WGTB talks Iron Man 3 & Community

Like the previous two Iron Man and Avengers films, Iron Man 3 (released May 3rd) stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, the billionaire industrial magnate turned superhero who's called upon to once again save the United States. This time, he squares off against the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and his squad of biologically enhanced goons who have been augmented by the Extremis program, itself created by a scientific organization headed by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pierce). Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her role as Stark Industries chief and Tony's love interest, Pepper Potts while Jon Favreau and Don Cheadle return as Iron Man friends and allies, Happy Hogan and James Rhodes.  

Iron Man 3 stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau & Ben Kingsley. Directed by Shane Black. 130 minutes

Being a generally positive reviewer, I’ll begin with the visuals, which were in a word: stunning. There's a scene you’ve probably seen on TV where Iron Man saves people falling out of Air Force One and seeing this in 3D was simply breathtaking. As someone who has never exited a plane that wasn’t grounded, I have to say this is probably the closest I’ll ever come to skydiving. Other technological aspects of the film, including Iron Man's new armour and the climactic battle at the end were equally amazing, with a special note going to the various models of Iron Man suits which were awesome escapist fare for any comic book reader. 

 

Unfortunately, the positivity of this review ends there as the rest of the film was lacklustre and on the whole disappointing. Frankly, there were just too many plot holes and silly subplots to contain my suspension of disbelief and by mid-film I was waiting for the next battle because I had lost interest in the story. With regard to the actors, I also found their characters seemed tired and played-out to the point where they were just going through the motions to get a third film done. I know that's the Hollywood thing these days – a trilogy per character – but here it just seemed forced to the point where it was no longer necessary. I know this seems harsh, especially because Robert Downey, Jr. was so good in The Avengers and that film was fantastic. But here he just seemed fatigued and no amount of (admittedly) great action was enough to salvage a sub par performance or a stretched and pockmarked story. I hate giving bad reviews on this blog, but in this case the best I can do is 2.5/5 STARS.    

Community RENEWED! 

Somewhat tangentially but likely of note to many readers of this blog, last night we learned Community, NBC’s quirky single camera comedy was picked up for a fifth season. Being in the UK the past few years, I was a late convert to the show, but have since taken up the cause of Greendale with a relentless fervor. Suffice it to say, I was very pleased to hear this news. 

With Chevy Chase off the show and Joel McHale's character graduated, might we see an addition or two to the core cast of Community next year? Pictured here are Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), Ben Chang (Ken Jeong), Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), Shirley Bennett (Yvette Nicole Brown) & Annie Edison (Alison Brie). Photo from Community's Google+ site.

And while I’m certain the line-up will change as former regular Chevy Chase left the show in November 2012 and Joel McHale’s character graduated from Greendale at the end of Season 4, the core of the group is taking an Astronomy class together which means the same fun and (regularly) geek-themed antics we’ve come to love from the show. If you’re not familiar with Community, think of it as Arrested Development in a 90210 setting with a smattering of The Big Bang Theory thrown in for good measure. Except it's so much better than TBBT, that I can't for the life of me understand why it loses in the ratings battle. But that's for another blog...

WGTB Reviews Iron Man #1

Marvel NOW! rolls on with Iron Man #1 hitting the shelves this past Wednesday. To begin, I should say I've never been a big Iron Man reader. I like the character but have never seemed to pick up his books. I know it's shameful, especially given the cinematic success Marvel/Disney has had centreing their universe (largely) around Robert Downey Jr. playing the role.  But for some reason Tony Stark is just someone in Marvel that has never caught my eye in the comic book store. I tell you this because my review may seem a little light in content and a detailed understanding of Iron Man's rich history in the medium. I'm also telling you because I'm using this first issue of Marvel NOW!'s Iron Man as an opportunity to get a fresh start on Tony Stark and frankly see this as a reason why these relaunches and reboots are a good thing for ignorants like me. On with the review.

Marvel NOW!'s Iron Man #1 (January 2013) Story by Kieron Gillen, pencils by Greg Land, inks by Jay Leisten, colours by Guru eFX and letters by VC's Joe Caramagna
$3.99

(Spoilers Below)

Having enjoyed Kieron Gillen recent runs on X-Men and Journey Into Mystery, I knew I was going to like this book to some degree. Gillen is a very skilled writer and has a knack for taking long established characters and making them his own. My initial thoughts were that tonally, Tony Stark was very similar to his cinematic counterpart and this was helpful:  I immediately liked him and knew this was a fellow I could follow regularly. The story begins in a posh New York bar with Tony working his magic with a beautiful woman. After he takes the party home and is about to seal the deal, he gets an urgent and distressing call from Maya Hansen who says that the 'Extremis is loose' and she's already 'probably dead'. We then fast forward to see a bad infomercial type of television program where Extremis' are being sold to regular folks. Iron Man subsequently crashes the party and learns there are four models loose on the world.

Extremis models and Iron Man from Iron Man #1 (January 2013)

I enjoyed the book and it wasn't without some solid humour. Probably the best line was when Tony went undercover at the Extremis sale by simply shaving off 'the world's most famous mustache'. Very Clark Kent. I'm not sure if the four Extremis villains will be long-term antagonists for the book -- this first arch is five books and that would match quite nicely with there being four out there. But it would be cool with a model popping up every now and then and this could lead to some long-term problems for Iron Man. The story also has a significant international dimension and it would will be neat seeing Gillen taking Tony to different locales around the world. I loved what he did with Sinister and London in Uncanny X-Men.   

Iron Man armour in Iron Man #1 (Janurary 2013)

Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the early stages of Gillen's work on this book, I can't say the same for the art. In places Greg Land's work was very good: the below shot of Iron Man hovering over the cityscape is an example of the awesomeness that is Iron Man. But by and large his human depictions didn't have any stand-out qualities to them and while it doesn't look bad, there really isn't anything to grab the readers and make us say 'Wow!'   

Iron Man hovers over the city in Iron Man #1 (January 2013)

That said, it was a reasonably good comic book and because it has a very 'one-shot' feel to it, I think it's a great start for any new or lapsed Iron Man fan. I'm certainly going to find some Iron Man TPBs and get caught up on him, and will probably keep up with this particular comic for the next little while.  3.5/5 STARS 

And Hulk...SMASH: A Review of Avengers

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr. Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston & Samuel L. Jackson

I wonder when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the first Avengers comic in the early 1960s, if they had any idea that one day their characters would be featured in a massive feature film that is projected to make hundreds of millions of dollars. Or that some of the world’s biggest movie stars would don the guises of their creations. I doubt they did but fortunately for Stan Lee, he has been able to see his creations one the silver screen. But because Jack Kirby didn't, he passing away in 1994, I've decided to sprinkle this review with artwork from the original comic Avengers #4 (March 1964) which featured Captain America joining the team. Kirby drew this book and is consired a legend in the comic medium and because of this I'm happy to give him the praise he deserves -- including this opportunity. 

Iron Man and Thor in Marvel's Avengers #4 (March 1964)

But let’s get on to the film. I will not be spoiling here, so if you've seen the trailer you should be fine.

  

WOW. Just wow. It’s a fantastic movie! And while I know I've been a little too easy on some films in the past (see my Green Lantern review -- what was I thinking?!?) this one deserves to be called fantastic and really is worthy of the hype its received. With regard to the characters and actors: as enemies go Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was a good in his role as the Machiavellian leader/puppet of the alien invaders and other stars including Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye) were great, with special praise going to Renner who, along with the prop department, was able to take an ancient yet potentially mundane weapon (bow and arrow) and turned it into the realistic tool of a top secret agent. Chris Evans contiues to make a good 'Greatest Generation' Captain America and Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow) was the strong female lead this testosterone charged film needed. But of the all-star cast, Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner) and Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) stole the show.  Ruffalo because he played the conflicted genius that is Bruce Banner so well and Downing Jr. because he is Tony Stark and was all of the sardonic, playboy brainiac we've come to know and love over the course of this superhero film franchise.

From Marvel's Avengers #4 (March 1964)

But as we all know a film cannot live on acting alone – it also requires decent plot cohesion that can be difficult when there is so much back story to cover. But in this case it worked. It may have seemed slightly crowded at the beginning of the film, but by the middle act, when everything was going south for the Avengers, you see the team start coming together and are already hungry for the sequel. By the final battle scene where Captain America takes command, you really get the sense it's working. Iron Man and Thor remain themselves yet accept orders from the Captain and in the Hulk we we get to see why comic books have been written about how he's one of the most the powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Indeed, the scene where Captain America gives the orders in my mind captured the essence of the film perfectly and still counts as only the second best in the film. The top honour goes to the final scene when we get to see what's in store for us next time. That scene had me smiling and fist-pumping all the way home. 

Captain America getting back in Avengers #4 (March 1964)

So there you go: a short, gushing exam-time review of Avengers. All in all, it was great escapist fare for both Fanboys and laypersons alike. Those of us who know comics and their back stories will really enjoy it (especially the final scene!) but if you’re bringing along a girlfriend, sibling, friend or parent they’ll enjoy the action, drama and humour too. Oh, and comics fans, if I haven`t already made this clear: stay in your seats! The final scene has everything you`ve been hoping for.

4.5/5 Stars