iron man justified
Some questions have been raised about my and Amanda's recent Iron Man advocacy. Allow me to offer a slightly more nuanced case than I did last night:
- First, as the Nabob points out, there's the Robert Downey Jr. factor. Consider the recent awesomeness of comic book movies. Now consider that the title of Greatest Living Superhero Actor is currently held by either Wesley Snipes or Christopher Reeve, depending on your personal taste and how carefully you read the criteria for winning the aforementioned title.
Robert Downey Jr. has the sort of genuine charisma that can only be learned by having to repeatedly explain to strangers why they just found you sleeping in their house. It comes through in his performances. In the preview his delivery of the script's lame jokes actually makes them seem sort of funny! Ask yourself: what if Sir Laurence Olivier had been cast in a role involving repulsor beams? What would cinema look like today? My guess: explodier. - Although I didn't think it was as great as certain other people did, Transformers did usher in a major new cinematic innovation: the "how does the protagonist fare against U.S. military hardware?" scene. It should soon take its place next to "mistaken identity", "Rocky-style training montage", "going on two dates at once", and the two or three other dramatic conventions that screenwriters have at their disposal. In the preview, Iron Man, like, totally dusts some fighter jets, and you can tell the pilots are all "Maaan" but also have to admit that it was pretty sweet. I agree with those pilots, but my enthusiasm is unchecked by professional considerations.
- Finally, the preview implies that the movie retells the Iron Man origin story more or less faithfully. Even though Iron Man is a second-string superhero, most nerds are well-acquainted with and attached to his origin story. This is because all subsequent Iron Man stories have kind of sucked, prompting the creators to revisit the origin story on a regular basis.
I don't think that deviation from the canon would have much of an effect on my enjoyment of the movie. But hearing nerds whine about it for the next eight months would have an effect on my enjoyment of the internet. So thanks in advance for sticking to the source text, Mr. Favreau.
Comments
Now consider that the title of Greatest Living Superhero Actor is currently held by either Wesley Snipes or Christopher Reeve,...
Are we not counting Derek Zoolander as a superhero anymore?
without reading past the first paragraph of this post or watching the trailer, I would like to remind everyone that billionaire Tony Stark sports the comic book world's most rakish mustache, there simply are not any other actors I trust with this charge.
I'm not quite geeky enough to know all about the Iron Man history/origin stories/etc., but RDJr and all the flying were what blew my dome up. I love RDJr. Did you see Zodiac? In a sea of perplexion from Jake Gyllenhaal, he was charismatic and challenging as he always is. You're dead on about why he'll make a good hero.
I disagree on the final point. I've only just realized that what I've long held to be central tenets in the Iron Man myth turn out to be either inventions of my own or retconned long ago. When I asked him, Spencer's version of the Iron Man origin was just as weird as mine.
Now, I'm willing to be enthusiastic about the depiction of Tony Stark; however, the dedicated fan must interrogate further the Iron Man character before deciding. He's recently been revised as so much more powerful that the very notion of an Iron Man enemy is antiquated: he's the fist of Empire. He could wipe the floor with the Kree or the Skrull; he could take out all the X-Men (assuming no Phoenix); he can hold his own against Cap. Marvel. With 6 months' language training, Power Fist could take out al Qaeda—we're going to send Iron Man to do the job? If the Bush administration has taught us anything, it's that real answers deserve real threats.
Ummm, the protagonist of "Hulk" smash US Military. It was pretty much the best thing in that movie.
That occurred to me on the bike ride home from the workday when I blogged this, MP. You're right, of course. You could make the case that King Kong started it all, I think.
Still! Transformers is certainly a fine example of the phenomenon. I expect Dragon War to codify it permanently.
Now consider that the title of Greatest Living Superhero Actor is currently held by either Wesley Snipes or Christopher Reeve, depending on your personal taste and how carefully you read the criteria for winning the aforementioned title.
Are you disrespecting Christian Bale? If so, that would be...problematic.
No no, Christian Bale is awesome, and Batman Begins was awesome. But you can't use a Batman movie in a comparison like this -- they emit some sort of weird radiation that distorts everything. They made George Clooney seem lame! They made Michael Keaton seem like a badass! It's all very confusing.
Isn't there a place for Tobey MacGuire in the pantheon of superheroes?
Now consider that the title of Greatest Living Superhero Actor is currently held by either Wesley Snipes or Christopher Reeve,
Um, Christopher Reeve passed away almost 3 years ago. So I guess Wesley Snipes wins by default!
Marcus: that's kind of the joke
dm: no!
Uh...dude, it's directed by Jon Favreau. That is never a good or promising thing. Or was there something about Elf that screened "adept at action/adventure" to you? Let us not forgive him, either, for being involved in that laughably awful Ben Affleckified Daredevil movie.
I was gonna say Christian Bale, too, and then there's also Kevin Conroy (yeah, yeah, I know, animation doesn't count). But also, you know, Hugh Jackman.
Not that I'm not thrilled about Downey, though. And that trailer... you don't get fanservice like that every day. (Bwaa bwaa bwaa-daht daa... dee-doo-dee-doo-dee daht bwaa daht daa... )