Immortals Directed by: Tarsem Singh Written by: Charley Parlapanides & Vince Parlapanides (screenplay) Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto and John Hurt
Unlike most bad movies, Immortals is quite beautiful to look at. From the plethora of computer-generated vistas to the shimmering metal of every blood-tainted sword, director Tarsem Singh takes the lifeless screenplay and plows his way through it with a visual grandeur that dwarfs most other modern action movies.
The initial image is of the mighty Titans, who in Greek lore are the greatest threat to the Gods. Here they are dwarfed down to human size as opposed to the mighty renditions in the Disney version of Hercules or the God of War video games. There is a lightning-quick battle between them and Zeus’ crowd, though that King of the Gods is missing his thunderous super powers as well.
Iron Man 2 Directed by: Jon Favreau Written by: Justin Theroux (screenplay), Stan Lee (comic book) Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, and Scarlett Johansson
The thing that made the first Iron Man film such a hit in the summer of 2008 was how much of a fresh breath of air it was. Here you had Roberty Downey Jr., a washed-up ex-convict of a small-time actor stepping into the iron-clad suit of a summer blockbuster. Mixing that with a unique screenplay, a dynamic cast and the action-ready direction of Jon Favreau, and you had yourself an offbeat charmer of a superhero movie. Sadly, that charm was overshadowed by the brilliance of technique and ultimate reinvention of the superhero movie in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
With the inevitable sequel, we find no genre contenders to the pathos-driven narcissism of Tony Stark this summer. Downey is now a bona fide superstar, thanks in no part to the revitalization his career received from the first film in this now-franchise. Now that everything was done in the first one, as is the problem with most unique first installments, not much of it feels new in the sequel, Downey included.
Iron Man 2 Directed by: Jon Favreau Written by: Justin Theroux (screenplay), Stan Lee (comics) Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, and Don Cheadle
Part of what made the first Iron Man such a breath of fresh air was the devotion to excellence from everyone in the cast, most notably Robert Downey Jr. It wasn’t exactly anything new and original, and was overshadowed by Christopher Nolan’s box-office/critical superior The Dark Knight. This summer, the now-franchise is launching its second installment with no Caped Crusader in sight.
The trailer for the film looks like it will hit all of the summer action bells and whistles. Downey Jr. reprises his role as the man in iron, as does Gwyneth Paltrow as his love interest and assistant. The rest of the cast is mostly new. Don Cheadle steps in for Terrence Howard. Scarlett Johansson arrives, hopefully to give Paltrow a run for her money, but you can’t tell much from the trailer.
The biggest gripe I have in the casting is Mickey Rourke. Based on the trailer alone, his character appears corny, badly written, and has a just plain stupid Russian accent. It may not turn out that way, but it appears that there will be at least one glaring error in the casting.
As far as plot goes, not too much is revealed. Tony Stark is now out of the closet as a super hero, which may offer some unique takes on the genre. He’s out to stop Whiplash (Rourke) from taking over the world or something. The trailer is decent, but the content in it just makes this seem like it will be a typical sequel.
Highs: Downey jumping off an airplane after talking to Paltrow and Downey and Cheadle suiting up together in Iron Man suits.
Lows: Mickey Rourke’s Russian accent/character and the lack of Scarlett Johansson footage.
CyniCritics 