IRON MAN

Okay, so this was Marvel studio's first introduction to the Avengers.  As seen on previous posts, we are going to ignore The Hulk.  For all intensive purposes, The Hulk does not exist outside of The Avengers (2012).  So, being the FIRST introduction to the Avengers, Iron Man had to carry a lot of weight.  I find if difficult to believe that anyone reading this is not aware of who Iron Man is, as the Marvel universe has become a pretty large part of our society (something about which I am very happy).  But, in case you don't know, I will give you a brief overview.

Tony Stark is the character that inhabits the suit that is Iron Man.  Tony Stark is Bruce Wayne with a social conscience, and greater intelligence (this is not to say Bruce Wayne is stupid, but he kind of is compared to Tony Stark).  I say that he has a social conscience because, in the movies at least, he learns his company is doing something immoral, and he tries to change it, and uses his intelligence and good fortune to help people.  This may be through theatrics and violence, but who doesn't do that? *cough* BATMAN *cough*

Anyway, I remember not knowing anything about Iron Man other than that he was a superhero, and that I liked Robert Downey Jr. in the one other movie I had seen him in.  So, naturally, being 16 and pretty nerdy yet having no prior knowledge of this character, I freaked out upon seeing the trailer.

I mean, look at all those explosions!  What's not to love?  Who even cares about the story?  Robert Downey Jr. is causing explosions and created a big metal suit that has laser blasts.  Don't confuse my sarcasm for not enjoying this movie.  I love this movie, but after re-watching that trailer, I realize why 16 year old me loved it too.  Finally, nerdy things were cool again.  And this started a golden age of fandom that has continued far past my younger self's dreams. 

I have not talked about this movie at all, so here's the rest of what you need to know.  That trailer was a teaser.  This movie is about far more.  It's about responsibility, it's about being able to live with your decisions, and it's a little bit about blowing things up.  It's about relationships, and subverting expectations, and owning up to who you are.  Tony Stark is Iron Man.  Bruce Wayne might be Batman, it would explain how Batman can afford all his toys.  Clark Kent might be Superman, they look awfully similar, and Clark is the worst reporter ever (as he always misses the excitement).  But Tony Stark IS Iron Man.  I love everything this movie has to offer, and I think it's an important movie to look deeper into.

9/10

Think I give too high of ratings?  Well tell me that, or I'm just going to keep my grading scale ridiculously easy.

For now, I'll be writing what I know.  So...

MORE MARVEL MOVIES!!!

*This will probably continue until someone gives me a 

suggestion for a new movie and/or genre to look into 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

 (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Many of us have seen this movie by now, as it made $94,320,883 opening weekend (IMDB), but I still think it's important to talk about it.  This was an enormous gamble on the part of Marvel studios, because until now they had only tried to introduce fairly well known comic series to the public.  Yes, there were some speed bumps when they sold some of the characters, like Spider-Man, X-Men, and The Incredible Hulk to Fox Studios.  Sure, Fox did okay with Spider-Man 1-2, and X-Men 1, but we can all rest easy that those are back in good hands.  We won't discuss the Hulk attempts.  We just don't have to, and I don't think anyone wants to.

"What does this have to do with Guardians of the Galaxy?" you might be wondering.

Shut up, be patient, I'm getting there.

Marvel had to take some time to rebuild these characters from the ground up.  I realize many people were upset when Spider-Man got rebooted, but you go back and watch Spider-Man 3 and tell me the premise didn't need to be burned down to the ground and rebuilt with a new Peter Parker.

(No one understands me.  And not even

because I'm a giant spider-person)

And this brings us back, FINALLY, to Guardians of the Galaxy.  An obscure reference that even long-time Marvel nerds like myself didn't know existed (Though I should point out I was pretty committed to the X-Men and Spider-Man universes).  This movie was Marvel testing their limits.  They wanted to see if they could make people fall in love with characters they didn't know already, and premises perhaps too far "out-there" for everyone to appreciate (like a kid being taken from Earth to be eaten, but instead becoming an outlaw).  But, like most Marvel movies, it contained enough element of heart to be completely worth watching.  It's funny, and entertaining, it's not overly deep, and doesn't require you to think very much, but still deals with emotional situations.  It's a comedy, it's an action, it's sci-fi, and it's Marvel.  In fact, just saying it's Marvel should be enough to get you to see it if you haven't already.  I would highly recommend this movie, but I would recommend it only with the expectations that it's entertainment.  Don't go in expecting a masterpiece of cinematic profoundness.  Go in expecting exactly what you would expect from a movie with a machine-gun firing racoon and Chris Pratt who listens to 80's rock/pop music while fighting aliens.  

It's just a truly wonderful movie.  As in full of wonder.

7/10

Spoiler Alert!  

For those of you Marvel fans who are familiar and used to staying after the credits for important scenes, this is not one of those times.  It's just Howard the Duck.  If you don't know who Howard the Duck is, that's okay.  You don't need to know.  He just makes a wise-quack at the Christopher Walken look-alike played by Benicio Del Toro.  It's really not worth it.

END NOTE:

I know not everyone is looking forward to it, but I think it's going to be great.  Coming soon from Marvel:

Feel free to argue with me or agree with me in the comments below!