Childhood memories are tricky.
My two favorite comic books in the early 1980's were Xmen and Iron Man and of the two, Iron Man was my favorite. Who wants to be a freaky mutant when you could be a millionaire playboy genius like tony stark? Not this 12 year old.
I just saw the movie Iron Man. I dont know why it took this long to make a movie but wow. It was so much better than I expected. It was worth the wait. It was great. Just like the first Xmen movie, when this one ended I wanted more. (And the preview after the world's longest credits ever! made me want more even more.)
One of the reviews I had heard said the movie had 3 writing teams and was terrible. I just dont see it. The casting was great (excluding for the blonde "reporter" from Brown with the imposible beaver teeth), the writing was great, and the special effects were great. This was an adult comic book come to life.
Iron Man could be a terrific new franchise. I just hope they dont screw it up like they have screwed up other comic franchises: they keep the summer blockbuster schedule and scrap the director, the intelligent writing and the casting. One movie is not enough. I want some continuity.
Ironically, the previews before the movie (all 15 minutes of them) were also about comic heros, Batman and Hulk, and showed just what I mean about continuity.
The next Batman movie appears to be a rendition of the graphic novel The Dark Night. Which is to say a (hopefully better) remake of the first movie. They have the same batman as the last movie (the 3rd one I think, after Val Kilmer and that other guy), a new Joker (who looks a hell of a lot freakier than Nicholson) and a new female lead!? Ugh. They get props for sticking to the serious storyline and not turning it into a family-friendly load for McDonalds merchandizing, but they lose big for casting. If you are going to restart the franchise, keep the same freaking cast from movie to movie. It wont be the same without freaky mothership Katie Holmes.
The same can be said about the Hulk. I wasnt a big fan but I enjoyed the movie with Eric Bana and total hottie Jennifer Connelly. Now both are gone and Dr Bruce Banner is Ed Norton?? Are you kidding? Death to Smoochie Ed Norton? *sigh*
With Xmen we saw that even keeping the same cast is not enough. Change the director and the writing and even the combined powers of Magneto and Xavier cant stop the the walk of fame from turning into a walk of shame.
On the other hand, I was surprised to see the previews of the next Indiana Jones movie. When I heard they were making a movie with Harrison Ford, I had to groan. Ford? Isnt he in some trailer-park retirement home in Florida with Callista Flockhart? No? Well I wish he was. But seeing Karen Allen again! What a treat. Watching the two of them in original movie, one reflects on how much casting has changed for leading ladies. Seeing her back on screen is enough to pique my interest as well as my sense of nostalgia.
