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| Movie Review: Iron Man 2 Alternate Title: Boys With Toys
Story: Misdirected by Jon
Favreau this second in the franchise of the Iron Man
series was just ho-hum. So what went wrong? Written by Justin
Theroux, the film had too much going on to focus on any one
thing. Our hero, Tony Stark, had outed himself as Iron
man in the last scene of the first Iron Man movie. Fast forward a bit
and we find Tony, vamping in his narcissism, drinking too much, teasing
the Armed Services committee about his prowess to protect the world
and generally behaving like an ass. Oh yes, and the palladium that is
keeping his mechanically enhanced body alive is now slowly killing him.
The good thing is that we get to meet Ivan
Vanko/Whiplash, Stark's new nemesis. He is deliciously filled
with a hate for Stark and his family that drives his revenge but sadly,
after introducing this 3D character, they slowly have him fade into
oblivion and clutter up the film with other bad asses and jerks.
Lots of inane banter is exchanged between characters
but they fill up valuable screen minutes and boredom ensues. If and
when the chit chat finally stops we are guaranteed the introduction
of some hi-tech toys, weapons of mass destruction and fight predictable
scenes.
My movie buddy, Sunjit, repeatedly asked me what
the heck this film was about. In essence - it was overloaded with distractions.
Oh and one more thing - I told my movie buddy that I predicted the final
fight scene would be 18 minutes and I was right on the money. Watch the trailer here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Olpjl_IrE Acting: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is always
good no matter the material he is given. Gwyneth Paltrow
as Pepper Potts does a lot of staring and whining. Don Cheadle
as Rhodey is underutilized. Scarlett Johansson as Natalie/Black
Widow, may have gotten herself a role in a forthcoming action feature.
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer is delightfully over
the top. Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash should
have had a larger role. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
was not explained enough to the non-comic book movie goers and Garry
Shandling as Senator Stern needs to stop having cosmetic surgery.
Trivia: Director Jon Favreau an alumnus of Chicago's
ImprovOlympic improvisation troupe. Fellow members include the late
Chris Farley, Ian Gomez, Pat Finn, Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch, Mike
Myers and Horatio Sanz. He is a Predilection: Iron Man was fun and I like Robert Downey,
Jr.
Critters: Cockatiels
Food: I cannot recall any food being eaten. Maybe
I was drifting at the time.
Sex Spectrum: None
Blatant Product Placement: I assumed there would
be lots of product placement but I cannot remember a single thing. Hmm
- maybe I was drifting.
Soundtrack: Loud
Opening Titles: A short sequence featuring the Mickey
Rourke character that got my attention. Cut to the name of the film.
All of the rest of the credits are at the end.
Visual Art: Tony Stark has good taste.
Theater Audience: About 10 other people - mostly
guys. My Wednesday movie buddy, Sunjit provided the egg salad sandwiches
and it was free small popcorn day the our local AMC theater.
Weather: Lovely.
Sappy Factor: 0
Quirky Meter: 0
Squirm Scale: Is being bored squirmy?
Drift Factor: High - I drifted throughout.
Predictability Level: Over the top.
Tissue Usage: 0
Oscar Worthy: NO
Big Screen or Rental: If you are going to se this
film - big screen would be the way to go.
Length: Under two hours.
LOBO HOWLS: 4 |