Boz
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Post by Boz on May 4, 2008 20:58:16 GMT
Iron Man Jon Favreau 2008[/color][/size] Pretty good for a superhero movie. During the screening and since I got back, I've been asking myself what it is I'm really expecting from superhero movies. There are the inevitable cliches every time, which I guess I kind of have a problem with, but are there not certain features that just come along with the genre? I've long considered Spiderman 2 to be my favorite superhero movie, but I really should see it again, as there wasn't much I didn't like in Iron Man. I always find myself thinking, what if they did a superhero movie in the style of Heat or something, some kind of serious drama, but I saw what I guess you would consider the two closest attempts at that (Batman Begins and Hulk) and wasn't a huge fan of either. Anyway, I'm also really interested in Jon Favreau's career path. He somehow goes from Made (which I thought was great) to Elf (which I thought was pretty good) in two years, makes a short detour with Zathura a couple years later (didn't see it) and now is at the helm of the second biggest opening weekend of all time. And goddamnit why did I walk out before the Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury cameo after the credits.
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Omar
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Post by Omar on May 4, 2008 20:59:45 GMT
I'm very interested in seeing this.
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Capo
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Post by Capo on May 4, 2008 22:36:02 GMT
Since I've not seen it, does Unbreakable make a serious drama out of the superhero film?
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 0:03:25 GMT
I enjoyed the hell out of this. Since I've not seen it, does Unbreakable make a serious drama out of the superhero film? It attempts to, and, if I recall correctly, succeeds to some extent. I must watch that again.
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Post by seyfried on May 5, 2008 2:45:02 GMT
I think I liked this a lot more than you. It does the same thing as Casino Royale; every character is perfectly credible to their little universe, even if that universe is lambasted through recent popular big-budget movie successes. Downey's the real star here, and it's ironic because the film's all about such a florid character who's been noticed since birth. Nevertheless, he steals nearly every scene, taking the script at face-value and running with it. Very fun.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 2:48:22 GMT
"No gang signs. Nah, I'm just kidding; throw it up."
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 2:56:31 GMT
The fitting of the Iron Man armour is probably about as close as we'll ever get to a live-action Centurions, too. Ah, to dream...
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Post by seyfried on May 5, 2008 2:57:03 GMT
That scene was hilarious, especially him mistaking the driver for a guy and the comment about sleeping with the calendar girls ("but December was twins...").
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 3:05:41 GMT
For me Robert Downey Jr. is like Jack Nicholson, in that, even if he brings a very recognisable set of mannerisms to most of his characters (which may be a flaw), the charisma of his screen persona is just endless.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 3:11:03 GMT
It's the tone of this that's really satisfying.
I know a lot of people don't know who Iron Man is, and I'm certainly no expert (most of my knowledge of him comes from cartoons, video games and Top Trumps, not comics), but Favreau's made an unabashedly fun superhero movie that has no pretensions to anything more serious than its source material can support while also not being a frivolous, vacuous pile of poo a la Fantastic Four.
That seems to suit the character.
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Post by seyfried on May 5, 2008 3:12:19 GMT
I can buy that. Unfortunately, I think that's almost the opposite of Leonardo DiCaprio who, at least to me, seems to try and bring so many different things to his post-Titanic performances but we're caught in disbelief because we see how staccato and histrionic he's being the whole time. Pacino's a curious mold because he's shown once in a while outside of the typecasting, but we're so ingrained that it's Al Pacino...
Glad you like him (Downey Jr.).
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Boz
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Post by Boz on May 5, 2008 3:56:54 GMT
I had forgotten about Unbreakable. Kind of an odd example considering you don't really know it's a superhero movie until the end. Speaking of M. Night, the preview for his new one looked like every other split second cut to black with a scream carbon copy movie thats come out recently.
To all who've seen this, what have you to say about Favreau. I liked Robert Downey Jr, but I give Jon Favreau most of the credit. The opening twenty minutes were fantastic, and I had few complaints through the rest.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 4:08:34 GMT
Favreau's performance was mesmerizing, too.
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Boz
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Post by Boz on May 5, 2008 4:13:09 GMT
He's lost weight.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on May 5, 2008 4:16:16 GMT
He was just farther away.
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Post by ronnierocketago on May 5, 2008 18:52:19 GMT
And in "No Shit Sherlock!" news, IRON MAN 2 is set for 2010, with the AVENGERS* movie in summer 2011. *=Which is no surprise to those who stayed after the IRON MAN credits... www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpGhPCCJKcQ
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Omar
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Post by Omar on May 19, 2008 14:01:24 GMT
The opening twenty minutes were fantastic, and I had few complaints through the rest. Yeah, it started with a bang and never really slowed down, but it worked perfectly, almost in unison with Downey Jr.'s quick wit and improvisational skills. So many funny lines. And the last line is killer.
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Blib
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Post by Blib on Nov 20, 2008 4:48:32 GMT
I loved Downey Jr. in this, and the movie was good except that it follows the typical Marvel guidelines:
1. Character somehow gains powers.
2. A series of comical moments as the character learns to use the powers.
3. Character tries out his powers on some regular bad guys.
4. Computer generated showdown with Bad Guy of equal powers.
As far as that goes though I think this movie did it the best.
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Post by svsg on Nov 20, 2008 5:20:38 GMT
I didn't find the movie much interesting.
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RNL
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Post by RNL on Nov 20, 2008 17:58:53 GMT
Note should be made of how blatantly politically reactionary this film is. To the point of hilarity.
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