Iron Fist actor defends series after wave of negative reviews

Loknath Das

Iron Fist’s Finn Jones has come to the defense of the newest Netflix and Marvel series after it received numerous negative reviews.

Jones told Metro that shows like Iron Fist are not made for critics,” but are designed entirely for the fans. As such, the lower scores and bad reviews the show has received from critics are coming from people who weren’t fans going into it, according to the actor.

“I also think some of the reviews we saw were seeing the show through a very specific lens, and I think when the fans of the Marvel Netflix world and fans of the comic books view the show through the lens of just wanting to enjoy a superhero show, then they will really enjoy what they see,” Jones said.

Jones’ comments have caught the ire of both critics and fans online who argued over the weekend that claiming enthusiasts couldn’t watch a show through a critical lens was insulting. Likewise, critics argued they could be enthusiasts going into a series, but that didn’t deter them from giving their honest opinions during reviews.

Jones added that he believes Iron Fist stands on its own and is just as good as other series in Marvel and Netflix’s Defenders franchise. In comparison, however, both Luke Cage and Jessica Jones debuted to mostly positive reviews, and even Daredevil managed to impress both critics and fans.

This isn’t the first time that someone has used the “it’s made for fans, not critics” defense, either. When Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released, Amy Adams claimed that the movie wasn’t made for critics and people needed to keep that in perspective.

“I know that Zack doesn’t make the movies, and none of us are making the movies for the critics, so to speak, you can’t go into it from that perspective,” Adams told Yahoo! Movies. “So, I know we really hope the fans like it, and so far the reaction’s been really positive on that front.”

Suicide Squad’s Cara Delevingne also used the defense while talking about the DC and Warner Bros. film that was also panned by critics.

“The critics have been absolutely horrific. They’re really, really horrible. You know, I just don’t think they like superhero movies,” Delevingne told Reuters. “It doesn’t really matter what the critics say at the end of the day, it’s the fans that we made this movie for.”

We’ll see if Iron Fist lives up to fans expectations on March 17 when the season is released in its entirety on Netflix.