On The Flip Side Of Greatness Comes Iron Man 2

Right after watching the original Iron Man (see posting below) and taking a bathroom break, we decided to keep going and put in Iron Man 2 into blu-ray player. For all the great things I can say about the original Iron Man, I can say negative things about Iron Man 2. It's simply not as good of a movie as its predecessor and falls prey to sequel-itis where second films in a series tends to get lazy and unfocused. Neither Mickey Rourke or Sam Rockwell are very compelling as villains, being more caricatures than true characters. The story is wildly unsteady with very good scenes butted up against incredibly bad scenes (who can forget a falling down drunk Iron Man trying to fight his best friend to the death?). 

But mostly putting up the grounded grittiness of the original Iron Man up against Iron Man 2, the second installment comes off as simply comic book material and not a good comic book at that. Whereas an Iron Man was, for most people, a memorable movie, Iron Man 2 is sadly a forgettable one. So much opportunity to do better, so much time and resources wasted on what was delivered to the audience. 

Iron Man 2 isn't the worst superhero movie ever, just not a very good one.

The Original Iron Man - It's Still Probably The Best

I spent last Sunday with Iron Man. My father-in-law, mentioned below in my look at Captain America The First Avenger, is an old school movie guy. He likes cowboy movies, war movies. He's a John Wayne kind of guy that probably would be confused as hell if his son-in-law, now in his 50's, told him that he has never seen a John Wayne movie from beginning to end. True, I have only seen fragments of John Wayne movies, never a whole one. I find Wayne to be unappealing for a number of reasons, always have. Anyway, thinking about what my father-in-law might want to watch I thought about the original Iron Man movie from 2003. 

Like Captain America, when you strip Iron Man down to its most basic level, its a war movie and Iron Man is the cowboy in the white hat (or Iron Mask in this case). Instead of flights of superhero fancy, Iron Man fights a war on terror and the corporate arms machine. In that respect Iron Man the movie is more grounded, gritty, and realistic than most superhero movies. It also has great writing and superb performances by all the main players headed by Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and a very creepy and menacing Jeff Bridges. 

I go back and forth on what is the best of the Marvel superhero movie of the ones that now fall under Disney control. The Avengers and Iron Man 1 run neck and neck as far as I'm concerned and which one is best may only depend on how I feel that day. (If I could take Sony's Spider Man 2 - that movie would also jump into the mix as well) For today, I will say that Iron Man is the best of them from its tight, rocking, explosive, AC/DC beginning to an ending that simply says "The truth is... I am Iron Man:" it's a movie that not once loses its focus on the story of the narcissistic Tony Stark and his Iron Man creation.

The best of Marvel? The original Iron Man may just be one of the best movies ever in my book. Certainly, its in the Top Ten. And yes....my father-in-law thoroughly enjoyed the movie as well.

A New Look At Captain America: The First Avenger

On a warm July afternoon, I fired up my copy of Captain America: The First Avenger in the blu-ray player. My 80 year old father-in-law was watching TV with me and I thought to myself  "Captain America might work and just may be something he'd enjoy watching. After all, beneath it all, it's a World War II movie." I was right and even someone 80 years old enjoyed Captain America. (I'll the drop the First Avenger part of the title- that was added to help placate foreign audiences who aren't necessarily fans of America)

This was probably my fourth or fifth viewing of Captain America - directed by Joe Johnston and my feelings toward the film have remained consistent. It is one of Marvel Studios best efforts with maybe only the original Iron Man and The Avengers better films (and that's debatable depending on how I feel). Captain America is superior comic book story telling in live action setting. The story never lags a bit from beginning to end and you have to give a great deal of credit to the sensational cast put together for Captain America, especially Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Dominic Cooper. And while I knew nothing of Chris Evans acting before Captain America, I have to admit, he fit right into to the role of a comic book hero who many find difficult to take seriously - the earnest hero who is also kind of a joke.

Captain America is a throwback movie in the superhero age and that is exactly what it should be. It pays homage to the WW II films of decades past while remaining on the cutting edge the current trend superhero films. It's an honest movie with a heart of gold and that's why an 80 year old man struggling with memory and health issues thoroughly enjoyed it right along with me.

The next installment of Captain America comes out in the spring of 2014 and as of now, it's the film I most look forward to seeing next year (now with Robert Redford in the cast). Joe Johnston left a strong foundation with Captain America that carried right through with The Avengers. One could only hope the character continues to build in the next installment (and not fall all over itself like with what happened with Iron Man 2).