Sunday, May 16, 2010

"Robert Downey Jr is the Only Man Cocky Enough to Play Iron Man"

My friend Tiffany said the above line. This means...I've just gotten home from Iron Man 2!

Iron Man 2, 2010, USA

Ultimately, I enjoyed it. It was a fun summer movie. But it wasn't as good as the first one was, which is not unexpected. To me, it felt like they tried to cram far too much story into too short a time. This meant that certain plot lines were neglected, or given a less than satisfactory conclusion. This is a common problem with sequels: they try too hard to live up the original, so they try to cram in every "cool" storyline possible, in order to impress the fans. It doesn't work! I think the movie would have been better if pieces were trimmed a little. Perhaps Scarlett Johanson's part, which felt like a bit of a waste to me. I thought Mickey Rourke was awesome, but very under-utilized. I wanted to see a lot more of his character.

Don Cheadle replaced Terrance Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the sequel. Cheadle did an adequate job, but I think the role belongs to Howard. He felt more convincing to me, and it's a shame that he was replaced. I know he has a reputation for being hard to work with, but he was just brilliant in the role.

And as Tiffany said...there's only one man who could play Iron Man, and that is the magnificent Robert Downey Jr. I never really noticed him until I saw Iron Man, but oh did I ever notice him after that movie. Since then, I've seen a few more of his movies (though not nearly enough of them), and I think he's got a real talent. Plus he oozes charisma.

Definitely go see the movie in theatres. It's so much fun, and enjoying an air conditioned theatre is a perfect way to spend a summer evening!

4 comments:

  1. I LOVED it. While you said that JoHanson's bit was a bit wasted, I felt that Cheadle's talent was as well. He was kind of flat and awkward in the role of Rhodey.

    I agree with your friend Tiffany about Mr. Downey Jr. If you want to check out more of his flicks, see Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang. He also had a bit role in Good Night, and Good Luck.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love, love Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang! It's hilarious and very underrated. I haven't seen Good Night, and Good Luck yet, though I would like to!

    I thought Cheadle was awkward as well. He just doesn't have the presence required to play a superhero.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Johansson was great! She looked sexy and didn't say much. Exactly what a woman should be.

    But serious, I think she was supposed to be mysterious, but this element was sort of butchered in the film - which contains several scenes that serve only to set up the "Avengers" movie that Marvel is planning, in which her character is supposed to play a bigger role or something.

    I agree that Cheadle was awkward. Terence Howard was a perfect foil for Robert Downey Jr. and I've no idea why he was kicked off the sequel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think there was some sort of contract dispute between Howard and Marvel. I also heard that him and Favreau didn't get along very well too. It's such a shame because Cheadle is not nearly as good.

    ReplyDelete