J: I have always been conflicted about comic book hero movies. I have the requisite and highly developed ability to suspend disbelief but never had the exposure or devotion to the comic book genre to really “get” the whole concept – may as well blame “Lord of the Rings” and a love of books for that. Not to mention that any movie based on a comic book character is always in danger of jumping the shark just because the screenwriter has to take 30 minutes of reading time and translate that into a 2 ½ hour movie. YIKES! I guess that’s why I was impressed when I read that director Jon Favreau went to Industrial Light & Magic and said “I hate CGI and want to use as little as possible” – ok, that might not be the direct quote but that’s pretty close and THAT’s the beauty of blogs – I just have to look good I don’t have to be sincere (with apologies to Don Henley!). Anyway, you have to love a director that wants to back away from all the CGI in order to give the movie an authentic look and feel. And it really works – nothing is lost. I also like the effort to bring a plot and character development into the movie instead of just marching CGI and explosions all over the screen. Of course, there are plenty of explosions – what’s the point of a movie like this without them – but not too many and they are entirely believable. I was impressed by the subtlety of the political line – no Cheney as “Darth Vader” kind of thing, just a simple are we the good guys or the bad guys and it’s up to you to figure that out for yourself. I like that.
Now, the burning question that can no longer go unanswered; Is this the comeback of the decade or what? Yes, I know – Robert Downey, Jr. has been in a couple of movies since then. In fact, I particularly like “A Scanner Darkly” but then, I AM seriously weird and twisted so I’ve got that going for me. But, this is different – this is a big movie with a lot of attention and it is really the perfect part for Downey, Jr. Love the sarcasm/humor (what do you mean, they’re not the same thing?!) and the brooding nature of the character and the way he was played. This would not have been the same movie without Robert Downey, Jr. Nice work and PLEASE keep it up. And, yes – he has ALWAYS been hot – Double Duh! -J
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K here. I agree with J. This movie was good because it focused on character development with a splash of special effects to make it fun. I definitely recommend this movie to anyone. I have to disagree with J, though, on her last point. I never noticed how good looking Mr. Downey, Jr. was until this movie. I thought the years of addiction would have taken a heavier toll on his face, but he looks great!
4 comments:
J - Ah-Ha! A new believer is born! Maybe it's the fact that Mr. Downey, Jr. HAS in fact been through hell that has contributed to his sex appeal. Maybe having that experience and developing the maturity to work through that hell has only improved the man - wouldn't it be great if it always turned out that way. Just one more reason to admire a talented actor.
K - I'm definitely a believer! I'm sorry I was so late to the realization. Clearly, I have missed out on some good acting. I'll have to take your recommendation for Scanner Darkly and maybe check out some of his other movies.
K - Cool article in the May 16th issue of Entertainment Weekly on the possibility of an Iron Man sequel. Downey, Paltrow, and Howard are all signed for one more movie. There are also plans for lots of guest appearances in Marvel's other upcoming movies. We apparently missed a special appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury after the credits where he wanted to talk to Tony Stark about the "Avengers initiative" - Avengers being one of the projects Marvel has on deck.
Boy I really hate it when they make you wait until the end of a movie to see something cool - especially when it takes a half hour for the credits to run! The same thing happens in Constantine & I just happened to see it when I was putzing around & the DVD was running. I'll let everyone find out what it is for themselves.
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