Movie: Iron Man X 2

Iron-man-poster-2

I had the opportunity to see this movie twice in two days, and have had two days to let it sink in.

My opinion? I liked it. It was very good and close to being the best comic book movie ever.

The acting is the high part. Downey, Jr. is great as Tony Stark. He delivers them with a great personality and humor. Sometime, his dialogue sounds a bit like it was written for Vince Vaughn "What's a matter, platypus?" but that could just be me.

Jeff Bridges is excellent as Obidiah Stane. In this movie, the dude does not abide. He plays evil very, very well.

Terrence Howard does well in a limited role. Hopefully, he will come off bigger in the sequels.

Gwyneth Paltrow comes off better as Pepper Potts. She makes her intelligent, likable, and sweet.

The story stay remarkably close to the comics, especially in its origin sequence. It seem like Marvel taking over with its own studio was the best thing that could have happened. They figured out how to adapt the mythos for the movies yet make it a really good movie at the same time.

This is not to say that Iron Man is a perfect film. The mid-movie meeting of the bad guys makes you wonder why the main plot point of the first half had to happen. But it certainly was enjoyable.

Now the previews. We saw the film in two different cities in two different states on two different days. There was carry overs and differences.

 

• The Dark Knight (FRI & SAT): We saw two versions of this trailer on both days. I thought that was strange. I'm not sure I'm warming to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. Not so much what he does, but how the character is written. Yes, the character is psychotic, but, what I've seen here, he's too psychotic. But I trust all involved so this should rock.
• Don't Mess With The Zohan (FRI & SAT): Adam Sandler takes on the Mossaud. Again, there were two different cuts of this trailer each day. I don't know if the geographic location played into that or not, but that was interesting. This looks funny, but, then again, Sandler isn't acting like a idiot in this one, and I like his films when he doesn't act like an idiot.
• The Happening (FRI & SAT): Another trailer with two different versions. The kids at school mocked this trailer. Perhaps the bloom is off the Shamaylan rose. I don't know. The Village was kind of shaky for me, and while I liked Lady in the Water, it wasn't his best. We'll see how this turns out. Sidebar: Jen and I both realize that Zooey Dechanel is a dead ringer for our friend Amie.
• The Love Guru (FRI & SAT): Mike Myers returns. I've seen some commentary where people think this film is lame. Just Mike Myers doing his usually goofy shtick. But I like Myers usual shtick. I thought the trailer had funny moments. Oh, and this trailer was the same both days.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (FRI & SAT): And this trailer had two different cuts. Each one awesome. I'm ashamed to say this, considering the amount of comic book movies coming out, but I might be looking forward to this one more than any other movie this year.
• The Incredible Hulk (FRI): This one only played in New York, which is a shame bacause I was building it up to my friends on Saturday. This one has gotten a lot of slack by ripping off the "Hulk using a car as brass knuckles" bit from the Hulk video game. I think they are missing the point that Hulk using cars as brass knuckles is awesomely cool. This film should rock.
• The Spirit (SAT): When my wife saw this trailer, she said, unknowingly, "We have to see that". I had to set her straight. I explained that Frank Miller doing The Spirit is like Matthew McConaghey being cast as Dirk Pitt in Sahara. She loves Clive Cussler and thinks MM is totally wrong for that role. Frank Miller is totally wrong for The Spirit. Sure, the Spirit had a lot of noir to it, but it also had charm, quirkiness, humor and wit about it. Something from what I've seen of this trailer, it is lacking.
• Hamlet 2 (SAT): This seems like a concept that might have come from a computer. Type in that you want a comedy that is quirky and slightly controversial but features a lot of people being hit by things (or hitting things) and it spits out a story about a teacher trying to save a drama program by putting out a sequel to Shakespeare's greatest work. Will it be funny? Maybe. But it still seems manufactured.