Completely Innocent Post

I'd originally planned to follow that title with some spoiler from Iron Man. Except it wouldn't really be a spoiler. It'd be something like 'Tony Stark's heart is damaged after he demonstrates his latest super-weapon for the military, and the gizmo he builds to keep himself alive also works to power a kickass suit of armor.' Something that isn't really much of a surprise (if that was a surprise to you, um, I'm sorry?)

So first, let me offer thanks to Alex, for buying special premiere tickets so we could see the movie Thursday. I would have been satisfied with seeing it Friday (actually would have preferred it from a larger scheduling standpoint), but he was ridiculous amounts of amped up, so here we are. That just about offsets another, more questionable, decision he made that day, but that's a different issue. So how was it, based on impressions from last night's viewing, as best as I can recall?

Good. Highly enjoyable. I can't speak to it for somone who isn't familiar with the character, but I felt like it was easy enough to understand. Downey gives us a clear idea of who Tony Stark is before the incident, and there's a sequence at an awards show (in Vegas, which was clearly a poor idea) that seems to define the Stane/Stark and Rhodey/Stark relationships. The important thing I think Downey and Favreau get across about Tony is that sense that when he's sure he's doing the right thing, nothing will stop him, including his friends' concerns. It's the same streak we've seen from him in Armor Wars and Civil War, but he doesn't feel like he's turning against his friends, and I don't think it's portrayed as an entirely positive trait. He's still, as Stane describes it at one point, naive, but in a more idealistic way, as opposed to his earlier, more, hedonistic, lifestyle.

I think everybody did a fine job portraying their respective characters, though I'm not really familiar enough with Pepper to compare Paltrow's performance to the character in the comics. She has concern for Tony on multiple levels I think, which leads to inner turmoil when he tries to become something better, but endangers himself in the process. She's understandably freaked by a lot of what's happening, but largely maintains her cool (more than I could, I'd imagine).

The sequences where Tony's in the armor were a lot of fun. The sound system really conveyed the force the suits can bring to bear, whether it's crashing through a roof, or unleashing repulsor rays on enemies. Plus, it just looks cool. I'm surprised at how well a certain character was able to operate a certain suit of armor at one point, but it was probably a simpler design than Tony's. Also, there's a lot of humor in the sequences where Tony's in his garage working on the armor, and in his interactions with his automated support staff in general. I like a touch of the funny with my action scenes (Die Hard, Indiana Jones, The Punisher, for example), it prevents an overload of explosion-related tension. Lets you unclench so the next fight scene has more impact.

The one thing I'm not sure about, and I think this is the limitation of this being a two-hour movie, is Jeff Bridges as Stane. Not that he doesn't portray a slick, snake oil salesmen, pretending to be friendly with everyone, while always being ready to remove them if it suits his purposes, but I don't think there was quite enough time to demonstrate Stane's ability to have plans on top of plans, which was one of his strengths in the comics. It feels like he spends much of the movie reacting to Tony's actions, and having to adjust accordingly, rather than taking the offensive on multiple fronts. But there was only so much you could do in the time available.

Favreau did something rather nice with the video Tony's captors make, where he lets you think it's one thing, but it's something else entirely. I really enjoyed that. And the scene where he escapes has a camera effect that makes the whole thing seem more real, by making it seem more unrealistic. The camera suggets a cheap horror film effect, but the makes it seem more liek our world, while conveyong the the fear you might feel if a large metal man is punching your friends into walls and doggedly pursuing you. Also, no scenes felt like they dragged out overlong, probably because there was a lot to tell, so there couldn't be much dawdling around. And there wasn't, as each scene felt like it got it's point across efficiently, so that the story didn't get bogged down unnecessarily, while still leaving times for character moments.

So yes, go see Iron Man. If you want to, naturally. But you do want to, right?