With my family away, I've taken advantage of the rare opportunity to see a couple of first-run movies while they're still in theaters--namely Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Iron Man was notable for three things: Staying reasonably true to the comic book and its characters; Resisting the temptation to be campy; and Falling into the Mimicking Foe Conundrum.
I was tremendously entertained and satisfied by the look and function of Iron Man--both in his first and second renditions. It was clever of the filmmakers to pay homage to the original suit (Tony Stark's Middle East rendition) and give moviegoers all the bells and whistles with the iconic yellow and red version. I think everyone can appreciate the time and effort such a suit would take to build and perfect, but should the entire movie have been dedicated to its construction? This seemed too much. I wanted some scenes of combat and heroism.
Comic book films have become franchises--see Marvel's willingness to try again with "The Hulk"--and have thankfully moved away from the campy crud first inspired by the "Batman" TV series. But I'm always looking for these films to go farther--make me believe this is just a guy who happens to be a superhero... make it gritty and realistic (To date, Unbreakable has been the best example of this). Iron Man was successful on this front, too.
SPOILER ALERT: But I find it cheap and unsatisfying to take the very thing that makes one of these heroes unique and duplicate it in a villain of nearly the same type. In this case, Stark's undermining associate climbs into another suit (designed on the sly by Stark Enterprises) for a climactic showdown. Bad idea. This older, less fit man has never even tested the suit and suddenly he's going toe-to-toe with the real, albiet novice, Iron Man? And the only thing that brings this villain down is the wiles and cooperation of Stark's assistant. Phooey. Grade: B
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Indiana Jones IV was thoroughly satisfying--the first half of the way. Indy seemed fresh, yet familiar. Room was made for some iconic flashes of the fedora and Harrison Ford's sagging face, mixed in with scenes of Americana. It was remarkable what 19 years could do to make Indy seem more relevant (the cars, the bikes, the greasers, the atomic bomb, Commies and the red scare).
I am not one who thinks Ford is too old to join the fight again... but heartily welcomed the story and thought it probable (in an Indy-world). He aptly missed too many bullets, but that's to be expected. Also, what else could send him on an adventure but the distress of an old friend and the call for help from an old flame?
All these things--plus Shia LaBeouf--gave us enough freshness and familiarity to satisfy... the jungle chase scene was terrific. Cate Blanchett was almost unrecognizable in her "Boris and Natasha" impersonation, too. I was right with them all even through the dart-spitting Incas. It's the catacombs that got me down. Why is every Indie movie in some secret cave of booby traps? I get that he's an archaelogist and things get buried, but this gets a little old. I wasn't into the exterrestrial magic either, but it goes with the New Mexico storyline, so hey. Grade: A-
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