tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post2017061853071889798..comments2024-03-10T07:42:17.071-04:00Comments on The Film Doctor: A lot of Sturm und Drang signifying money: 9 notes on Iron Man 2The Film Doctor http://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-59270507154118432132010-05-18T02:44:40.382-04:002010-05-18T02:44:40.382-04:00Thanks, Adam, for your thoughts. I believe I am i...Thanks, Adam, for your thoughts. I believe I am in the minority for disliking the first <i>Iron Man</i> so much. You are right about the Stark Expo bizarrely running through the entire film. I figured there was a second, more military one for Hammer.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-75320655254337883142010-05-17T16:15:55.929-04:002010-05-17T16:15:55.929-04:00First time commenter! Woo!
I may be in the minorit...First time commenter! Woo!<br />I may be in the minority among your readers when I say that I enjoyed the first Iron Man quite a bit - it took a scathingly egotistical protagonist and pulled him down very quickly and very hard in the beginning of the movie, so that some rapport was built for when he predictably returned to egotism. The sequal has no such pathos - he starts out as an irredeemable, wisecracky jerk and never changes even a little bit throughout the whole film.<br />Your observations over this sequal languishing in the surprisingly vast success of the first was well spotted. This movie felt 7 hours long and very self-congratulatory.<br />As a point of order, I believe the second expo that you reference is actually just still the Stark expo - it went on for 30 days, ridiculously. In what world do government weapons manufacturers have public, month-long expos?Adamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-63520107795928253642010-05-16T10:34:00.181-04:002010-05-16T10:34:00.181-04:00Thanks, Jake.
I've never entirely known exact...Thanks, Jake.<br /><br />I've never entirely known exactly why I loathe the <i>Iron Man</i> franchise. I annoyed some readers when listing the first <i>Iron Man</i> as one of my top ten most hated films of 2008. It's not like I have anything particularly against Robert Downey Jr., either. Perhaps one can point to the scene in which Tony Stark sits in a hot rod (the film's version of hip wheels), or the gizmo on Pepper Potts' office desk that proves so distracting (just to liven up the scene?), or the way Johansson mostly just models different outfits instead of having a role. Now I'm mostly haunted by the image of Sam Rockwell smugly dancing across the stage to some song by the Average White Band (I think) as if he's on <i>The Today Show</i>. Jon Favreau seems to design this franchise for fuddy-duddy conventioneers getting wild in Las Vegas.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-76087565626202334862010-05-15T20:37:53.814-04:002010-05-15T20:37:53.814-04:00Oh thank God other people hated this. I can't ...Oh thank God other people hated this. I can't wait to not be a twentysomething so I don't get ostracized every damn summer.<br /><br />I actually laughed at the expo bit. They introduce the scene with all this pomp, with Stark flying through fireworks to land with an explosion and women dancing, only to then start making a keynote speech. It's like someone setting off Roman Candles before making a fucking time share pitch. That's when I knew I was about to lose 2 hours.Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078001374402400232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-40360502559275796952010-05-13T08:47:57.828-04:002010-05-13T08:47:57.828-04:00Thanks, Radu.Thanks, Radu.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-27453899394257576202010-05-13T04:54:54.806-04:002010-05-13T04:54:54.806-04:00I feel I should say, I absolutely love your websit...I feel I should say, I absolutely love your website. Could tell me how I can subscribe with it. I invite you to see my post, I hope you will find interesting too.Radu Prisacaruhttp://www.raduprisacaru.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-71760625874354150102010-05-09T19:33:14.218-04:002010-05-09T19:33:14.218-04:00Speaking of effective marketing, I found this more...Speaking of effective marketing, I found this more considerate of the fans than anything in the movie:<br /><br />http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/iron-man-2-jon-favreau-rock-austin-all-night-long.phpThe Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-78828030357195352502010-05-09T15:53:53.767-04:002010-05-09T15:53:53.767-04:00Yeah, when I read the EW review, I wondered, "...Yeah, when I read the EW review, I wondered, "What happened to the 'Red Hot'?"Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-85760246052085403162010-05-09T10:17:37.098-04:002010-05-09T10:17:37.098-04:00"...but since when does the actors' pleas...<em>"...but since when does the actors' pleasure matter?"</em><br /><br />Well, if it's porn ... :)Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-79396641646247016562010-05-09T08:28:00.664-04:002010-05-09T08:28:00.664-04:00Thanks, Jason and Hokahey,
Beyond the profit moti...Thanks, Jason and Hokahey,<br /><br />Beyond the profit motive and the need to extend a franchise, I don't see much reason for <i>Iron Man 2</i>. With its Clash and AC/DC songs, its interest in 1950s hot rods and car-racing in Monaco, the film has a midlife crisis sense of rebellion, so it seems weird to see it marketed to teenagers (and one thing is for sure--the film has been well-marketed. <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> swooned over the movie for multiple covers ("Red Hot!") before giving it a C+ this past week). Can one admire a film for its marketing alone? I've noticed that several critics, including Anthony Lane, have remarked on how everyone "seems to be enjoying themselves" on screen, but since when does the actors' pleasure matter? Are we supposed to applaud the feel-good atmosphere on the set, even if we suffer in the Cineplex? Something about the sloppy smugness of <i>Iron Man 2</i> makes me dread all the more upcoming behemoths such as <i>Prince of Persia</i> and <i>Jonah Hex</i>.The Film Doctor https://www.blogger.com/profile/03073505923746994988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-31959159241596967952010-05-08T22:45:15.779-04:002010-05-08T22:45:15.779-04:00Totally agree with you here. It's admirable th...Totally agree with you here. It's admirable that you take the time to be so eloquently critical (I like your comments about Popular Mechanics and about Rockwell's acting) of this tired, limp, unimaginative, boring, over-talkie flop. I loved watching Johansson and Paltrow and I got a chuckle out of some of Downey's quips, but that was about it. This movie had nothing else.Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704583061723470804.post-61760426971501046912010-05-08T16:41:45.321-04:002010-05-08T16:41:45.321-04:00Thanks for seeing this, so I don't have to. Th...Thanks for seeing this, so I don't have to. Though I might anyway. You know how it goes.<br /><br />If you haven't seen it already, Matt Zoller Seitz had a terrific piece for Salon this week on the emptiness of super hero movies. Considering that I found <i>Iron Man</i> to be pretty bland the first time around, these "more is less" reviews don't give me much reason to think my opinion will swing. Say this for <i>The Dark Knight</i>, it was worth talking about. I get the sense this one isn't.Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.com