Who payed the critics

Some things I liked some I did not.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

I started watching Iron Chef recently and I like it.The host and the Iron Chefs very interesting. The host talk in a unfamiliar way and the Iron Chef look like Samurais.This cooking show is a lot better than other cooking shows.

I have to agree with pretty much everything in Mark Messina's review, but here's my take on it anyway:I first got hooked on it when my fiancee turned me onto it long before we moved in together. I spent weekends at her house, and watching "Iron Chef" on Friday nights was a weekly ritual. As a long-time NASCAR fan, my FIRST impresion was that this is what the result would be if Emeril Legasse worked for NASCAR. Why is that, you ask? Anyone who is familiar with both Iron Chef and NASCAR knows exactly what I mean.The action is fast paced, and the "color commentators" Kenji Fukui and Hattori Yukio in the booth give a flawless play-by-play. However, the real star of the show, in my opinion, is kitchen reporter Shinichirô Ôta. NASCAR fans will recognize him as "Iron Chef's" answer to pit road reporters such as Dr. Jerry Punch and John Kernan. His "right in the middle of the action" perspective adds an up-close and personal element to the show. Without Ôta, much of the action would be lost to viewers, simply by virtue of the program's pacing. Besides, how could you not love the incredibly inappropriate timing of his frequent "Fukui-san!" interjections? Nowhere else in the world would a rude interruption be so welcome!!! Besides, half the fun of the show is watching the competitors try to wave Ôta like a really irritating mosquito.I mentioned early on that Iron Chef has a NASCAR feel to it. The comparison is clear when talking about the color commentary, but when it comes to the competitors, this is nothing short of a knock-down drag-out brawl. All of the Iron Chefs are great, but Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi is by far the most entertaining...not for his vast talent, but for the fact that he tends to stress WAY too much. Whenever he's on, the near-panicked look on his face as the end of the hour nears...priceless.Finally, Takeshi Kaga, the chairman of Kitchen Stadium, not a chef at all, but a long-time musician and theater actor. What can I say about Kaga? Well-known for being the first Japanese to portray Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as the first japanese to play Jean ValJean in Le Mis, these days he's just another in a long list of reasons to tune in. Above all else, I can't escape the thought that he is Japan's answer to Liberace.

There is no other show like this anywhere on television. Shown in the USA on cable TV's Food Network (complete with awkward English dubbing). this show is part Frugal Gourmet, part Worldwide Wrestling Federation, and part Japanese monster movie. There are so many small touches that make the show a surrealistic trip - the fact that everyone's voice is (badly dubbed) except the master of ceremonies, who speaks Japanese while English subtitles are flashed on the screen; this same man's mysterious smile as he bites into a yellow pepper during the show's opening sequence; the breathless commentary from the reporter on the floor, who shouts "Fukui-san!" every fifty seconds or so; the seemingly bottomless knowledge on the finer points of gourmet cooking displayed by various actors, pop singers, news anchors, and other celebrities who sit on the panel of judges every week; the mixture of bravado and faux humility shown by both Iron Chefs and challengers, seen in the United States only in professional athletes; etc.There is simply no way to encapsulate the atmosphere of this show in a few lines of commentary. It has to be seen to be experienced. and once you buy into the premise of the show, you will find it very entertaining.

Iron Chef is far and away the best show currently on television. In addition to simply being an amazing cooking show, it also teaches us about different cuisines and eastern culture. There are 4 Iron Chefs who do battle with the challenger chefs preparing dishes which best articulate the chosen THEME INGREDIENT. There have been women challengers, and in fact I have seen one of them defeat Iron Chef Chen Kenichi. Incidentally, and for the record, the 4th Iron Chef (Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe) does have his own platform, it is just separate from the other 3. The four Iron Chefs are Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto, Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakei, Iron Chef Chinese Chen Kenichi, and Iron Chef Italian Masahiko Kobe. Perhaps some of you saw Food TV Chef Bobby Flay get his butt kicked by Morimoto San in the Food TV Iron Chef NY Battle which aired on June 25th? For those who want to watch, Iron Chef can currently be seen on Food TV at 10pm on Fridays and Saturday nights, and at 7pm on Sundays.