Hey folks, Harry here with a reader's evaluation of the events last night at the Alamo South - when well... here's how it all got underway, minus the awkward satellite feed hook-up and... well, it all worked out, thank God...
Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. at the Alamo Drafthouse from DG on Vimeo.
And here is someone that I don't know, but that enjoyed the event last night. This isn't a jaded critic with his head up his ass like me or especially that Hollywood Reporter dipshit. He's just a fan, one of you... and he thought it was AWESOME... (fyi, just like I told ya so!)
Harry Caught the screening at the drafthouse last night thanks to following Favreau on Twitter. First thing I want to say is this is not the Dark Knight. So stop comparing it TBers. Iron Man and Dark Knight were both independently successful in 2008 because they are polar opposites in the tone and direction the movie went. DK being serious and “dark” and Iron Man being lighter and 100X more fun and entertaining. I personally enjoyed them both tremendously. Now on to Iron Man 2… The movie is awesome. I had concerns that with all the moving pieces it was going to get lost much like Spider-Man 3 because it had to juggle so many villains and subplots but it work in Iron Man 2. Every character Tony, Rhodey, Black Widow, Hammer, and Vanko all start in different places which had me immediately concerned for a million subplots but within 30 minutes the major players get together and threat seems much more real than the weak third act of the first film. I was also worried that Nick Fury would just be thrown in to piece together the “universe” and it would be a weak phoned in wink at the audience but he actually served a major purpose to Iron Man’s “survival” and Tony in general. Their conversations build on the groundwork of the post credits scene to where it wasn’t a cameo but actual plot development (even if its payoff is 2 years away). There were nice references to Cpt. America and the Hulk during the movie also… nothing about Thor but Favreau hinted there will be a scene at the end of the actual released print but didn’t confirm anything. Rumor is you see Thor’s Hammer or something according to the internet. Sam Rockwell will finally be introduced to the “general movie public” which is great because he steals nearly every scene he is in. Playing a wannabe Tony Stark but he still remains likeable despite the fact he ends up a misguided villain. I actually hope the DVD has some deleted scenes with him and Downey Jr because there is a bar scene where they play off each other incredibly. Scarlett is hot. And she fights. And she is hot. The end. But ultimately the movie is about Tony Stark which is what is cool about the movie. It’s not Iron Man suiting up every 15 minutes to stop a carjacking. The main complaint I have read is that there is not enough Iron Man in Iron Man 2. I think we only see him 3 times in suit but 2 of those are fantastic action sequences including the ending that I didn’t think would top the F1 racing in terms of bad ass…but it did. All in all the mixed reviews aren’t going to stop people from seeing the movie. But here is what I’ll say. If you liked Iron Man… you will LOVE Iron Man 2. It is a fun & entertaining movie from start to finish with some awesome action scenes and plenty of nerdy references for the comic nerds. If you go in expecting the Dark Knight of course you’ll say it sucks it is nothing even close to the Dark Knight so get over it. Its fucking Iron Man. If you use this call me NOTtheDK
