Today was a very good day.
The Pocket Ferengei and I started the day off by picking up Shark-Boy and meeting Butch and Sundance at the movie theatre to watch "Iron Man 2". And ended the day with a good dinner at our house with Butch and Sundance. The dinner started off the summer grilling season for us. (Just hot dogs and beer brats, but it was a good meal with great friends.)
Iron Man 2: There was not a disappointed person among us.
If you don't know the story of the first movie, Tony Stark builds a suit of armor as a means to escape imprisonment in a middle eastern country. Once home, he realizes that the weapons his company (Stark Industries) makes are being sold to anyone (not just the U.S., who he thinks he is selling to...at least that's what I thought they were trying to portray in the first movie). He continues to make improvements to his armor, someone else gets ahold of his first armor and makes a bigger version of it, they have a fight, Tony wins, he comes out as Iron Man...ta da. [Bonus: If you watched all the way through the credits you found out about Nick Fury and the Avenger Initiative.]
In Iron Man 2 (since he's come out as Iron Man and he doesn't have to worry about secret identities and such), Tony continues being Iron Man (milking it for all it's worth). I loved how the writer's touched on a story-line that was in the comics called "Demon In A Bottle" [(at least I think that's what it was called)--Tony became a raging alcoholic in it], but made it slightly different for the movie. Robert Downey, Jr. is still a fantastic choice to play Tony Stark.
Mickey Rourke (another good actor) is the bad guy "Whiplash" [which is an amalgamated character, as there have been numerous Whiplash's in the Iron Man comic]. He's a russian wanting revenge on the Stark family. (I don't know if it's the facial reconstruction that Mickey's had (because he had given up acting to be a boxer, which didn't work out too well for his looks--and according to him that's fine because he couldn't stand being an actor known for just being a pretty boy). But there's just something about watching him act...which is a good thing. (Mickey as Marv from Sin City is still my favorite character of his.)
Don Cheadle as Rhodey Rhodes was great (yet another good actor). He stepped into the role after Terrence Howard got outsted from it. RDJ and Don Cheadle acted like their friendship was forever (which was another good thing)...it didn't feel forced.
Gwyneth Paltrow was good as Pepper Potts (I loved how they changed the kiss from the trailer, loved it).
I was completely surprised with Scarlett Johanson as the Black Widow. When I had heard that she was picked to play the part, I just couldn't imagine it. But now having seen the movie, yes it definitely was a good choice. (And she's the PF's favorite actress right now.)
Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer...when he plays a scumbag, he truly plays a really good scumbag ("The Green Mile", he was a freak in that one). This role was good for Sam.
Even Garry Shandling as Senator Stern (obnoxious person that he is) was really good.
All-in-all, the movie is worth a look in the movie theatres. (It's a keeper.)
Oh, and definitely stay through the credits..
More later, Booboo [Oh yeah...
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SPOILER BELOW
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I completely geeked-out at the end when they showed "Mjöllnir" (Thor's hammer) in a crater in the New Mexico desert. I LOVE mythology, and it's not very often that you see a movie about Norse mythology. So I had some explaining to do about why I was squealing like a little girl (yes, I know I'm a woman and I'm allowed to); but about a hammer in the dessert (yeah, some explaining was needed). The people that stayed behind to watch the true end (who weren't my friends) appreciated being caught up about it also. (Kenneth Branagh directing Thor--now if only he does what John Favreu does and appears in a minor role (possibly one of the warrior three?), I shall be a truly ecstatic fan girl.)
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