The review is in! IRON MAN II Is a STINKER!

[fantastic_four]

She basically gave a one note performance (to be fair, that's the way it was written) wherein she solemnly said her lines, all the while delineating nothing of character, nuance or the fiery hot temper of the comic book version.

 

Apart from her attempt at looking stern, efficient and corporate (she looked bored for the most part) she had one ludicrous and quite brief fight sequence which belied her non-athleticism. She's an okay actress, who looked good in her costume, but her part could've been written out of the movie and it wouldn't've made any difference.

 

You could copy and paste these paragraphs and use them to describe any movie she's ever been in.

[tth2]

She basically gave a one note performance (to be fair, that's the way it was written) wherein she solemnly said her lines, all the while delineating nothing of character, nuance or the fiery hot temper of the comic book version.

 

Apart from her attempt at looking stern, efficient and corporate (she looked bored for the most part) she had one ludicrous and quite brief fight sequence which belied her non-athleticism. She's an okay actress, who looked good in her costume, but her part could've been written out of the movie and it wouldn't've made any difference.

 

You could copy and paste these paragraphs and use them to describe any movie she's ever been in.

Very true. I think the only movie I've ever liked her in was "Lost in Translation".

 

[comix4fun]

She basically gave a one note performance (to be fair, that's the way it was written) wherein she solemnly said her lines, all the while delineating nothing of character, nuance or the fiery hot temper of the comic book version.

 

Apart from her attempt at looking stern, efficient and corporate (she looked bored for the most part) she had one ludicrous and quite brief fight sequence which belied her non-athleticism. She's an okay actress, who looked good in her costume, but her part could've been written out of the movie and it wouldn't've made any difference.

 

You could copy and paste these paragraphs and use them to describe any movie she's ever been in.

Very true. I think the only movie I've ever liked her in was "Lost in Translation".

 

You've never seen Match Point then? <3

[goldust40]

She basically gave a one note performance (to be fair, that's the way it was written) wherein she solemnly said her lines, all the while delineating nothing of character, nuance or the fiery hot temper of the comic book version.

 

Apart from her attempt at looking stern, efficient and corporate (she looked bored for the most part) she had one ludicrous and quite brief fight sequence which belied her non-athleticism. She's an okay actress, who looked good in her costume, but her part could've been written out of the movie and it wouldn't've made any difference.

 

You could copy and paste these paragraphs and use them to describe any movie she's ever been in.

 

I agree entirely - she always seems totally disconnected from whatever role she's had, and is often so wooden it looks as if a chair's been thrown in the room when she appears on screen. Ironically, the one exception I can think of would be the embarrassingly bad The Spirit, where she at least looked as if she was having fun.

[BronzeBruce13]

She was pretty good in The Other Boleyn Girl I thought. Definitely not stern and disconnected. She was also good in He's Just Not That Into You

[marvelcollector]

She was pretty good in The Other Boleyn Girl I thought. Definitely not stern and disconnected. She was also good in He's Just Not That Into You

 

And The Horse Whisperer.

[goldust40]

She was pretty good in The Other Boleyn Girl I thought. Definitely not stern and disconnected. She was also good in He's Just Not That Into You

 

I haven't seen those flicks, but I've seen a fair few films she's been in - disconnected is her default setting, however - in Vicky Christina Barcelona she was so dispassonate compared to all the other leads, for example. Maybe directors are only looking for that glacial thing. She was okay in The Prestige....

 

[The Troll King]

Dust, you're pretty critical of her obviously.

Kinda chick-flick but not bad, she was great in The Nannie Diaries. Also good in The Island and The Girl With the Pearl Earring.

 

I'm not exactly sure where this "wooden" performer attitude of yours comes from when she's had many successful roles.

 

Now, if you said someone like Keanu Reeves is wooden then I'd absolutely agree but then again, he's kind of cast that way mostly at the very least every movie he's done in the last nearly 20 years.

[tth2]

She was okay in The Prestige....

The main problem with her role in The Prestige was that the character was totally superfluous. Not her fault, but if her character hadn't existed, I'm not sure it would've changed the movie one bit.

[goldust40]

Dust, you're pretty critical of her obviously.

 

I have been a bit harsh, that's true. It's not that I don't find her likeable (she is), it's just that her current pre-eminence has yet to foster a genuinely convincing role from her. It isn't necessarily about her acting chops - (Meryl Streep for example is a great technician as an actress but is equally detached in everything she's done) just that I've yet to see any real effort.

[fantastic_four]

She was pretty good in The Other Boleyn Girl I thought. Definitely not stern and disconnected. She was also good in He's Just Not That Into You

 

Haven't seen the Boleyn movie, but I disagree about He's Just Not That Into You, just saw that a few months ago when it came on HBO. The only tough scene she had was the one where she's stuck in the closet while that guy and Jennifer Connelly are having sex, and her reaction when she got out was just average. It's tough to think she's much of an actress in that film particularly since the lead chick was so much better in virtually every scene.

[fantastic_four]

I'm not exactly sure where this "wooden" performer attitude of yours comes from when she's had many successful roles.

 

A lot of it is her voice--it's somewhat masculine and fairly monotone, she needs some work on it. I haven't noticed much physical presence from her at all other than the weight her incredible body projects, but her movement is blah. I haven't seen all her movies, so maybe she's had some good performances, but most of the ones I've seen have been average at best. She's definitely shown more visible acting chops than say a Megan Fox.

 

And she plays demure well, which is why I like her...but demure isn't hard to play.

[rob_allan]

I saw this over the weekend in IMAX. I have to say, I may have liked it better than the first one. I think some of the criticism of the movie is borderline ridiculous. It's almost as if a movie about a guy that makes a robotic suit and flies around didn't have enough realism to do it for some people. Wha? Are you kidding me?

 

I also enjoyed Johanssen's role a great deal. Shame on you who were trying to judge her acting chops. I enjoyed her perfectly well and I didn't stop to think about how her acting was even once. Hawt.

 

-Rob-

[BaltimoreLauren]

I saw this over the weekend in IMAX. I have to say, I may have liked it better than the first one. I think some of the criticism of the movie is borderline ridiculous. It's almost as if a movie about a guy that makes a robotic suit and flies around didn't have enough realism to do it for some people. Wha? Are you kidding me?

 

 

-Rob-

 

I've heard a few people say the science behind Iron Man does not add up. It's like they missed the whole point of it being a movie based on a comic book character.

[AtlasFan]

I saw it this weekend in IMAX -- and I enjoyed it! Its a typical comic book movie.

RDJr is always fun to watch!

 

The only thing I was disappointed in was Stan's cameo. If he was supposed to be "Larry King", he should have at least interviewed Tony, Pepper, or someone. I would not have know Stan was supposed to be "Larry King" if I had not read it somewhere.

Bill

[capt_comics]

I saw this over the weekend in IMAX. I have to say, I may have liked it better than the first one. I think some of the criticism of the movie is borderline ridiculous. It's almost as if a movie about a guy that makes a robotic suit and flies around didn't have enough realism to do it for some people. Wha? Are you kidding me?

 

I also enjoyed Johanssen's role a great deal. Shame on you who were trying to judge her acting chops. I enjoyed her perfectly well and I didn't stop to think about how her acting was even once. Hawt.

 

-Rob-

 

+1

[The Black Hand ®]

I think she's a natural who's still learning. She's played a variety of different roles, which is great and a few years of intense training in Britain would benefit her, but by just continuing to do what she's doing will also help and 10 years from now she will have some great acting chops, if her career continues to go well and she keeps getting cast.

I loved her first scene in "Lost in Translation."

[goldust40]

I saw this over the weekend in IMAX. I have to say, I may have liked it better than the first one. I think some of the criticism of the movie is borderline ridiculous. It's almost as if a movie about a guy that makes a robotic suit and flies around didn't have enough realism to do it for some people. Wha? Are you kidding me?

 

I also enjoyed Johanssen's role a great deal. Shame on you who were trying to judge her acting chops. I enjoyed her perfectly well and I didn't stop to think about how her acting was even once. Hawt.

 

-Rob-

 

Realism? But that's the cornerstone of all super-hero movies.

 

Johanssen phoned in her performance...the only two leads who looked game were RDJ and Rourke, and the latter had so little to work with.

 

Anyone who goes to see a super-hero flick (with the possible exception of anything by Nolan) expecting anything other than a bit of hokey fluff is barmy.

 

HIgh production values aside (they're a given) because everything is conceptually ludicrous and aimed at a younger demographic, just what can a 40-something bloke hope for in an event movie like this one? Some wit and a decent -script wouldn't have hurt.

 

And with all that talent on screen, there should've been a bit more for us grumpy old gits to contend with.

 

Right, I'm off back to my Bergman, Herzog and Kurosawa box sets. I need cheering up.

[The Troll King]

I saw it this weekend in IMAX -- and I enjoyed it! Its a typical comic book movie.

RDJr is always fun to watch!

 

The only thing I was disappointed in was Stan's cameo. If he was supposed to be "Larry King", he should have at least interviewed Tony, Pepper, or someone. I would not have know Stan was supposed to be "Larry King" if I had not read it somewhere.

Bill

 

Right before they showed Stan they said "Larry King"

 

[The Troll King]

I'd like to add that although I was critical of the birthday scene (in the other Iron Man 2 thread) I can understand why it was left in as an homage to DJ AM who died two months after filming.