Movie Review: Iron Man 2

Two years after the original Iron Man was released, Tony Stark has finally made his return to the big screen. Can the movie live up to the excellent first film?

Let me get this out of the way at the beginning of this review: I am an enormous fan of the first Iron Man movie, so I'm sorry to say that the second film is poorly executed at times, and doesn't match the quality of the first film. That's not to say that the film isn't entertaining, though; I had a good time watching it, despite it's flaws.

What doesn't work about the movie? Well, the basic story isn't particularly compelling or interesting, and the villains have about as much character as a turkey sandwich. There are also several scenes which should have been eliminated the instant somebody read them in the script, the most prominent of which is a scene that takes place around 45 minutes into the film which was particularly cringe-inducing. Pretty much every problem rises from the script itself, and is not to be blamed on the director or actors. The executives stupidly decided to switch writers, and they payed the price, as the new ones tried to do too much in this movie, and thus took too much time away from the best thing about the Iron Man series: Tony Stark.

What works in the film? The dialogue is still mostly very strong and witty. The standout scenes remain to be the ones where Tony Stark is interacting with Pepper Potts, as their chemistry on screen is outstanding. Tony Stark is still a lot of fun to watch as well, and the acting is pretty much good all around. There are some good action sequences as well, but I honestly enjoyed the first film's actions sequences more, as they had more weight and drama behind them.

In the end, Iron Man 2 is a pretty good movie that has moments of greatness which shine through at times. Despite its flaws, it's still worth watching for Robert Downey Jr.'s excellent performance, and some good character moments. I can only hope that Iron Man 3 will be more consistent, and that it will recapture the brilliance of the first film.

2 1/2 out of 4

Movie Review: Kick-Ass

First of all, I'd like to welcome all of you kind souls to my blog. I really appreciate anybody who is reading this, and I'd like to encourage you to please take a minute or two to post comments on my articles, and give me some feedback. I'd like you to know that for my reviews, the highest rating that I give will be four stars, with the star-ratings going by increments of half a star. So, let's get on to the review, shall we?

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass is certainly a difficult name for a film to live up to, but director Matthew Vaughn has succeeded in doing so, and has also cemented himself as one of the best movie directors in recent memory. (You should also check out his other films Layer Cake and Stardust if you haven't already)

The story of Kick-Ass begins with normal high school student Dave Lizewski, portrayed by Aaron Johnson, who does an incredible job of masking his native British accent. Dave has been pretty much average all of his life, but he begins to wonder what it would be like if somebody tried to become a superhero in the real world, so he creates a costume, and decides to fight crime. Johnson brings a lot to the role, and creates a character that you instantly care about, and sympathize with.

While Dave is starting up his career in crime-fighting, two other characters are also revving up to become costumed heroes: Big Daddy (Played masterfully by Nicolas Cage), and Hit Girl (The fantastic Chloe Moretz), Big Daddy's 11 year-old daughter. Big Daddy and Hit Girl's interactions with one another are excellent; their relationship should go down in the history books as one of the best father-daughter teams in the history of film. The character of Hit Girl has stirred up some controversy, as she is 11 years old, and is seen violently killing numerous criminals, but there is no real reason for controversy. This movie is not a particularly realistic film, and is clearly not meant to be promoting the use of excessive violence. Also, the film is rated "R," so young impressionable children shouldn't be watching it anyway. It is meant to be a fun and entertaining film, enjoyed in a theater with an audience of fans cheering as they watch in amazement as Hit Girl lays waste to drug dealers. And as far as fun goes, Kick-Ass has it in spades.

The main villain in the movie is drug lord Frank D'Amico, played by Mark Strong. He is the cause of much of the crime in the city, and is Big Daddy's primary target. Frank's son, Chris, is played by the very funny Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who you likely know as McLovin from Superbad, and while he doesn't have as much screen time as he did in that film, he is still a lot fun to watch here.

I really don't want to spoil any of the details of the movie, because it really is a film that you need to experience for yourself. Let me just say that the characters cross paths, and interact together in a variety of entertaining ways. Was that vague? Yes. Did I spoil the movie? No.

Kick-Ass has some of the best action sequences I've seen in a long time, a lot of laughs, and even several well-executed poignant moments. If you want to see an action-comedy movie, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one. It's a must-see movie, and it's the most fun that I've had in a movie theater in a long time.

**** 4 out of 4

Thank you for reading, and I'll try to be back soon with another review or article.