Hey there. How was your weekend? Mine was filled with revelations. See, the weekend is generally the time I watch the most movies and television, usually compiling a list in my head of notes and observations that would otherwise go unheard. Aren’t you lucky? This one’s Iron Man-heavy, so if you haven’t seen it…what’s your problem?? Go see it now!

Revelation #1: Iron Man Lived Up To The Hype

This is a rare thing. A movie that actually lived up to my own hype! Iron Man hit all the right notes — it was funny, it didn’t put the weight of the world on its shoulders, it had a great leading man, it had simple, satisfying action, and it had a Stan Lee cameo. I was deeply satisfied by the end of the movie, even after sitting through 30 minutes of credits to see 30 seconds of ol’ Ultimate Eyepatch. Were there things about the movie I didn’t like? Sure…

Revelation #2: Origin Stories Bore Me.

At this point, we’ve seen it all when it comes to origin stories. There’s a section of Iron Man that did have me checking my watch, and it was around the 15 minute mark. We know Tony Stark is going to build a giant robot. We know he’s going to escape. So let’s get on with it already! I feel like we spent a lot of time in a deep, dark cave, simply waiting for the inevitable action to start. Don’t get me wrong. I like my action to be nicely balanced with story, but I guess it goes back to my boredom with origin stories. I’m well aware of what’s going to happen — even my girlfriend was well aware, and she’s never even accidentally brushed up against a comic book in her life. This wasn’t detrimental to the movie, because the payoffs were so rewarding, but I’m going to suggest Marvel make one big movie called, Origin Stories, where they just cover their bases and tell every origin story of every Marvel character and get it over with.

Revelation #3: Some Actors Get Comic Book Movies, Some Don’t.

Is it me, or did Jeff Bridges look like he was having the time of his life in Iron Man? Seriously, the dude (Or should I say, The Dude) was chewing scenery everywhere he went, and I loved every minute of it. He totally understood the point of his character and just how big to make him in the movie. I mean, just look at his head! You have no choice but to have fun when you look like that! On the flipside, Terrence Howard looked like he was in the wrong movie the entire time. Supposedly a hard-ass military leader, Jim Rhodes comes off as soft and whiny, making it hard to believe anyone would listen to him in that war room. I also had a hard time telling if he was best friends with Stark, or if he truly hated him. He would run hot and cold between scenes, and even when he knew Stark was in danger of being shot down by the military, he didn’t seem all that interested.

Revelation #4: Mario Kart Wii Destined to Erase Hours of Productivity From Your Life

Mario Kart Wii is pretty much like all the other Mario Karts. You should feel embarrassed that you’re playing such a simple game, but it’s so addictive, you don’t care that 7 hours of your life have disappeared into the ether. The steering wheel is simultaneously an unnecessary peripheral and an experience-changing addition. The control is very intuitive. You lean the wheel left, you turn left. It’s tight enough that you don’t have to overcompensate when straightening out of a turn, so you don’t feel like you’re sliding all over the track. And there’s really no learning curve. It makes sense from the moment you pick it up. There really isn’t anything new to this edition aside from the Wii-style controls, but it honestly doesn’t matter. The core gameplay is so fun, you’ll forget that you already played this on the Gamecube just a few years ago.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under Comics, Film, Weekend Revelations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.