comment #1

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

Judging from Variety's what-his-name review that you posted the other day, this film's plot does seems exceeding simple.

I think The Dark Knight will easily have the most complex plot. Christopher Nolan is not one to slouch in that department.

comment #2

p.Vice says ...

Act 1: Superhero is introduced/born/created
Act 2: Superhero perfects his powers
Act 3: Superhero battles and defeats nemesis

You can change the words but the song remains the same.

comment #3

D.Z. says ...

I remember when HE was a part of MoviePoopShoot that that comic book guy described the original Stark as being on the pro-American side of the Vietnam War; so I'm not surprised if he ends up being patriotic. I'd rather they do that kind of a film with Captain America, though, since he's actually got a personality and interesting powers. But in the current political climate, I imagine most of the prints of any such film would be put on bonfires around the world. Going back to Iron Man, when I saw the first trailer, it reminded me of the jingoism in True Lies.

comment #4

romeoisbleeding says ...

Most origin stories for Super Hero movies are simple and for this first installment of Iron Man they had to explain how he became who he became.. That does not take away from the movie however. One other thought here.. be wary of negative posts about this movie by people who were once attached to work on it and then ended up not working on it. There could be a bit of sour grapes going around.

comment #5

amyj says ...

I suspect that most reviews will go in line with Empire's : entertaining, good cast, good franchise-opening introduction, intelligent, but let down by an anticlimactic, generic plot. Not great, but better than most.

comment #6

Mgmax says ...

Hey, changing the subject to last year's action potboilers for a moment, since I catch so many of them on cable, can I just say that I can't think of a bigger disappointment among recent sequels than 28 Weeks Later? (spoilers possibly ahead) Great mood early on, as it makes ultramodern London look all empty and spooky, establishing the idea of it being like occupied Iraq... and then it does NOTHING, nothing with that idea. Just run, run, chase, chase. I loved 28 Days Later because it really wrestled with what you would have to do, be willing to do in a catastrophic epidemic; the bad guy toward the end, Christopher Eccleston, made absolute sense on his own terms and really forced you to think about those issues... this does nothing except expect us to cheer for people whose every move is illogical, and frankly forces you to the conclusion that the US should have nuked England right at the beginning of the picture to be sure of containing the epidemic. (So far as I can tell, it's our heroes who cause the spotted-a-mile-away ending, no?) It really made me glad Children of Men didn't get a sequel (yes, I know they're talking TV series, I plan to ignore the fact).

comment #7

actionman says ...

Loved 28 Weeks Later; enjoyed 28 Days but was really riveted by 28 Weeks. Not a big horror fan but for some reason that movie really stuck with me. The visual style in that film was great.

Can't wait to see Iron Man, looks like a lot of fun.

Also, the Children of Men television series, if done well, could be brilliant. At least I think so...

comment #8

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

Children of Men television series. Give me a fucking break.

comment #9

Rich S. says ...

Westerns had the same plot for decades. Most horror films do, too. This is just another genre with its own common beats.

As Ebert says, what a movie is about is unimportant. It's how "it's about it." Iron Man doesn't look like it's out to change the world. It does look less dark than a lot of the super hero films that have come out lately, and that's just fine and dandy with me.

comment #10

christian says ...

When David Micheline was writing for IRON MAN, it was the only time I collected the series. Loved John Romita Jr.s dynamic art but the writing was top-notch, with witty repartee and Stark's battles with Nick Fury's military-industrial complex was well-played. And Rhodes was a great character, and it looks they didn't take advantage of that from the comic. Anyway, I'm there.

comment #11

Dave Polands Gut says ...

Weak writers can try to spin anything to fit their template.

comment #12

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

OMFG I agree with Mgmax. Spot-on analysis of 28WL, sir.

comment #13

Mr. Blood Vessel says ...

Politically it tries to be liberal-minded at first," Raveh says, "putting the blame for wars on profiteering by arms manufacturers -- but in fact this is a conservative old-fashioned picture, about a nation looking for a dude to fight its wars for it, abroad and at home, and do it with as little accountability as possible."

and this is a surprise because?...
it kind of reminds me of nick cage's character from man of war.
except this time, it's personal.
ha.
and legal.
sometimes.

comment #14

Richardson says ...

"Politically it tries to be liberal-minded at first,"

Yeah, I can't imagine anything more liberal than a movie about a millionaire arms dealer who becomes a super hero in order to kill brown people in the middle east.