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Iron Man II |
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IRON MAN (2008)
Tony Stark. Genius, playboy, war profiteer, hero, gadgeteer, addict, and Republican. This character is certainly the most complex protagonist to be found in a comic book movie, and it is he, and the brilliant portrayal he is given by Robert Downey Jr., that sets this film apart. Aside from him, what we have is a solid but rather routine action blockbuster in which there's a good guy, some bad guys, heroic derring do, a final battle against overwhelming odds... all the usual crap. But with this character at the center, the film becomes something unique.
And Downey isn't the only high-grade actor here. Jeff Bridges, as Stark's crafty friend and mentor Obadiah Shane, disappears almost unrecognizably into his role, and carries off a multilayered performance with the unassumingly superb craft that is his hallmark. And "Pepper" Potts is Gwyneth Paltrow, an actress that some have mocked, but for whom I have considerable respect. Acting and character are indeed the film's strong suit... and that's saying something when you've got action like this.
A word of warning, for the sake of public safety: If you go to see this movie, don't go on a motorcycle. Because when you come out, you will have an irresistable impulse to ride it really really fast. Even if you go in a sensible family car, you'd better watch yourself at the wheel on the way home.
The plot: Tony Stark has inherited a corporation from his equally brilliant father. The corporation makes weapons. He goes to Afghanistan to demonstrate a new missile for US brass. While there, he is captured by a local warlord, in a firefight that very nearly kills him. The warlord orders him to duplicate the new missile.
Instead, he builds something that allows him to escape -- a crude but terrifically strong suit of powered armor.
His months in captivity, his lasting injuries, and the discovery that the nominal enemies of our War on Terror have plentiful supplies of the weapons he builds, lead him to a change of heart about how he makes a living. He devotes his time to refining his powered suit idea, making it into a miniature aircraft. But there are those who don't want to see such a potent tool wasted on peaceful ends...
Conflict and combat ensue. There's action, and flying, and crashes and smashes, and comic book level pseudoscience, and double crosses, and mano-a-mano showdownery, and plot holes, and pyrotechnics... and at the core of it, there's a whiskey swilling womanizer who finds purpose in his life, a lonely tinkerer who haltingly steps outside his protected comfort zone, a suave charmer who struggles to speak from the heart, a selfish thrillseeker who now truly puts his ass on the line for the risks that matter... a newly minted opponent of warmongering who is now driven to kill. And all of this change is depicted in a low-key, naturalistic way, without any emo'd up overdramatization. And nowadays that's something I very much appreciate in a movie.
Some more things I appreciate: it's nice to see the bad guy's smooth lies be smooth enough to fool us in the audience too, so the protagonist doesn't look like a credulous n00b for believing them. And it's nifty to occasionally see a hero character who's a motormouth, a la Lord Peter Wimsey, instead of the strong silent type. That's one aspect of the character which could never have succeeded without Downey.
Plus, the movie has some decent laughs, and they aren't fake or forced. Aaaaaaand... it's got rock&roll. Plus lots of easter-eggs for hardcore fans, most of which I didn't catch. So if you're a billionaire considering where to invest your movie-viewing, this one is a solid addition to your portfolio.
IRON MAN II (2010)
Can Robert Downey Jr. catch some more lightning in that there bottle? Before even seeing this movie, there are a couple of bad signs for it: first, there's the cameo introduction of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury at the end of the first film. Second, they recast the role of James Rhodes with a new actor who looks nothing like the original guy. And they added a part for Scarlett Johansson... who can act, but usually chooses not to. In other words, the whole thing has got Hollywood meddling written all over it.
But on the other hand, they also got Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell. And in the end, they and Downey manage to make a fairly successful lightning containment system. Gwyneth Paltrow has plenty of acting chemistry with Downey too -- they're riffing off each other like jazz musicians. And Sam Rockwell almost seems to be trying to out-Downey the star, which fits perfectly in that his character is a guy who is clearly trying too hard to be the equal of Tony Stark. The new Rhodey is Don Cheadle, who is definitely a higher grade of actor than Terrence Howard was. And Stark is still just a fun character to hang out with, even when his shortcomings are all too apparent. And he does learn and grow somewhat... though unfortunately, it's much the same learning and growth as in the last movie. I hope they don't get into a rut where he's doing the same thing in the third movie; he'll end up looking like he's going in circles.
The weakest point in the cast is, perhaps surprisingly, Samuel L. Scarlett phoned it in less than he did this time, which makes a strong contrast to the last time they worked together.
The sparkly acting and the charisma of the characters is about all that saves this movie, because in some areas there's rather a lot wrong with it. The "science" is quite a bit stupider than last time, they pull in a National Treasure type buried-secrets subplot where dead people have hidden obscure clues in plain sight, the treatment of the character Pepper Potts is not exactly a model of respect for women, the final showdown is anticlimactic... and because of the various bankable future characters that the Marvel suits want the audience to introduced to, the movie has a surplus of good guys and a shortage of scary bad guys. It's a good thing they got the fearsome Mickey Rourke to play the main guy Iron Man has to fight, because the character as written is not all that big or tough an opponent.
An awful lot of the movie is great fun. And then every once in a while it does something ass-stupid, and kind of ruins things for the next five minutes. Then you start getting back into it again, but before too long, here comes another new piece of lameness. There's plenty of entertainment to be had (especially when the hardware really fires up), but you do have to adjust your expectations a bit toward a kid-stuff level. (In other words, it's much like the average superhero movie.)
I do recommend the film, but I also have to get certain gripes out of my system when discussing it. To do so in compact form without giving too much away, I will now present, with apologies to Andrew Borntreger... some Things I Learned From This Movie:
