Ironman 2 - Pics, Trailers, Updates, etc
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http://www.richlovatt.com/2010/04/iron-man-2-and-the-burden-of-expectation
Iron Man 2 and the Burden of Expectation
April 27th, 2010 by Rich | Posted in Comics, Movies
I’ve been reading reviews of Iron Man 2 and there seems to be a constant thread in a lot of them – it’s not as good as the first.
Everything fun and terrific about “Iron Man,” a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, “Iron Man 2” has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. – THR
“Iron Man 2” isn’t as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it’ll do…while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. – Variety
Iron Man 2 thankfully just about pulls it off, but only just. It’s a strangely paced film and suffers at times from incredibly long exposition and poorly contrived story lines that seem to be added to no doubt develop the Avengers storyline rather than the Iron Man 2 story that I wanted to see. – HeyUGuys
Not that all reviews are tinged with disappointment – over at AICN, Harry predictably gushes –
IRON MAN 2 is comic movie crack! I remember how I was after I saw SPIDER-MAN 2. It felt like the world finally fucking got it. I thought we’d always have films increasingly badass from that point – and SPIDER-MAN 3 was not better. And I got a tad sad. When you see a comic book movie that is absolutely the best of what that character can be on screen – it is euphoric. Something to celebrate, to revel in. I’ve been a comic geek my entire life. I remember when Bob Layton really began blowing my mind with IRON MAN. This is that… but on film… with hundreds of talented awesome artists, technicians and craftsmen all supporting that vision.
- while at HitFix, former AICNer Drew McWeeny offers up a more measured appraisal but still loves it:
“Iron Man 2” is, in every possible way, issue two of a comic book. It doesn’t have to spend time setting up the origin of the character, and it doesn’t feel the need to resolve every single story thread introduced in this one film. There’s a sense that everyone’s settling into this series and thinking big. It is just as confident as the first film, and incredibly aggressive in the way it handles story and characterization.
Earlier this morning I tweeted a link to the THR review and one of my tweetpals (there has to be a better way of saying that) tweeted this reply:
Always painful when folks with no comic book background review comic book movies…
And this, I think is the problem at the heart of comic book movies.
It’s pretty much a given that we’re going to go apeshit over them – and by ‘we’ I mean comics fans. If we love a character or a comic, then chances are good that we’re going to go and see the movie. If we love it, we’re going to tell everyone. If we don’t, we’re also going to tell everyone (only probably much louder). We want them to make movies based on comics which appeal to us.
The issue is that just because they appeal to us it doesn’t mean that they’ll appeal to everyone, and if the last couple of weekend box office tallies should tell us anything, its that movies based on comics need to be marketed smartly and, more often than not, need an actor with a decent amount of star power to make a difference on the opening weekend.
I loved Iron Man. Loved it – and it was a massive hit because it had a charismatic lead with marquee value (even if it was faded marquee value), it was directed by a guy with an eye for what works in movies and something to prove, it was perfectly cast (with the possible exception of a touch-too-soft Jim Rhodes, something corrected for the second outing), and it was a well structured and written movie with a clearly defined purpose – tell an origin story. Even so, the final act was a little bit flabby, the throwdown between Iron Man and Obadiah Stane a little bit same-old, same-old – but you could forgive that because the rest of the movie was that damn good.
So the natural expectation is that the second will be better. Downey Jr’s career has been resuscitated to an amazing extent; Jon Favreau has now had his big hit and has less to prove – but when I look at the additional elements added to the movie I can’t help worry whether the burden of expectation and reaching ambition when it comes to establishing the Mighty Marvel Movie Universe will weigh it down.
Iron Man 2 expands Nick Fury and Agent Coulson’s roles, has Rhodey stepping up to take on the War Machine mantle, and adds Black Widow (although apparently Scarlett Johansson’s character is never actually called by this), Whiplash and Justin Hammer to the mix while also alluding to Thor and Captain America, and setting up the Avengers - which is why Tony Stark goes to visit with General Ross at the end of the Incredible Hulk movie from a few years back.
That’s a lot for any movie to do – and that’s before you deal with any development for Tony and Pepper. From the looks of many reviews, it’s too much to some extent. Even Drew McWeeny admits that it may not be to everyone’s taste –
Both Captain America and Thor are overtly referenced in this film, and my guess is that we’re going to see these references work directly into the films that Marvel has in the works for next summer. It’s a fascinating gamble, and I talked to people after the film who were just annoyed by the whole thing, but I think it’s like watching part of a big, crazy mini-series.
The problem is that not everyone reads comics, not everyone understands that a big, crazy mini series can be a crapload of fun. And even comic readers know that for every big crazy mini series that’s a crapload of fun, you also get a Day of Vengeance.
The risk with any second movie in a comic movie franchise seems to be that the movie will try to do too much in the time it has, mistaking more for better. Here, I’d say that risk is compounded as it’s not trying to do too much on it’s own behalf, it’s also tying in threads and laying the ground work for at least four other movies past and present (Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) – and that’s without any potential spin-offs along the lines of Black Widow
Iron Man 2 will be a huge hit. I’ll go and see it opening weekend. I’ll buy the DVD. I would suspect that due to the goodwill from the first movie, it’s pretty much bulletproof when it comes to reviews unlike, say, The Losers.
I just think that Mighty Marvel Movie Universe may prove more a hindrance than a help to the individual movies comprising it if care isn’t taken.
Iron Man 2 and the Burden of Expectation
April 27th, 2010 by Rich | Posted in Comics, Movies
I’ve been reading reviews of Iron Man 2 and there seems to be a constant thread in a lot of them – it’s not as good as the first.
Everything fun and terrific about “Iron Man,” a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, “Iron Man 2” has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. – THR
“Iron Man 2” isn’t as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it’ll do…while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. – Variety
Iron Man 2 thankfully just about pulls it off, but only just. It’s a strangely paced film and suffers at times from incredibly long exposition and poorly contrived story lines that seem to be added to no doubt develop the Avengers storyline rather than the Iron Man 2 story that I wanted to see. – HeyUGuys
Not that all reviews are tinged with disappointment – over at AICN, Harry predictably gushes –
IRON MAN 2 is comic movie crack! I remember how I was after I saw SPIDER-MAN 2. It felt like the world finally fucking got it. I thought we’d always have films increasingly badass from that point – and SPIDER-MAN 3 was not better. And I got a tad sad. When you see a comic book movie that is absolutely the best of what that character can be on screen – it is euphoric. Something to celebrate, to revel in. I’ve been a comic geek my entire life. I remember when Bob Layton really began blowing my mind with IRON MAN. This is that… but on film… with hundreds of talented awesome artists, technicians and craftsmen all supporting that vision.
- while at HitFix, former AICNer Drew McWeeny offers up a more measured appraisal but still loves it:
“Iron Man 2” is, in every possible way, issue two of a comic book. It doesn’t have to spend time setting up the origin of the character, and it doesn’t feel the need to resolve every single story thread introduced in this one film. There’s a sense that everyone’s settling into this series and thinking big. It is just as confident as the first film, and incredibly aggressive in the way it handles story and characterization.
Earlier this morning I tweeted a link to the THR review and one of my tweetpals (there has to be a better way of saying that) tweeted this reply:
Always painful when folks with no comic book background review comic book movies…
And this, I think is the problem at the heart of comic book movies.
It’s pretty much a given that we’re going to go apeshit over them – and by ‘we’ I mean comics fans. If we love a character or a comic, then chances are good that we’re going to go and see the movie. If we love it, we’re going to tell everyone. If we don’t, we’re also going to tell everyone (only probably much louder). We want them to make movies based on comics which appeal to us.
The issue is that just because they appeal to us it doesn’t mean that they’ll appeal to everyone, and if the last couple of weekend box office tallies should tell us anything, its that movies based on comics need to be marketed smartly and, more often than not, need an actor with a decent amount of star power to make a difference on the opening weekend.
I loved Iron Man. Loved it – and it was a massive hit because it had a charismatic lead with marquee value (even if it was faded marquee value), it was directed by a guy with an eye for what works in movies and something to prove, it was perfectly cast (with the possible exception of a touch-too-soft Jim Rhodes, something corrected for the second outing), and it was a well structured and written movie with a clearly defined purpose – tell an origin story. Even so, the final act was a little bit flabby, the throwdown between Iron Man and Obadiah Stane a little bit same-old, same-old – but you could forgive that because the rest of the movie was that damn good.
So the natural expectation is that the second will be better. Downey Jr’s career has been resuscitated to an amazing extent; Jon Favreau has now had his big hit and has less to prove – but when I look at the additional elements added to the movie I can’t help worry whether the burden of expectation and reaching ambition when it comes to establishing the Mighty Marvel Movie Universe will weigh it down.
Iron Man 2 expands Nick Fury and Agent Coulson’s roles, has Rhodey stepping up to take on the War Machine mantle, and adds Black Widow (although apparently Scarlett Johansson’s character is never actually called by this), Whiplash and Justin Hammer to the mix while also alluding to Thor and Captain America, and setting up the Avengers - which is why Tony Stark goes to visit with General Ross at the end of the Incredible Hulk movie from a few years back.
That’s a lot for any movie to do – and that’s before you deal with any development for Tony and Pepper. From the looks of many reviews, it’s too much to some extent. Even Drew McWeeny admits that it may not be to everyone’s taste –
Both Captain America and Thor are overtly referenced in this film, and my guess is that we’re going to see these references work directly into the films that Marvel has in the works for next summer. It’s a fascinating gamble, and I talked to people after the film who were just annoyed by the whole thing, but I think it’s like watching part of a big, crazy mini-series.
The problem is that not everyone reads comics, not everyone understands that a big, crazy mini series can be a crapload of fun. And even comic readers know that for every big crazy mini series that’s a crapload of fun, you also get a Day of Vengeance.
The risk with any second movie in a comic movie franchise seems to be that the movie will try to do too much in the time it has, mistaking more for better. Here, I’d say that risk is compounded as it’s not trying to do too much on it’s own behalf, it’s also tying in threads and laying the ground work for at least four other movies past and present (Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) – and that’s without any potential spin-offs along the lines of Black Widow
Iron Man 2 will be a huge hit. I’ll go and see it opening weekend. I’ll buy the DVD. I would suspect that due to the goodwill from the first movie, it’s pretty much bulletproof when it comes to reviews unlike, say, The Losers.
I just think that Mighty Marvel Movie Universe may prove more a hindrance than a help to the individual movies comprising it if care isn’t taken.
It was a really cool movie, but it dragged a little in the middle of the film.
Though I understand it's not an origin film, there were still elements of his origin that could have been discussed to make the film better.
They should have stuck with ONE script from the comics rather than mixing two then piling on the Avenger's stuff as an added bonus.
There was a lot going on, and the direction you headed was unclear.
*SUPER-SPOILERS*
[HIDE-POSTS]You know damn good and well that if Captain America is set during WWII, you won't be seeing that shield until the end of The First Avenger. It was way too futuristic looking to be part of the original suit.[/HIDE-POSTS]
[HIDE-POSTS]So, now I know why we didn't get to see Thor's hammer in that teaser picture. Dude fell from Asgard! The Avenger's sub-plot was better laid out than the actual story for Iron Man 2. The place in which Vanko got his intel was an Avenger's front company. The "A" on their logo is the exact font used for the Avenger's logo.[/HIDE-POSTS]
[HIDE-POSTS]And I think it's funny that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Iron Man, but not Tony Stark in the Avenger's. [/HIDE-POSTS]
Though I understand it's not an origin film, there were still elements of his origin that could have been discussed to make the film better.
They should have stuck with ONE script from the comics rather than mixing two then piling on the Avenger's stuff as an added bonus.
There was a lot going on, and the direction you headed was unclear.
*SUPER-SPOILERS*
[HIDE-POSTS]You know damn good and well that if Captain America is set during WWII, you won't be seeing that shield until the end of The First Avenger. It was way too futuristic looking to be part of the original suit.[/HIDE-POSTS]
[HIDE-POSTS]So, now I know why we didn't get to see Thor's hammer in that teaser picture. Dude fell from Asgard! The Avenger's sub-plot was better laid out than the actual story for Iron Man 2. The place in which Vanko got his intel was an Avenger's front company. The "A" on their logo is the exact font used for the Avenger's logo.[/HIDE-POSTS]
[HIDE-POSTS]And I think it's funny that S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted Iron Man, but not Tony Stark in the Avenger's. [/HIDE-POSTS]
*Spoiler*
I took my son to see this last night. It was a good movie, but it did drag a little in some scenes. It's like they tried to cram a lot of info into this one. Kind of reminds me of Rocky 3. Due to the fact that Tony Stark / Iron Man is lost on his celeb trip.
Overall it was a good movie that my son & I enjoyed. After the credits it was tight to see The Amazing Thor is next. I honestly thought it'd be Captain America though. None the less, I'm gonna watch em' all.
movie was good, not better than the first but Scarlett Johansson looked hella fine, i do think that the very last fight was too short and should of been a little longer, just my 2 ¢
oh and i forgot to stick around after the credits and watch the part gemini posted above, cant fucking wait for the upcoming marvel movies....
oh and i forgot to stick around after the credits and watch the part gemini posted above, cant fucking wait for the upcoming marvel movies....