IRON MAN 2: Empty Shellhead

In the weeks leading up to Marvel's next blockbuster juggernaut, Captain America: Civil War, we will be looking at every cinematic iteration of those two warring rapscallions, Captain America and Iron Man.

Other Reviews in this Series.

Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Theroux
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Gary Shandling, Paul Bettany
Runtime: 124 mins.
2010

Iron Man made a splash in the cultural landscape by being tight, fun, propulsive, and sleek. Iron Man 2 has the distinction of sharing none of those qualities. Instead it is nasty, morose, choppy, and kind of pointless. The sheer watchability of the cast is perhaps the one thing that prevents Iron Man 2 from being a total chore.

This film more than any other showcases the growing pains of Hollywood's first cinematic universe. With only Iron Man and the decent The Incredible Hulk under their belt, Marvel set out to capitalize on the promise of the famous Nick Fury post-credit coda. Unsurprisingly this meant cranking out a sequel to their 2008 smash hit with the same filmmaker at the helm. But this also meant rushing into the production and shoehorning in a cavalcade of shared universe elements that cripple any coherent narrative that may have existed otherwise.

THE JUNGLE BOOK: Bearly Coherent

Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Marks
Cast: Neel Sethi, Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito, Scarlett Johansson
Runtime: 106 mins.
2016

The Jungle Book amounts to a mediocre but entertaining film. It's so entertaining, in fact, that it successfully distracts its audience from its own flaccid plot. The film exists first and foremost as a piece of spectacle, and within that realm it accomplishes exactly what it set out to do. What you've probably heard concerning the visuals is true; they move beyond impressive and into immersive. From the very first moment it's as if you've stumbled into the jungle and are hanging out right alongside Mowgli (Neel Sethi). Not for a moment did the seams show enough to divorce me from Favreau's lush jungle environment, which is shocking when you learn that the entirety of the movie was filmed in an LA soundstage. This is so vividly a living, breathing world. Spending a couple of hours there is a blast.

The impulse to focus on the setting produces some iconic work, but the screenplay is barely enough to prop it up. The result is a tonal mishmash that is trying so hard to please everybody that it fails to achieve a distinct identity of its own. I counted three warring movies existing within Favreau's Jungle Book, any one of which would have been excellent on its own. Three movies that sapped strength from each other, and interrupted each other at inopportune moments. Here is my window into The Jungle Books that could have been.

IRON MAN: Ground Zero Hero

In the weeks leading up to Marvel's next blockbuster juggernaut, Captain America: Civil War, we will be looking at every cinematic iteration of those two warring rapscallions, Captain America and Iron Man.

Other Reviews in this Series.

Director: Jon Favreau
Writers: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau
Runtime: 126 mins.
2008

Eight years later and the success of Iron Man feels inevitable. This is the movie that spawned a franchise of thirteen films and counting. Returning to the source is a fairly satisfying experience. The zippy pace, tight action, and whirlwind of a lead performance make for both an enjoyable standalone experience and a solid foundation for all the hubbub to come. And yet, nobody saw any of this coming.

Iron Man had been in development hell since 1990, burning through directors, writers, and producers on a regular basis. Everyone from Tom Cruise to Nic Cage to Tarantino had been approached about the project. Eventually 2006 rolled around and Marvel Studios took over the mantle. They essentially started from scratch, ignoring the script treatments that had come before. Iron Man was fast-tracked simply because he was their final major property to have never gotten a big screen treatment before. Iron Man was not at all a hot commodity before this film. He was a B-list hero with so little cultural relevance that Marvel had to actively educate potential audiences that Iron Man was a man in a suit rather than some sort of automaton. It's not surprising that the self-financed and unproven Marvel Studios had to go through 30+ writers in order to put together a team for this movie.