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RDT Reviews Iron Man 2

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for six years now.

Unfortunately, Iron Man 2 undoes a lot of the good will the Tony Stark character developed in Iron Man 1. That’s probably my best explanation. There’s two stories going on concurrently in Iron Man 2 and they’re both quite weak with little payoffs. Story #1: After developing the Iron Man “weapon”, Tony Stark is forced to testify in Congress about possession of such weapon and whether or not it should be turned over to the American people. The big argument going for Stark is that no one else in the world is even close to developing the technology that powers the Iron Man suit. Of course, someone has (Whiplash). Instead of going toward a direction that focuses on the character who has built the tech, he’s overshadowed by Stark’s rival Justin Hammer and story #2.

Story #2 revolves around Tony Stark dealing with his mortality as the chest piece that powers the Iron Man suit is also killing him. This is the weakest story in the entire MCU, as this makes Stark regress from a maturity standpoint. He becomes reckless and endangers others. While becoming reckless to a point is fine from a character standpoint (justifying the race car part), becoming drunk in the Iron Man suit during a party is embarrassing and disappointing. After seeing what Tony Stark went through and overcame in Iron Man 1, I expect more from Stark. I don’t really care to see a mirror image of who he was before Iron Man 1, but for some reason we see it here.

Worst yet, story #2 comes to lame end as Nick Fury and the Black Widow cure (or help Stark find the cure, same idea) Stark and get him back on track as Iron Man. Overall this story arc led to several embarrassing moments and a less than stellar reason for Fury and Widow to be involved. It all feels forced, although Black Widow definitely has her moments here.

The conclusion to all of this is quite disappointing too, as Tony Stark accepts Col. Rhodes as his partner in what’s basically a throw away scene. They dispatch the drones Ivan Vanko had been working on in relative ease, then dispatch Vanko himself in a couple of minutes afterwards. It’s all a let down.

The biggest shame is that I think the actors do a great job overall with the limited material they are given. It’s probably not Robert Downey’s strongest performance, but it works. Mickey Rourke is pretty much wasted as Whiplash. Don Cheadle is an improvement over Terrence Howard as Rhodey. I really liked Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts here too and her role as someone trying to keep the spiraling Stark in check is a highlight. Sam Rockwell makes the most out of what otherwise would have just been an annoying character in Justin Hammer. Scarlett Johansson doesn’t show much emotion here, but that might have been the intent. I always get a kick out of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury though. The performances in this film save an otherwise weak film.

Pros:

+Performances from the actors are very good all around and make the most out of poorly drawn characters.

+A really good first half hour or so, it basically goes downhill once Vanko survives a car to the groin.

Cons:

-We went from believing in Tony Stark to being stupid we did so. Getting drunk in the Iron Man suit? Really?

-Whiplash is wasted.

-Avengers tie in is a bit forced.

A huge step back from Iron Man 1, but nothing Marvel couldn’t come back from.

Grade: C

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Big spoilers here…it’s pretty early in the MCU and you probably know what happens anyway.

                The Incredible Hulk is an okay film that doesn’t really stand out. It’s just there. Considering the titular character and the lead actor playing him (Edward Norton),the film being nothing special has to be considered as a big disappointment.

The film is made up of three stories. First of which is about Bruce Banner and his search for a cure to the gamma ray radiation that’s plagued his body. If this film does one thing right, it’s the opening sequence which brilliantly kinda-sorta references the previous Hulk film released in 2003. That scene gives us a great visual of just why Banner feels like he has to hide and how much pain he feels in regards to hurting anyone. But after that, his entire story arc is as follows: hide, get found, run, fight, hide, get found, run, fight, suddenly possibly unable to turn into Hulk, suddenly is needed to turn into Hulk, does so and fights. In between we see him working on his breathing exercises and working on his determination to make sure his heart rate doesn’t hit 200. It’s a good story, but not exactly a compelling one and unfortunately Norton isn’t able to shine in this role.

The second story is General Thunderbolt Ross’ goal to recapture Banner. William Hurt’s performance as Ross is my favorite part of the film as he effortlessly can go from a calm, even fatherly figure to someone barking orders and commanding an army to take down the Hulk. Unfortunately, Ross’ story is quite simplistic too, as he tries to capture the Hulk, fails, attacks again, argues with daughter, then eventually is forced to align himself with the Hulk. It’s so systematic that it’s just not that compelling.

Ross plays a big part in the third story which had the highest upside but turns out to be the biggest dud. Ross helps solider Emil Blonsky gain abilities to help him battle the Hulk. While Blonsky’s character starts off strong and has a compelling battle with the Hulk during his super speed and agility phase (where the Hulk shows off perhaps his best moment: kicking Blonsky into a tree, “killing” him), his arc takes a really disappointing turn as he becomes Abomination, a big monster that leads to a monster vs. monster confrontation. Iron Man did it better with a suit vs. suit battle to be fair.

There’s also the love interest for Banner, Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. While it’s not bad at all, once again she can be described as “just there”. I was honestly more interested in her interactions with her father than Banner overall.

When a film called The Incredible Hulk fails to stand out, that means it’s failed to meet expectations. It’s the Incredible Hulk! It should probably have been the most over the top Marvel film ever. Perhaps the Hulk just isn’t the type of character to have a whole film dedicated to him.

Pros:

+General Ross is a strong character for the most part. At least in the first two acts.

+There’s nothing really bad about the film, but…

Cons:

-Nothing particularly good either.

-Abomination is a disappointing route to go for Emil Blonsky.

A decent film with no real stand out moments. Well, except when Tony Stark shows up at the end.

Grade C+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Beauty and the Beast

Massive spoilers here…the film has been out for 24 years now.

Once Disney rediscovered the formula to win back movie goers and fans that they had lost through the 70s and 80s it was inevitable that Beauty and the Beast would be made. Beauty and the Beast was considered way back in the 30s, and Disney found out with The Little Mermaid that the animated epic fairy tale was the way to go.

And wow what a film Disney produced here. To be clear, Beauty and the Beast arguably has no weaknesses (although I’ll argue one in a bit). It has two great primary protagonists in Belle and The Beast. A great villain in Gaston. Incredible supporting characters. A great story. Great songs. Great animation. Great everything.

There are two main stories here. The first one, told by stain glass windows (awesome idea in itself) tells of a selfish Prince who turned away an old woman who offered a rose in order for shelter in the castle. The Prince refuses, then is shocked as the old woman turns into a beautiful enchantress and puts a spell on not only the Price, but his servants and castle as well. In order to break the spell he must find someone to fall in love with him before the rose wilts away. If he fails, he remains a beast forever. The second one involves Belle, the most attractive woman in the village who lives with her father. She’s a bookworm who also is quite bored of the life she’s living in the village. Gaston, the town hero, believes because he’s the most attractive man and that Belle is the most attractive woman that they should be married and constantly asks Belle to marry him. She rejects him at every turn. When her father takes a wrong turns and ends up a prisoner at the castle, Belle goes out to find him and exchanges herself for him. The clock is ticking now for the Beast, who’s running out of time to break the spell, to get Belle to fall in love with him. It’s a great set-up, with the Beast being very aggressive about the situation and Belle having none of it.

Speaking of Belle, she’s one of the all-time great Disney characters. She’s strong willed, sacrifices herself to save her father and doesn’t give into any situation she’s not interested in. She’s constantly made fun of by the town for how she acts (with her head always in a book) and how she resists Gaston (who every other woman wants), yet she never changes course. Of course, the one weakness of the film regards her as well…she’s arguably too perfect.

The Beast is just as awesome. There’s so much anger within him and it shows from the first moment you see him meet Belle’s father. Even when he realizes that he needs to be charming, his anger still comes out (I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN FOR DINNER…I’LL BREAK DOWN THE DOOR!). It’s easy to fall in love with the character throughout the film and if you don’t it’s hard not to at the end when he makes the ultimately sacrifice because he truly loves Belle.

Before I get to Gaston, let’s talk about the supporting characters. They’re all awesome. Lumiere and Cogsworth are a great comedy duo, while Mrs. Potts and Chip also have their moments. They all represent The Beast’s family in a way and they’re all memorable. Belle’s father Maurice has his moments, as does Gaston’s sidekick LeFou.

So why is Gaston so awesome? Well, he’s really not a villain. He’s the town hero! He’s the most handsome man in town! Everyone loves him! Instead of Disney just telling us he’s the bad guy, or making it clear he’s the bad guy, he’s just a guy who just wants what he believes he deserves. He doesn’t want to take over the castle, or kidnap Belle or anything, he just wants to marry her! And that’s why he’s such a great bad guy. We have other reasons not to like him. He’s arrogant. He’s brash. We probably see someone like this in our lives all of the time. When Gaston says things like “It’s not right for a woman to read. Soon she starts getting ideas and thinking…” you know he believes it. He’s also who the Beast was before he was transformed…only the Beast was punished for it while Gaston gets away with it. Even when Gaston’s jealousy over Belle’s feelings for the Beast leads him to wanting to kill the Beast…there’s an argument to be made that he might honestly be doing the right thing. I mean, how safe really is the village with a Beast in a castle not too far away? And remember, the whole town goes with him in this because logically, it makes sense. What a great character.

Yeah, the songs are great too. “Be Our Guest”, “The Mob Song”, “Gaston’s Song”, “Tale as Old as Time”, “Little Town” and even the 2002 released “Human Again” are all memorable.

The animation is great as well. Some of the indoor scenes in the castle just look beautiful.

+Every character is memorable and great.

+Animation is amazing.

+Songs are great.

+Main characters are exceptional.

+Belle and the Beast actually take time to develop their relationship.

+Gaston is a unique and ultimately great Disney villain.

Cons:

-Is Belle too perfect?

No surprise this was nominated for Best Picture in 1992. First animated film ever to accomplish that.

Grade: A+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews The Little Mermaid

Massive spoilers here…the film has been out for 26 years now.

Let’s talk history first. The Little Mermaid was THE film that began the Disney Renaissance. The first fairy tale animated film since Sleeping Beauty, Disney knew they had to do something different than what they did over the past 15 years to regain the critical success they had achieved earlier. To say they succeeded with The Little Mermaid would be an understatement. You know how it seems like Disney owns everything right now? ESPN? Star Wars? ABC?  Marvel? Well you can trace all of that back to the success of the The Little Mermaid.

Now just because The Little Mermaid made money; it nearly became the first animated film to gross $100 Million and sold 64% better than Disney’s previous film Oliver and Company, doesn’t necessarily mean it was a great film. Did it stand the test of time? Is it still a great film?

The answer is a resounding yes. This was my first viewing in probably over a decade and The Little Mermaid somehow is better than I remembered it…and I remembered it as being great in the first place. The Little Mermaid hits everything. The characters are awesome. The songs are timeless. The animation at times would probably be considered great for 2015 (if 2015 still did non-computer animated stuff) so I can only imagine how well it was regarded for 1989. Disney needed to hit a homerun here and it ended up hitting the ball not only over the wall, but out of the whole damn ballpark.

So let’s talk about our characters. We have Ariel, a 16 year old Mermaid. Within five minutes we already get great characterization regarding her. She’s rebellious. She doesn’t always follow the rules. We don’t get told this, we get shown this right away when Ariel doesn’t show up to a concert performance (and Sebastian, who we’ll get to, mentions she never comes to recital). It turns out she’s off exploring a sunken ship looking to add items to her collection of things from above the shore. Within five minutes, we know her motivations and we know the character. Awesome.

We have Prince Eric. Big bonus here as unlike some Disney films where the Prince is kinda just there, Eric has his own personality. He’s fun. He jokes around. His associate Grimsby makes a statue for him and he has no issue pointing out just how stupid it looks. He has a personality.

King Triton may be the best character in the film. He’s the King of the Seas and Ariel’s father. His actions towards Ariel could be considered overbearing, but at the same time older viewers (especially parents) may find them appropriate. He doesn’t want Ariel to go towards the surface or even remotely interact with humans, but not because he’s a jerk, but because he wants her to be safe. And everytime he gets angry with Ariel or puts his foot (fin?) down, he does it convincingly. But each time he looks away from Ariel you see the pain in his face (especially after he destroys some of her stuff). Those few frames of animation that show a pained Triton really established the character.

The last main character, Ursula is a sea witch who once ruled the seas. She is another really well done character. You could even make the case that she’s not completely evil until later on. Yeah, she “looks evil” and isn’t the nicest, but she made a fair deal with Ariel and she just wants the Kingdom for herself. It’s not until she interferes with the deal to make sure she wins where you can say she’s evil no doubt. Evil is a point of view after all.

The minor characters are all memorable as well. Flounder is Ariel’s friend and even he has a whole personality of his own (while Ariel is rebellious and a risktaker, Flounder is much more cautious). Sebastian provides tons of comic relief as a crab who is tasked to look over Ariel, and basically everything he does is memorable. Buddy Hackett’s Scuttle is also hilarious.

The songs are incredible. The three main ones: “Part of Your World”, “Kiss The Girl”, and “Under The Sea” are all timeless. “Part Of Your World” is especially incredible; you really feel for Ariel and want her to accomplish her goals.

Lastly, some of the animation is incredible. When I saw Ariel come to the surface while fireworks follow Eric’s ship I can’t help but think “wow”. There are tons of moments in this film like this as well.

Are there any criticisms? There’s one that’s debatable. The Nostalgia Chick pointed out that Ariel didn’t really learn anything. She wants something, there are obstacles, she overcomes them and gets what she wants. But I disagree. The sequence where she apologizes to her father about the situation she’s in I think is her realizing she went too far.

Pros:

+Every character is memorable and great.

+Animation is amazing.

+Songs are incredible and timeless.

+Father-daughter relationship with Ariel and Triton is really well done.

+Price Eric and Ariel actually take some time to fall in love and is also really well done.

+Ursula is a top tier Disney villain.

Cons:

-Did Ariel learn anything or did she just get what she wanted in spite of everything?

Film is amazing. No wonder the Disney Renaissance began here.

Grade: A+

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Inside Out

There are some spoilers in this review, although I will try to avoid any big ones.

Over the years Pixar has done an exceptional job is relating their films, and more specifically, their characters to the audience. Inside Out is a perfect example of this Pixar specialty. The story is about the five emotions of a young girl named Riley, and how each emotion influences Riley’s memories and behaviors.

Our primary protagonist, Joy, is the emotion responsible for making Riley happy (duh). She’s the life of this film, always looking for the positive in every scenario, good or bad. When Riley moves from her perfect life in Minnesota to an unknown, unattractive life in San Francisco, those bad scenarios become the norm. Before Joy had complete control of Riley’s emotions. Now, Fear, Disgust, Anger, and most importantly, Sadness can’t help themselves in their influence of Riley, and Sadness especially seems to have a strong effect on Riley. Things go astray when Joy and Sadness both lose access to Riley’s controls, and it’s up to them to get back and steer Riley back on track.

The level of detail in Riley’s mind is visually beautiful and brilliant created. There’s a memory bank, a subconscious, a dream world even a literal train of thought (quite clever). It’s a smart movie that will make you wonder how you once forgot about your favorite toy or even remind you about those memories that strengthen your family ties or even career goals. You’ll wonder about those moments you became frustrated with your friends and how you made new ones. And the whole time you’ll wonder if it’s because your inner Anger took control, or if your inner Joy got stuck in a memory bank somewhere. Throughout the film, you’ll think of your friends and each emotion and wonder about them too. Children will relate to Riley. Parents will relate to Riley’s parents.

It’s worth noting that this movie is absolutely hilarious, with each character adding a certain flavor. Each character is memorable and the jokes lead to a good laugh every time.

If there’s one flaw in the film, it has to do with Joy. No doubt Joy is a great character and really what makes Inside Out work. But I can’t help but dislike a lot of Joy and Sadness’s interactions. It’s certainly not intended by the writers, but I did find Joy to come off as a bit of a bully to Sadness in two scenes specifically.

Still, that’s nitpicking. Everything else works great and it’s fantastic.

Pros:

+Great Story

+Vividly incredible visuals

+Great, memorable characters

+Relatable to the audience

+Absolutely hilarious

Cons:

-Great as she is, Joy can come off as a bit of a bully

Grade: A