You know, it seems it was unhip to say you liked Gwyneth Paltrow, and I found her marrying anyone in Coldplay annoying, but I like her a lot in both Iron Man movies. The 00's will be remembered as the era in which Marvel made superhero movies legitimate, something even the success of Tim Burton's Batman film couldn't do (see: the sequels).
Unfortunately, despite a huge budget, some great set pieces, a decent set-up and good ideas... Iron Man 2 is just a mess. It feels like 3 movies' worth of stuff piled in, and only some of it jives. Only not really, because the basics of the plot all DO tie together, they just feel slapped together, and it feels a bit like RDjr needed to, and I hate to say it, tone it down a little bit. I like the Senate panel scene, too, but... its a wee bit silly and ventures into that area that makes me uncomfortable when they talk about Batman being smarter and better than everybody else. "So, you're arguing that he's just a guy, just... smarter, more athletic, deadlier, handsomer and more technically savvy... oh, and RICHER than everyone else. And this relatable how?".
I mean, I know the scene is there to show Tony spiraling but... anyway.
Its not as pristine and entertaining as the first movie, nor is the weight of Stark's legacy writ large as a challenge. That's been resolved to as astronomic degree (if its been a while - in this movie, Iron Man has ended the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on his own). And the fight between Rhody and Tony at the half-way point is sort or rubbish.
But its better than most of what we got in the 90's for superhero fare, so, whatever.
Oh, right. ScarJo. Well, she certainly adds production value. And her character is certainly lucky nobody back sup ten feet and pulls out a gun. Anyway...
On to Thor.
Film. Comics. Sci-Fi. Superheroes. Pulp. Noir. History. Superman. 20th Century Archaeology.
I was very disappointed when i saw the midnight premiere of Iron Man 2 a couple of years ago- the trailer promised Superman 2 levels of revenge but instead we got Mickey Rouke doing a bloody terrible accent, I totally agree- RDJ not reining it in and just setpieces and a weak ending in search of a good script. The weakest of the Marvel movies in my opinion and a felt slip from the first Iron Man, which had faults but also had heart.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm in the minority, but I actually liked Iron Man 2 as much as the first one. I thought is was every bit as entertaining, even funnier than the first. The plot wasn't as good, but I thought they did a great job continuing to develop the characters and their relationships. The whole thing with Tony finding out what his dad had planned for him was very cool. The first half of the movie that set up Rourke's character was solid I thought, but they didn't really seem to have an idea of how to finish. One of the best things about the movie was Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer. He was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jake. I didn't find the second movie to be "pristine", but I found it just as entertaining as the first. I actually found Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke to be more entertaining antagonists than Jeff Bridges was in the first one (no disrespect to The Dude). Was the second one over the top? Yes. Did that bother me? No.
ReplyDeleteI think we're in agreement that the basic ideas of the movie were fine. I liked the Hammer v. Stark approach - the guy who wants to be Tony so bad, but just isn't good at it, hilariously so.
ReplyDeleteI like the basic set-up with Rourke's Ivan Vanko. And I think the basic ideas around Tony learning what his dad hoped he'd do are good.
But I just don't think it gels very well. I don't know if the individual storylines don't get enough attention, or if the direction was off, the scripting was off or even the editing to make sure it hit its release date (just two years after the first film) meant they didn'tget time to make the middle of the movie work, but it just sort of crumbles to bits from the Monaco scene til the final firefight. A lot seems to just be happening.
I don't hate the movie, I just think its far messier than the first one, which I felt wasn't just a really good superhero movie, but a really well crafted film.