The lights turn off. The stage is dark.
The spotlight shines on Ozzy and Tony. The crowd goes nuts.
OK… so that’s not how the movie started out. But you can imagine what it would be like if it did, eh? It’s alright, though; even that opening couldn’t have made the movie better.
The script was excellent and R.D. Jr. played Tony Stark to perfection (a tough balance to strike; something between Wolverine and Batman). You have to be arrogant and callous, yet witty and lovable (remind you of anyone you know? ;)). On top of that, instead of being a fearless martial arts expert, he’s just a friggin genius. Good stuff. Gwenneth Paltrow also performed splendidly. I think it’s safe to say that she is easily the best female lead in any of our generation’s superhero movies. And this is coming from someone who, until this point, has not seen anything all that spectacular in Gwenny-poo.
The film avoided a lot of the more common pitfalls of the genre; the fight scenes were cool, but not so long that they got boring. The CGI was some of the most life-like that I’ve seen in a while. (I’m betting that the shiny metal surfaces are easier to render than flesh.) I’m not saying that the film was the best thing since MLTs; the plot and twists were beyond predictable. However, surprisingly, the film addressed current issues in an impressively chromatic way. Heck, there were some things about the movie that were downright poetic (that’s right, I said it!).
Kudos:
– Snarky lead
– Doing the impossible: making me like Gwen
– Sweet escape sequence
– Stan Lee/Hugh Heffner cameo
– Robots with fire extinguishers
– Samuel L. Jackson in an eyepatch
– Virtual guarantee of a sequel