Monday, March 15, 2010

Iron Man 2


The new Iron Man 2 trailer was released the other day and I have to say its looks very good. There's no reason that it shouldn't be better than the first one. New villian, the introduction of War Machine, and a lot more action sounds great to me. I'm very happy with the casting of Mickey Rourke as the bad guy Whiplash. I know he's going to be fantastic. John Favreau is a very good director who cares about authenticity. His ability to combine an interesting storyline, which is more or less true to the comics, with veteran actors, and great CGI, will cement his place as one of great directors in the movie comic book world. Those who are already there are: Bryan Singer of the first two X-Men, Sam Raimi of Spider-Man 1 & 2 (not the 3rd one because that was garbage...cut to Tobey McGuiger dancing and snapping his fingers down a NYC street excuse me while I puke), and of course Christopher Nolan of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Below is a link to watch the new trailer for Iron Man 2.




On a side note, that's totally comic book nerdy of me but I don't really care, I'm very happy that they incorporated the brief case that turns into a Iron Man suit. So cool! Again, true to the comics!


I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about movie. Let me know.

4 comments:

  1. i agree mickey rourke is a clutch villain and antagonist to lead robert downey jr.

    it's interesting that they've instituted (from the trailer) an 'iron-man army'. i will definitely go see it. may 7th is a perfect release date!

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  2. I know everyone raved about it but I couldnt even make it through the first one. Maybe I'll give the sequel an attempt, solely because Mickey Rourke is in it. Thanks for the update!

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  3. I have to remain skeptical. I think Iron Man 2 will fail because it is making many (but not all) of the mistakes of Spider-Man 3.

    1) The good girl love interest (Mary Jane Watson / Pepper Pots) returns from the previous film. But a sexy new woman (Gwen Stacey / Black Widow) is introduced, giving the main character doubts about his feelings.
    2) The hero struggles to remain good, against an external force that has corrupted him (the symbiote / alcoholism) within.
    3) There is one main villain (Venom / Whiplash) whose powers are based on the hero's powers.
    4) There is a new comic character (Green Goblin II / Black Widow) who at first appears to work against the hero, but in the end helps him defeat the villain.
    5) The hero is joined by a sidekick with powers we saw in the first film (Green Goblin II / War Machine).
    6) When the film starts, the main love interest knows his secret identity.

    Sequels always go for bigger and more: Add a sidekick. Use two villains. Add another love interest. NO! Just keep it simple. If 1 good guy against 1 bad guy made your first film a blockbuster, why change the formula? Don't trade in characterization for spectacle.

    Actually, Black Widow's role and the alcoholism are just my assumptions.

    I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on where exactly the X-Men / Spider-Man / Batman franchises went wrong, why the Superman reboot failed, thoughts on the why Hulk got rebooted so quickly and Spider-man is following, etc.

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  4. I hear what you’re saying Yero and your connections are spot on. However, when Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man 3 he already had two previous hits. As we know, he took too much of a risk and was sloppy with the third installment. Whether it was a lack of caring or arrogance who knows? With any sequel the writers and director have to offer new things so the character(s) can evolve and to keep the audience interested. That isn’t anything new. Stark is arrogant and a narcissist who, in the first film, believes he can change the world and everything will be fine. In this one, he’s going to see that it’s not that simple much like Batman realized between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

    1. Yes, Iron Man/Tony Stark does have a fling with Black Widow in the comics but I don’t think that is going to take away from the story. Stark is a playboy, who has had several romances throughout his life. It’s only natural for the writers to include someone new that MAY cause him to have doubts as you said. As long as it doesn’t dominate the storyline I don’t see it being a problem. That was one thing I never cared for with Spider-Man. It was too much of a love story.
    2. I think it’s great they incorporated Stark’s alcoholism. I read that they touch upon it but it’s not that drastic of a problem just yet. Of all the villains Stark has fought the bottle is probably his biggest one. Again we have to see the Iron Man/Stark character evolve.
    3. Technically, there were three villains in Spider-Man 3. Sandman, Green Goblin II, and Venom. I don’t think they needed Sandman at all. His character isn’t that interesting in my opinion. They should have stuck with Venom. I don’t think many would disagree that the movie would have been soo much better if it was just Venom. You’re correct with what you said with Green Goblin II regarding the villain turning into an ally, so we’ll see where they go with Black Widow. I do know that Iron Man and she have a rocky relationship so it can go anywhere. As for Whiplash, in theory the powers are the same in regards to that nuclear source of energy or whatever it’s called. I think it will be interesting to see how Favreau depicts their fight scene because they are somewhat similar. But at the same time their morals are different. If you remember that’s what The Joker said to Batman, “Deep down you’re just a freak…like me.” Same type of person but with different set of morals and goals.
    4. The introduction of War Machine is an integral part to the overall story/comic. We saw it coming in the first one. War Machine always remains an ally to Iron Man and they’re team work will had more action to film as seen in the trailer.
    5. For me, it doesn’t really bother me that Pepper Pots know about Stark. In the comics she is one of his most trust and loyal confidants so it was only natural for her to know. Eventually, any love interest finds out about the secret identity ie) Lois Lane, Kate from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

    You’re definitely right that there is this trend with Hollywood movies, especially regarding comic book movies, that the sequel has to have more. But if it worked for Nolan with his two Batman films (Rhaz al Gual/Scarecrow in Begins and The Joker/Two-Face in Knight) why can’t for Favreau? I think it has to do with director and how they incorporate everything. That clearly shows that Sam Raimi didn’t have the ability to make a good movie with more than one villain.

    As for my thoughts on The Hulk,X-Men,Superman, etc. I will dedicate a post entirely to that shortly. Don’t get me wrong I have a lot to say about that stuff and I want get my thoughts out correctly because some of that stuff doesn’t sit well with me and some I don’t mind.

    Great comments though Yero. Very precise and well stated!

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