I saw Iron Man 2 on opening weekend last week, and it's taken me this long to write up a review and my thoughts on the film. Actually, I started this review immediately after catching the $5 morning showing at AMC, but never got anywhere with it. The review originally castigated Jon Favreau's seemingly slow direction, but I deleted that and started over. Here's what I've got so far.
Iron Man 2 starts off with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark arrogantly displaying his Iron Man suit to the world. He is Iron Man, and no one can take that away from him. It is his not the United States government, nor the intellectual property of Ivan Vanko, nor the ripped off version found in Stark Industries competitor Hammer. It's his toy.
And it's Downey's movie. Iron Man was always Downey's. He made the original his. He makes this one his as well. Tony Stark is a big jerk arrogant and profane, but a genius. So is Downey.
Avengers was not my comic book to read growing up. Not Captain America. No Wasp. No Ant Man. A little bit of Thor. Some Hulk. Hardly any Iron Man. Watching the movie, reminded me that I really didn't miss too much. If Tony Stark was as jerky in the comic as he was in the movie, I could leave it. Perhaps, that's why I can enjoy Iron Man. There is no expectations that I've built up. I don't know his back story, side story or tales. I have no idea who his main enemies were. I have no clue who his friends were. Iron Man's blank slate as a comic book hero makes it enjoyable to watch. The less baggage the better the movie. I racked myself with frustration over the X-Men movies.
There's plenty of action in Iron Man 2 although it don't happen in big set pieces and hardly until the end. It's good. You'll see it.
3 of 5 stars.
Iron Man 2 starts off with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark arrogantly displaying his Iron Man suit to the world. He is Iron Man, and no one can take that away from him. It is his not the United States government, nor the intellectual property of Ivan Vanko, nor the ripped off version found in Stark Industries competitor Hammer. It's his toy.
And it's Downey's movie. Iron Man was always Downey's. He made the original his. He makes this one his as well. Tony Stark is a big jerk arrogant and profane, but a genius. So is Downey.
Avengers was not my comic book to read growing up. Not Captain America. No Wasp. No Ant Man. A little bit of Thor. Some Hulk. Hardly any Iron Man. Watching the movie, reminded me that I really didn't miss too much. If Tony Stark was as jerky in the comic as he was in the movie, I could leave it. Perhaps, that's why I can enjoy Iron Man. There is no expectations that I've built up. I don't know his back story, side story or tales. I have no idea who his main enemies were. I have no clue who his friends were. Iron Man's blank slate as a comic book hero makes it enjoyable to watch. The less baggage the better the movie. I racked myself with frustration over the X-Men movies.
There's plenty of action in Iron Man 2 although it don't happen in big set pieces and hardly until the end. It's good. You'll see it.
3 of 5 stars.
I mean not since Christopher Reeves have I seen anyone embody a comic character so well. Yes Robert is a genius. This movie was off the chain. Just action and fun. Original and creative. And I didn't need to see it in that fad 3-D format. I just loved watching Robert be Tony Stark with the hopes of seeing an Avengers sequel in a summer or two.
I don't even know how into the Marvel universe that Jon Favreau was as a kid. But he totally fulfills my wishes of making the characters come off as complete bad asses. So very Stan Lee like.
This was the first time that Iron Man actually faces a super villain. And who makes more sense opposite a Hollywood outlyer like Robert - an even bigger Hollywood outlyer like Mickey Rourke. These are the guys that wear shades not for the paparazzi but because they always wear shades. They've got Actor tattooed on their heart.
I say yeah you'll watch it. Cuz Iron Man is us Right now. But to each his own.