GrnMarvl14
Lying
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2003
- Messages
- 13,846
- Reaction score
- 4
Saw it today. Loved it. Easily the best Marvel movie yet. The writing, the acting, and the directing melded together to create, by far, the best characters in any Marvel film so far. Robert Downey Jr. nailed Tony Stark PERFECTLY in every scene. From the cocky millionaire playboy to the man faced with the reality of what his life has been about and how he can bring about his own atonement. An early review I read of the film nailed it when they said that Robert Downey Jr's so good in this that he actually overshines his castmates, and I agree. Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges were all perfectly acted and written characters, but none of them got properly fleshed out (to the point where Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane turned into a stereotypical 2-dimensional villain in the final fight scene. C'mon..."I see you've upgraded your armor...AND SO HAVE I"? That's bad writing. But that was the ONLY bad part) and Jon Favreau's character doesn't get properly identified until the credits (if you know Iron Man's history, you know who he plays). You watch the movie and come out wishing there'd been more of it. Just to see these other characters as evolved as Tony Stark is.
The movie does several things extraordinarily well. From setting up possible sequels (Rhodes eyeing the MK II armor and saying "next time, baby", the terrorist group that kidnaps Stark being called the Ten Rings) to making the armor construction scenes feel integral and interesting (the first armor is built with a sense of imminent doom, and the subsequent armors are built with a comic bent as Stark is constantly hurting himself while being assisted by a couple of fairly primitive, albeit eager-to-please, robots) to the little touches that seem like nothing at first, but almost always pay off later in the movie (almost NOTHING happens without a later reason, down to a several off-hand comments).
And, as a comic geek, I was loving this movie from the beginning. From Stan Lee appearing to the entire terrorist setup (as I mentioned earlier, it sets up for a possible sequel, though I won't mention the most telling factors) to the SHIELD agents (and the great running gag where no one can remember what what their name is, culminating in the main agent saying "Just call us SHIELD") FINALLY bringing SHIELD into the modern Marvel movie (I THINK this is the only mention of them in ANY Marvel movie outside of MAYBE the Nick Fury made-for-TV movie from the 90s) to Jarvis (I'd have prefered Homer or Plato, but I got over it quickly) to the air force pilots being named Whiplash 1 and 2. And I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.
My only REAL complaint? The very last line spoken by Stark before the credits. I won't say what it is, but I can only hope that it's going to end up as much a joke as the eleven or so times he's said it in the comics.
And, if you see this movie, MAKE SURE YOU STAY PAST THE CREDITS. I was one of THREE people who remained past the credits (out of about...maybe 15 total in an early showing) and IT PAID OFF. Want to know what happens? Click the spoiler:
All told, great movie. Great for comic fans. Great for techies. Great for people who just want to see a GOOD, VERY solid, movie.
The movie does several things extraordinarily well. From setting up possible sequels (Rhodes eyeing the MK II armor and saying "next time, baby", the terrorist group that kidnaps Stark being called the Ten Rings) to making the armor construction scenes feel integral and interesting (the first armor is built with a sense of imminent doom, and the subsequent armors are built with a comic bent as Stark is constantly hurting himself while being assisted by a couple of fairly primitive, albeit eager-to-please, robots) to the little touches that seem like nothing at first, but almost always pay off later in the movie (almost NOTHING happens without a later reason, down to a several off-hand comments).
And, as a comic geek, I was loving this movie from the beginning. From Stan Lee appearing to the entire terrorist setup (as I mentioned earlier, it sets up for a possible sequel, though I won't mention the most telling factors) to the SHIELD agents (and the great running gag where no one can remember what what their name is, culminating in the main agent saying "Just call us SHIELD") FINALLY bringing SHIELD into the modern Marvel movie (I THINK this is the only mention of them in ANY Marvel movie outside of MAYBE the Nick Fury made-for-TV movie from the 90s) to Jarvis (I'd have prefered Homer or Plato, but I got over it quickly) to the air force pilots being named Whiplash 1 and 2. And I'm sure I'm forgetting a few.
My only REAL complaint? The very last line spoken by Stark before the credits. I won't say what it is, but I can only hope that it's going to end up as much a joke as the eleven or so times he's said it in the comics.
And, if you see this movie, MAKE SURE YOU STAY PAST THE CREDITS. I was one of THREE people who remained past the credits (out of about...maybe 15 total in an early showing) and IT PAID OFF. Want to know what happens? Click the spoiler:
Fairly short scene with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury telling Stark he wants to discuss the "Avengers Initiative."
All told, great movie. Great for comic fans. Great for techies. Great for people who just want to see a GOOD, VERY solid, movie.
