Year: 2008
Directed By: Jon Favreau
Written By: Many for screenplay and character creation both, most notably Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
RYAN’S REVIEW
This is where The Avengers started, it’s where is all began and it got things kick started with a bang. The Avengers was such an incredible movie because it was the culmination of something many films had already built over many years. This was the first one, the first movie about one of the characters, and the first one to feature Samuel L Jackson in role of Nick Fury. This one was the right one to get things started. Plenty of superhero films crash and burn but this one is rock and roll. It was incredibly successful because it was the real deal. It’s a cool movie and it tells an interesting and exciting introductory story.
Robert Downey Jr.’s career certainly has had its ups and downs but I think he got his game back with this role. He has always been a great actor but when he became Tony Stark he became Tony Stark. Today’s Robert Downey Jr. isn’t the guy we saw back in the early 90s. He is an altogether entertainer that has blossomed into this really likeable guy much like Alec Baldwin or well Samuel L Jackson for that matter. These guys are just super cool and suddenly have more charisma than anyone would have ever imagined. Alec Baldwin once starred in Thomas and the Magic Railroad for crying out loud. Robert Downey Jr. is now one of those guys. He has played this character so many times now and so well that he is that guy. Just as Jon Hamm will always be Don Draper and James Gandolfini will always be Tony Soprano. I think it’s a good thing because I think he is great as Tony Stark and I couldn’t imagine anybody else doing it now. He may have done some great things in his career before but I think it’s obvious that this was the role he was made for.
As for the rest of the cast I don’t know that anyone was really stellar by any means. I am a big Jeff Bridges fan but come on, The Dude does no harm. Whose idea was it to cast him as a bad guy? He did well with it but I don’t think it was an exceptional performance or anything. I think Gwyneth Paltrow is great but this doesn’t seem like the right role for her. It seems like a strange thing to say given how much I like the movie but I think the role of Pepper Potts is beneath her. I think she is too good to play this kind of part in a movie like this. I am a big fan of Paul Bettany as well but I would never know he was the voice of Jarvis if it wasn’t listed in the credits. However, I will say that the computer he personifies is really badass and I wish I had one. Terrance Howard did OK with his role as well but given he was replaced in the sequel his role means very little now. If I remember correctly I read somewhere that he was really difficult to work with on this film and was not asked back the second time around. I do not know enough about what happened though to be honest. Samuel L Jackson is awesome per usual but his role is so small and after the credits; it hardly matters when speaking about the cast.
I had really high hopes for Iron Man 2 but walked away feeling really disappointed. It was too much of set up for The Avengers and I thought the Iron Man part of the storyline was really lame. I know the character of Tony Stark has problems with consumption and that in the comics it sometimes gets out of hand. I think the writers probably had plenty of storylines to pick from though and one along those lines is lame. I thought they could have created a more powerful Tony Stark instead of one that was dying and desperate. When he peed in the Iron Man suit I had given up on the film. We do not own the sequel to this film because I really didn’t like it but the third film is set to be released this summer and I have high hopes. It looks really good and I am looking forward to it. You can see a trailer here.
I don’t think this movie rivals the original Spiderman in the genre but it is high up on the list of Marvel Comics best movies. I mean of course the films based on their characters and not simply films produced by the studio. We muct not forget about the greats aside from Spiderman was must keep X2, and Blade in mind. This was a good movie and that is what is most important to keep in mind. I would find it weird if you hadn’t seen this movie given its immense popularity but if you haven’t then it’s time you’ve seen it. This movie is worth your time and I would give it my stamp of approval.
AMBER’S REVIEW
I was really surprised by this movie. I went into it thinking that I probably wouldn’t like it, and it proved me completely wrong. I don’t really know anything about the comics of Iron Man so it was fun to go into without any preconceptions.
Oh look, another one! They tried to pack in every single person in the movie. I have to say though, I don’t really think the designer is at fault. This had to be like a contract thing or a “client demands” situation. I think this poster would have been a lot cooler if it was a straight-on shot of Downey and then Downy in the suit. Split it down the middle and show half of each, but the center glows out of both. It would look a lot cooler than this one.
NEXT MOVIE: The Island (2005)
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