Related to last night's post, I thought of another: Don't try to stare down, or otherwise intimidate, Amanda Waller.
Related to last night's Venture Bros., it was strangely cathartic to see Dean get angry, and actually do something about it. Sure, his technique didn't seem quite right, but given he was fighting a teen twice his weight, and he managed to give said teen a black eye without getting a single scratch, it's hard to argue with results. Go Team Venture!
I went back to see Iron Man today, just for kicks. I realized my dream of having an entire theater to myself, only to realize that it would be a lot more fun if it's me and a friend. So I guess I can't quite cross that life's goal off the list, since it's had to be modified. I found I enjoyed the movie more the second time around, as any concerns as to its quality had already been assuaged. As an added bonus I wasn't worried about being thrown out, since this time didn't involve a friend who decided to sneak peppermint schnapps into the theater. Friends, huh?
I still really enjoy the scenes where Tony is testing his flight capabilities, but I tried to concentrate on Jeff Bridges, since some of the other reviews I read after my initial review made me think I'd missed some aspects of his performance. I think they were probably right. Maybe it comes from having already watched the movie once, but I felt like I picked up on the hint of menace in Stane a little better this time. The sense that the joking exasperation he shows in Vegas over having to accept Tony's award for him, masks the real anger he feels towards Tony, and the fact much his job seems to be cleaning up after the playboy industrialist*. The cheer he leads when Tony comes back and has the press conference, it feels more forced, again hinting at what's going on underneath. The scene I really like is the one at the benefit that Tony surprises everyone by showing up for. When Stane tells Stark that he's the one that filed an injunction to block Tony's decision to cease weapons production, it encapsulates everything about Stane. He claims to be looking out for Tony, and with the cameras around, he makes a big show of being buddy-buddy with Tony, but there's still the fact that he pretended to be helping Tony, while all the time he was working against him. It's what the public sees, versus what is really there.
I think how over the top he gets once he's in the suit made more sense to me this time around. He's always holding himself in reserve, having to play the moderating voice to Tony's wild swings of fancy. he doesn't really want to, but his strength lies in making connections, building relationships with interested parties, not with designing things those parties want. So he had to stay in check, but by the time he hops in the Iron Monger, there's no reason for that any longer. He's already (as far as he knows) killed Tony by removing the arc reactor, and Pepper's told the SHIELD guys what he's been up to, and they probably (hopefully) have copies of the evidence somewhere. There's no point to playing the nice guy anymore, and when you've got a kickass weapon like that, why would you want to? It's designed to destroy stuff, in a loud and impressive manner, not pull off fancy aerial acrobatics like the Iron Man suit. I think Stane was just reveling in the opportunity to be himself, to really show Tony and everyone else what he thinks of them, for the first time in decades. It was a purging experience for him, until he got killed.
I read this somewhere, and I tend to agree, it might have been better to let the fight end when Tony takes advantage of the icing problem. That would have given him the win on the basis of superior experience and technical creativity, which are the areas he would have Stane beat. Just a quibble.
Did anyone else find it interesting that Tony says he's not nostalgic, but he keeps around a robot that he constantly derides as being useless? It winds up being to his benefit, but it caught my attention.
* Between Stane, Pepper, and Rhodey, I'd say Tony had someone looking after him, and picking up after him 24/7.
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3 comments:
Last night's Venture Bros. was very good. It was nice to see Dean stick up for himself and defend his "girlfriend". I did like her crack about Hank finally coming out.
Also, are you watching The Middleman? It's a really good adaptation of the comic, which is a hoot.
jason: No, I can't say I've seen The Middleman. Where and when would I find it?
It's on Mondays on ABC Family. It's like if you combined the X-Files with the 60's Batman show. It's goofy.
Then again, one week till Burn Notice is finally back.
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