their long simmering resentments, there's a plain spoken eloquence to the dialog, a naturalistic feel to the performances and the camera-work is unobtrusively effective. You can connect with the characters as real people and become invested in how things turn out for them. Fisher also displays a perfectly acceptable sense of humor and a sense of how to make things look good when you've got a budget that could buy a bag of donuts and three sticks of gum. In between those good moments, however, is a lot of stuff that ranges from unnecessary to stupid. There are way too many montages in this movie and way, way, waaaaay too many sub-mediocre songs that blare up at regular intervals. Fisher also has very little grasp on a disjointed plot that shuffles characters in and out of the story like they're on a very slow Ferris wheel. It's like he can't handle more than two people on screen at the same time and when the plot needs somebody new to move forward, somebody else has got to disappear. For example, Kel is training Tyler to fight at first, but when Gabe shows up to start training with his brother, Kel is literally never seen or even referred to again until the tough man contest at the end. There are also too many establishing shots, the Weej role is completely superfluous and Fisher totally blows the conflict between Tyler and Gabe. As I mentioned, Fisher establishes the animosity between the brothers and then resolves it BEFORE the tough man contest. I can appreciate he may have been trying to avoid cliché, but sometimes clichés are better than robbing your conclusion of 95% of its dramatic impact. And a tertiary subplot about the factory closing down never comes off as anything more than lame overkill. What's good about The King Of Iron Town is good enough to make it worth watching. What's not good about it is more disappointing than aggravating, which puts it above a great many indy flicks that have made me want to throw a cement block at my TV. If ordinary people grappling with their ordinary lives are your thing, give this movie a chance.

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• Good Hometown Story

  gregorylawrence2009-08-17

  Featuring the song "I Need You Tonight" written & performed by Greg Lawrence & Don Hanshaw & Kanyon Band and is heard playing on the jukebox during the "restroom" scene at the local bar! Good little hometown story movie between two brothers pitted against daily life in small town America. Nice shots of the Ironton, Ohio & Tri State Area. I was there for the movie premiere at the local college and had the opportunity to meet with the main actors and director. Although the acting and storyline was infrequently compelling, the main theme was enough to connect with the average small town lifestyle and hold the audience from start to finish.

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