It is a fim for lovers of the genre. It is inspired by the Chinese and Hong Kong films of the 70s and in that respect it is very well done. But it is a genre that must be liked otherwise it looks ridiculous.

@aholejones said:

I mean he wasn't the brightest star in 2012 anymore, but still this is a movie with a 15 million dollar budget and was written and directed and starred by RZA. Crowe was still getting decent roles and he did the big budget Man of Steel the very next year so I doubt he didn't have options.

Maybe Crowe is a fan of the genre?