Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

As early as October 2011 (before the first Avengers film was even released), head of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige mentioned that there were plans for a second Avengers movie. In May 2012 Head of Disney Bob Iger officially announced that the sequel was happening. In August 2012. it was confirmed the Joss Whedon would return to direct the sequel. About doing the sequel Whedon stated, "I have to make my movie assuming that people will only have seen the first one, or possibly not even seen the first one. I can't assume that everybody went to see Thor [The Dark World], Captain America [The Winter Soldier], and Iron Man [3] in-between. I have to go from one movie to the next and be true to what's happened, but not be slavish to it [...] The model I'm always trying to build from, my guiding star, is The Godfather Part II where a ton has happened in-between and it's a very different movie [from The Godfather], but you don't need any information: it's there in the film." 

In this film, because of the events in the previous film, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) create a program they call Ultron to keep the world safe from all threats. Ultron (James Spader) though takes on a robotic body and decides that Earth would be safer without humans in it. The Avengers (Downey, Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johanson, Jermey Reyner, Chris Hemsworth) must team up again to stop Ultron. Meanwhile Ultron convinces two super powered twins to help him, Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).

This is an excellent film and one of the most underrated MCU films. What this movie does extremely well is to raise the stakes from the first film. The danger feels much more real and present here and therefore the suspense is also raised. The main reason for this is the main villain. Ultron is a truly wonderful villain. Not only does he feel like a major threat to our heroes, but he also is a very compelling character. The very premise of a program created by the Avengers taking on a life of its own yet becoming the enemy of the Avengers is already a compelling one. The way Ultron views the world and the Avengers is quite well-written. While his point of view is warped, you can still understand where he comes from. What also makes this character compelling is how it takes on characteristics of Tony Stark himself. His jokes and snarky attitude sound like Tony Stark because he was created by Stark. Frankly watching what is essentially an evil Iron Man makes for fun watching but it also gives us a greater understanding of the dark side of Tony. The twins he gets to help him, don't get enough screentime to develop as strong of personalities but they are very effective as threats. We can easily see how Scarlet Witch's powers can tear apart the Avengers from the inside and what she does to our main heroes obviously leaves emotional wounds that can't be healed easily. As well as this the movie also does a great job of exploring who our heroes are and what makes them tick. The characters are much more emotionally vulnerable here and this makes them feel much more real to us. The movie also does an especially great job of giving us a better glimpse of who Hawkeye is (as we didn't get to know much about him in the previous movie) and why a guy who shoots arrows is so important to a team that literally has a god on it. This movie also benefits from very strong action sequences that even top those in the first movie. 

Unlike the previous movie where the humor hit constantly, here it is a bit hit and miss. There are moments here that are legitimately quite funny (I especially love the elevator joke towards the end). However, there are also times when it can fall completely flat. There are quite a few forced quips here that feel like they are simply there because they are expected. This makes some of the humor lose the natural feel it had in the first movie. 

 Chief among the flaws is that the romantic relationship between Hulk and Black Widow, doesn't work. It feels forced, bland and quite undeveloped. The plot also can rely too much on supposedly smart characters acting dumb simply because the plot says they should. 

The movie was a financial success grossing $1.403 billion worldwide making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2015. On its opening weekend alone, it grossed $392.5 million making it the seventh largest ever opening weekend.

Critically it received quite mixed reviews. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times stated, "Although this movie is effective moment to moment, very little of it lingers in the mind afterward. The ideal vehicle for our age of immediate sensation and instant gratification, it disappears without a trace almost as soon as it's consumed." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone stated, ""Age of Ultron is a whole summer of fireworks packed into one movie. It doesn't just go to 11, it starts there. [Joss Whedon] takes a few wrong turns, creating a jumble when the action gets too thick. But he recovers like a pro, devising a spectacle that's epic in every sense of the word." Richard Rooper gave the movie three and a half out of four stars stating, "Someday, an Avengers film might collapse under the weight of its own awesomeness. I mean, how many times can they save the world? But this is not that day."

This movie introduced Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Quick Silver (although Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver had a tiny cameo in the post credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)) and Vision to the MCU. Ultron was first introduced to the comics in Avengers #54 (July 1968). In the comics he was created by Hank Pym not Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Vision was introduced in the comics not much later. He first appeared in Avengers #57 (October 1968) in the comics he was originally created by Ultron to trap the Avengers. However, he would have a change of heart and end up joining the Avengers. Him and Scarlett Witch would have a romantic relationship both in the movies and the comics. Scarlet Witch made her first comic book appearance in X-Men #4 (March 1964). Quick Silver also first appeared in the same issue. Though both Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch have strong ties to the X-Men, at the time this film was being made, 20th Century Fox had the film rights for the X-Men. Because of this for the MCU, their origin stories were changed to fit into a Marvel Universe without the X-Men. In the comics Quick Silver and Scarlet Witch joined the Avengers in Avengers #16 (May 1965). 

Resources Used

The Marvel Encyclopedia published by DK Books
 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/avengers-sequel-comic-con-mark-ruffalo-249014/

https://web.archive.org/web/20140815052937/https://deadline.com/2012/05/disney-announces-avengers-2-in-development-268528/

https://variety.com/2012/film/news/joss-whedon-to-write-direct-avengers-sequel-1118057576/

https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle=18630302.html

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2395427/?ref_=bo_cso_table_18

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-avengers-review-20150430-column.html

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/avengers-age-of-ultron-251411/

https://web.archive.org/web/20150430020626/http://entertainment.suntimes.com/movies/avengers-age-ultron-marvel-humor-peril-comic-book-triumph/

https://www.reviewingcomics.com/marvel/avengers-1963/avengers-16/

The Avengers (2012)

 

It is hard to overstate just how big of a deal The Avengers was to the climate of superhero movies. While hints of a big, connected Marvel Cinematic Universe were in place since Iron Man (2008), here is where it official came to fruition. Now that these characters from separate solo movies were now all appearing together in the same film with their storylines all intersecting, it was clear that the superhero movie would never be the same. 

In this film, Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleson) comes to Earth and finds the incredibly powerful Tesseract. With this new power, he tries to take over the Earth. Earth's Mightiest heroes, Captain America (Chris Evans, Black Widow (Scarlett Johannsson), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), must reluctantly team up to save the day. 

This is everything a superhero movie should be. It is action packed, exciting, funny, larger than life and just incredibly entertaining. This movie is simply a blast to watch from start to finish. Even with all the has come after in the MCU, this movie has not lost any of its luster. 

Yet as exciting and action packed as this movie is, what really makes it so great is the characters. Each of these characters are very well defined on their own. Even with the number of characters, not one of them is wasted. Each of the Avengers get their own chance to shine. Still, it is how these characters interact with each other that really stands out. Each of these characters has a well-defined relationship with each of the other characters. This makes each of them feel all the more real to us and makes us even more invested in these already great characters. Many movie fans have talked a lot about the humor in this film and quote comedic lines from this movie regularly. However, what makes this humor work so well is that it all comes so naturally from the characters. Through a lot of the funny moments, we even get a greater understanding of who these characters actually are. As funny and quotable as the humor is, it is never simply comedy for the sake of comedy but plays a role in telling the story. 

The story itself is a rather simple affair. It is a basic good vs. evil superhero story that we all know. However, there is a reason that these types of stories have remained popular for so long and that is that they work. Sometimes a simple story thar is well told is exactly what we want from a movie and that is exactly what this film offers. 

Another great asset to this movie is Alan Silvestri's score. Silvestri had previously scored Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and he even tops himself with The Avengers. His score is appropriately heroic and inspiring perfect for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. The main theme he uses throughout has almost taken on the same legacy as John Williams' Superman theme and Danny Elfman's Batman theme. It is easily recognizable and captures the characters perfectly. About working on this film the composer stated, "I've worked on films where there have been a number of stars and certainly worked on films where there have been characters of equal weight in terms of their level of importance and profile in the film, but this one is somewhat extreme in that regard because each of these characters has their own world and it's a very different situation. It's very challenging to look for a way to give everyone the weight and consideration they need, but at the same time the film is really about the coming together of these characters, which implies that there is this entity called the Avengers which really has to be representative of all of them together."

Plans for an Avengers movie started as early as 2003. Movie producer, Avi Arad, first announced these plans in April 2005. By 2006, it was announced that individual characters would appear in solo films before the big crossover event would happen. With the success of Iron Man, a July 2011 release date was set for the movie. By March 2009 the release date was moved to May 4, 2012.

 In July 2010, Joss Wheadon was officially assigned to direct the movie. At this time Wheadon was best known for his television work. He was the creator of the TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. About this casting decision Marvel Studio head Kevin James stated, "I've known Joss for many years. We were looking for the right thing and he came in and met on it [...] we want to find a director that's on the verge of doing something great, as we think Joss is." Wheadon himself was drawn to the film because of the dynamic between these characters. At the 2010 San Deigo Comic Con Wheadon stated, "these people shouldn't be in the same room let alone on the same team—and that is the definition of family." He elaborated on this elsewhere by stating, ""It goes back to the very first incarnation of The Avengers, it goes to The Ultimates, it goes to everything about it. It makes no sense, it's ridiculous. There's a thunder god, there's a green 'id' giant rage monster, there's Captain America from the 40s, there's Tony Stark who definitely doesn't get along with anybody. Ultimately these people don't belong together and the whole movie is about finding yourself from community. And finding that you not only belong together but you need each other, very much. Obviously, this will be expressed through punching, but it will be the heart of the film." Wheadon however was very unhappy with Zak Penn's (who wrote The Incredible Hulk (2008)) original script, which he felt lacked any real connections between the characters. Wheadon re-wrote much of the script. Though Wheadon ended up sharing a co-writing credit with Penn, Wheadon had fought for having sole writing credit. 

This movie premiered on April 11, 2012 at Disney's El Capitan Theatre. The film earned $1.519 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing movie of 2012 and what was the third highest grossing movie ever at the time. Not only was it a finical success but it was also a critical one. 

Resources Used

https://gizmodo.com/joss-whedon-says-captain-america-and-iron-man-wont-be-p-5595293

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/the-avengers-battle-of-new-york-joss-whedon

https://variety.com/2005/film/news/marvel-touts-par-s-hero-worship-1117921854/

https://www.superherohype.com/features/96489-marvel-studios-sets-four-more-release-dates

https://web.archive.org/web/20101008211821/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1644849/20100730/story.jhtml

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-milestone-avengers-number-three-332331/

https://www.marvel.com/news/story/17069/alan_silvestri_to_score_marvels_the_avengers

Michael's Christmas Movie Guide: Iron Man 3 (2013)

 

Iron Man 3 was the first of the live action Iron Man movies (not counting The Avengers (2012)) to be directed by someone other than Jon Favreau (though he still served as an executive producer and played the character of Happy). The director instead would be Shane Black. Shane Black had made his directorial debut with another movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). His other directorial effort The Nice Guys (2016), The Predator (2018) and Play Dirty (2025). Before becoming a director, he worked as a writer on such movies as Lethal Weapon (1987), The Monster Squad (1987), Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), The Last Boy Scout (1991) and Last Action Hero (1993). About taking over this film series Black stated, "truthfully, the way to go about doing a part 3, if you're ever in that position, as I'm lucky enough to be, is to find a way that the first two weren't done yet. You have to find a way to make sure that the story that's emerging is still ongoing and, by the time you've finished 3, will be something resembling the culmination of a trilogy. It's about, 'How has the story not yet been completely told?,' and I think we're getting there. I think we've really found ways to make this feel organic and new, based on what's come before, and that's what I'm happy about." 

In this film, Tony Stark finds himself during with strong PTSD after the events of The Avengers. He is having bad anxiety attacks and is having trouble sleeping. Meanwhile a terrorist known as the Mandarin is supposedly behind a series of bombings. When Tony investigates, he discovers that there might be more going on here than meets the eye. 

This is one of the most underrated MCU films. It is rarely listed when people talk about the best Marvel movies, however it is truly excellent. 

Like many of the best superhero movies, this functions as a character study first and foremost. Tony Stark feels even more real and human here than in the other MCU films. After two solo movies and one Avengers film, it is amazing that the filmmakers were able to find a new side to Tony to explore here. Exploring the character's anxieties and unhealthy obsession with control is a great route to go here. The way the film deals with these sides to him are incredibly well done. It feels very real, giving a strong weight to this superhero film. This vulnerability is increased by having Tony separated from his Iron Man suit for the majority of the film. The movie feels like a real-world drama at many times with a few comic book style embellishments and this is the secret to why it is so effective. 

This movie's story is also quite refreshing. It is rare to find a 21st century action packed Hollywood blockbuster that is not completely predictable. Yet this movie has some very clever twists and turns that initially took me by surprise. The film does a great job of building clear expectations and then completely subverting them in very intelligent ways. 

Though the action is not the focus here, the action scenes are excellent, living up to the high standards laid in place by the previous films. This action scenes are quite exciting and often feel larger than life.   

The movie does have some flaws though. The pacing is off at times. Certain scenes go on too long, while some plot points and subplots are quite rushed. The humor can also fall quite flat at times (though there are a couple really funny moments here) and is not always in tune with the more serious tone of much of the movie. 

These flaws though are very well drowned out by all the elements that are truly great here.   

About how this movie ended up taking place around Christmas Shane Black stated, "Well it just sort of evolved oddly enough in Iron Man 3, because I had resisted it. It was [co-screenwriter] Drew [Pearce] who taught me... I think it's a sense of if you're doing something on an interesting scale that involves an entire universe of characters, one way to unite them is to have them all undergo a common experience. There's something at Christmas that unites everybody and it already sets a stage within the stage, that wherever you are, you're experiencing this world together. I think that also there's something just pleasing about it to me. I mean I did LETHAL WEAPON back in '87 and Joe liked it so much he put Die Hard at Christmas and there was some fun to that. So, look, you don't have to do every film that way." He would add "It's a time of reckoning for a lot of people, when you take stock of how you got to where you are now and lonely people are lonelier at Christmas and you tend to notice things more acutely, I think."

This film was a major box office success grossing $1.266 billion worldwide. The movie outgrossed Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010) combined. It would be the second highest grossing movie of 2013 with Disney's Frozen being the top film. Critical reviews were mostly positive, though not as glowing as was the case for the first Iron Man.  

Resources Used

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2013/

https://www.slashfilm.com/525964/why-iron-man-3-is-a-christmas-movie/

https://collider.com/robert-downey-jr-shane-black-iron-man-3-interview/

Iron Man 2 (2010)

 

Iron Man 2 marked the first MCU film to function as direct sequel to another. Production on this movie began not long after the release of Iron Man (2008). In fact, production began the same month as that movie's release. 

In this sequel, after revealing that he is Iron Man, Tony Stark is letting the fame of being Iron Man go straight to his head. At the same time, he learns that the arc reactor that is keeping him alive is also slowly killing him. Worried about his health he appoints his assistant and love interest Pepper Potts to become CEO of Stark Industries. His stress about his failing health and the pressure of being a superhero is getting to him to the point where is developing a real alcohol problem. Things truly get out of hand though when a man with similar technology to him and ties to his father decides to seek revenge on Tony Stark and the Stark name. 

Though this may not live up to the greatness of the first film, there is quite a bit about this movie to like. The character exploration of Tony Stark is wonderful here. This movie greatly delves into his flaws. Through this we get to understand him better as a human being and what makes Tony Stark who he is. Even as we delve into his flaws, we also get a good glimpse at why he is still a hero despite them. Of course, Robert Downey Jr.'s performance adds so much to this as he is able to add a lot of humanity to any role he plays. The rest of the cast is great as well. Gwyneth Paltrow is once again wonderful as Tony's assistant/love interest. Don Cheadle does a great job replacing Terrence Howard as Tony's best buddy. Samuel L. Jackson is wonderful as always. Scarlett Johanson is already stealing the show in her first appearance as Black Widow. Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke make great villains. This movie also benefits from very strong and exciting action scenes. The climatic action scene is especially wonderful. 

This film is however quite messy at times. What made the first film so wonderful is that it had a simple straightforward story with no excess. This sequel however tries to do too much. There is the effect of Tony's fame, his declining health, the government accusing him of having unlawful weapons, the romance between him and Pepper Potts, his fight with his best friend, his alcoholism, Pepper Potts taking over the company, the introduction of Black Widow and of course the main villain's story. This is a whole lot to do over the course of one movie. The result is that it can often feel unfocused and overlong (even if it is one minute shorter than the first movie). The parts are often quite good, but they don't always work together to create a better whole. 

Today for fans of Superhero movies, Scarlett Johansson and Black Widow are one in the same. Yet she was not the first choice to play the character. Emily Blunt was quite heavily considered for the role, but scheduling conflicts arose because of her appearing in Gulliver's Travels (2010). Blunt was very disappointed in this and would state about losing this role, "Because I just have to do this Fox movie, and it's fine and I'm gonna have fun. The whole beginning of the year has been rather dramatic, so I'd just rather go in with fresh eyes and know that I've made the right decision. You just don't know until it's all finished and done with, do you?" Scarlett Johansson greatly wanted the role and heavily lobbied for it. Johansson would state, “People were surprised that I wanted to play a comic book heroine, but I loved Iron Man, and I met with Marvel to see what was possible. I had done my research, and the Black Widow character resonated with me. She is dark and has faced death so many times that she has a deep perspective on the value of life. In the sequel, you learn more about the sadness in her past.” She added “I think of her that way. Black Widow is a superhero, but she’s also human. She’s small, but she’s strong. It’s hard not to admire her.”

Terrence Howard not reprising his role in this movie was not due to Howard not wanting to reprise his role. He was the first actor hired for Iron Man and therefore paid the largest salary. When the second film came about, Marvel Studios decided to not pay him anywhere near as much. Howard stated, “We did a three-picture deal. So that means, you did the deal ahead of time. It was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, certain amount for the third. They came to me [for] the second and said, ‘We will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”

Director Jon Favreau returned for this sequel. However, the film's main writer was someone completely new to Marvel. Justin Theroux had written the script for Tropic Thunder (2008), which also featured Robert Downey Jr and Downey recommended him to Marvel. 

Having worked as a storyboard artist on this film was none other than Genndy Tartakovsky. Genndy Tartakovsky is well known to animation fans as the creator of Dextor's Laboratory and Samurai Jack as well as the director of the first three Hotel Transylvania movies and Fixed (2025). About working with him Jon Favreau stated " I had Genndy Tartakovsky. I’ve always liked SAMURAI JACK and I loved his CLONE WARS vignettes that he did. I’ve always liked his work, a lot. And I had met with him, we had lunch together just because I enjoy his stuff and I wanted to meet him. I really dig his sense of humor and his sense of rhythm, and the way that he acknowledges the same cinematic masters that I really love the work of, like (Akira) Kurosawa and (Sergio) Leone. And he finds a way to pastiche it without ever undermining the stakes or the reality of the tension that’s created in his action sequences. Now clearly his stuff is a bit broad for a live action film but I love his rhythm and his attention to detail. It has a real comic booky feel but yet it feels cinematic and not gimmicky and even his cartoons feel… there’s an elegance to them. So in this process as we’re storyboarding and designing sequences he and his team have come in and I’m working with them and they’re working on collaborating with us on the project and that’s a new wrinkle and it allows me… I feel like I’m really learning a lot from collaborating with this guy. And then he has the original IRON MAN film to draw from and he also has a pretty deep knowledge of Marvel. So, he is transitioning into live-action features, which I have no doubt in collaborating with him that he will. There’s a transition that he’s making that hopefully I could be helpful with and at the same time as I move from dialogue and character and story-driven filmmaking I’m able to understand the way to approach action in an interesting and elegant way. So, it’s been a very, very fun collaboration so far." 

Iron Man 2 was a box office success and at the time had the fifth highest box office weekend opening. The movie went on to be the tenth highest grossing movie of 2010. Critics were mostly positive, feeling that overall, it was a good movie but not exceptional the way its predecessor was. 

Resources Used

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/terrence-howard-accuses-robert-downey-656521/

https://www.wmagazine.com/story/scarlett-johansson-new-mom-the-avengers

https://web.archive.org/web/20090302132621/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/02/emily-blunt-on-losing-black-widow.html

https://variety.com/2009/film/news/emily-blunt-rumored-for-iron-man-2-1117998515/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228705/

https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/38907




   

 

Iron Man (2008)

 

2008 is quite possibly the most important year for superhero movies. This is mainly due to two films that came out that year. It was the year both The Dark Knight and Iron Man were released. The Dark Knight helped usher in more mature and thematically significant superhero films. At the same Iron Man began the phenomenon that would become known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the many films and streaming series that have come out since then, Iron Man still remains one of the strongest MCU entries.

In this film, Tony Stark, the billionaire head of the weapon manufacturing company Stark Industries, rethinks everything when he is kidnapped and held in an Afghan cave. There he finds that terrorists have a hold of his weapons. He creates a weaponized suit of armor to help fight evil himself becoming the superhero Iron Man. 

This still stands as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Its not-so-secret weapon is Robert Downey Jr. as the main character. He is utterly fantastic here and makes you easily believe every second. He is charismatic in a way that you can completely understand how so many falls so easily under his character's charm. He delivers the comedic moments with an expertly handled sarcastic wit. Yet he can also truly make you feel the emotions in the more serious moments. While this movie works heavily due to him, the supporting cast is also great including his love interest (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his best buddy (Terrence Howard). Both of these co-stars not only are excellent in their roles, but they have great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. Much of the film's success is also due to Jeff Bridges as the villain. He is perfectly cast as a villain that you simply love to hate. Many of the later MCU films would suffer from weak villains making it quite extraordinary that the first MCU villain is actually a complete success. 

Another important factor for this film's success is the balance of tone. This movie perfectly knows when to be dead serious and when to be silly comic book style fun. The filmmakers and cast were able to capture both the serious moments and the fun moments completely perfectly. Unlike in some later MCU movies, the sillier moments and the more serious moments never get in the way of each other. This is because both come so naturally out of the story and characters that you don't even think about the tonal shift. Instead, both aspects just feel like a natural progression of the story. The serious scenes also hold a surprising amount of weight reflecting on the time it was made in and the political turmoil present. Yet it always has enough humor and comic book fun to keep the movie from becoming too serious. The humor and action here are both excellent. There are multiple times watching this movie that I laughed out loud. The action set pieces are fantastic being both a lot of fun and full of a real sense of tenseness. The final battle still remains one of the action highlights of the MCU.

 

One of the most important parts of this film is its after credits scene, where Nick Fury shows up to tell our hero about the Avengers initiative. Not only did this start the trend of superhero films having a post credit scene (which would eventually become true of most franchise films), but it also hinted at this movie being a part of a much bigger universe, something that had never been done previously. Originally there were hints in this scene about the X-Men and Spider-Man, both of which at the time had their movie rights owned by other studios. Spider-Man wouldn't join the MCU until Captain America: Civil War (2016) and the first MCU X-Men movie is yet to be released. About casting Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, director Jon Favreau stated, "We wanted something for the fans.... Nick Fury from the Ultimates — which is a new series of books that sort of reconceives the tradition of Marvel characters — he was always depicted to resemble Samuel L. Jackson. And so I turned to [Marvel Studios President] Kevin Feige and said, 'You know what would blow their minds? Should we so this?' Kevin was like, 'Let's try.' And then we actually pulled it together. It was just a little scene, just a little tip of the hat for the fans that we were paying attention to what had been established, and a way to sort of tee up the Avengers. We brought [Jackson] in on a secret day of shooting, we had a skeleton crew so that the secret wouldn't get out — and then, like, not even a week later, it got out. Sam was trying to deny it. It became a big deal. People were sure and they knew about it and they knew it was real. I don't know how they knew. Somehow it slipped.... It was Kevin's idea to cut [the scene] off all preview prints. And so the fan boys who would interview me [before the movie opened] would be like, 'What happened? Did you cut it out? Is it going to be on the DVD?' I was like, 'Look, it's only fun if it's a surprise.' Then we slapped it right back on the print for the premiere, so the first people to see it in theaters actually got to see it for the first time. I think that was a very, very clever way to keep the dialogue going with the fans, because if you don't have any tricks up your sleeve, they feel like they've already seen the whole movie before they did."

As well as directing the film, Jon Favreau also acted in the movie playing Tony's bodyguard and chauffer, Happy. He would return to this role in plenty of the future MCU movies. Favreau had been acting in films since the 1990's appearing in such movies as Rudy (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Deep Impact (1998), The Replacements (2000) and Daredevil (2003). His pre-Iron Man directorial efforts include Elf (2003) and Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005). Though he would go on to act in more MCU films, Favreau would only direct one more, Iron Man 2 (2010). His most famous post-Iron Man directorial efforts were the "live action" Disney remakes, The Jungle Book (2016) and The Lion King (2019). 

The credited writers on this film are Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. This is the only MCU movie for any of these writers. However, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway would work on two non-MCU Marvel movies, Punisher: War Zone (2008) and Kraven the Hunter (2024). Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby would work on another Jon Favreau movie, Cowboys and Aliens (2011). 

The movie was a major hit grossing $585.8 million worldwide. It had the eleventh biggest opening weekend at the time. Not only did audiences enjoy this movie but critics praised it as well. Roger Ebert gave the movie four out of four stars. He especially praised Robert Downy Jr.'s performance stating, "At the end of the day it's Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies." A.O. Scott of The New York Times called this, "an unusually good superhero picture. Or at least – since it certainly has its problems – a superhero movie that's good in unusual ways." Leonard Maltin had a contrary opinion. In his famous movie guide he states, "Not-bad adaption of the Marvel comic book ... but there are too many misfired ideas (like the Middle Eastern setting, uncomfortably real for a piece of escapist entertainment) and a retro heroine in Paltrow's lovesick Girl Friday." After the box office and critical success David Maisel (who was Marvel Studio's chairman) stated, “I couldn’t imagine a better blast off for our new Marvel Studios than this. The Marvel brand is beloved. People know it stands for a summer, family-friendly action movie. And we had fantastic casting.”

Resources Used

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide: The Modern Era by Leonard Maltin. 

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/iron-man-2008

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/movies/02iron.html

https://ew.com/movies/2019/09/14/deleted-iron-man-post-credits-scene-kevin-feige/

The Invincible Iron Man (2007)

 

The Invincible Iron Man marked the third in a series of direct to video animated Marvel movies (it was preceded by Ultimate Avengers: The Movie (2006) and Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther (2006)). It also predates the first of the live action Iron Man movies by a little more than a year making this Iron Man's first solo feature film. 

In this film, despite resistance from Stark Industries Board of directors, Tony Stark uncovers an ancient Chinese city and accidently releases an ancient evil. To the villain Mandarin from being brought back to life, Tony creates an armor suit and becomes the superhero Iron Man. 

Though this movie does not reach the heights of the MCU Iron Man movies (especially the first and third one), it is an enjoyable film. Tony Stark here is exactly the character we all know and love. Like all the best versions of this character, he is very flawed here, but it is how he overcomes his flaws and does the right thing that makes him so appealing. The storyline is very basic and predictable. However, it does its job well enough and allows for some surprisingly good emotional moments as Tony deals with having let down his father. The scenes between Tony and his father are excellent. The action scenes are quite fantastic and often the highlight of the movie. These scenes are quite exciting, very well paced and have a great sense of scale. The animation in these scenes is also surprisingly quite good for a direct to video movie. Though the animation may not be quite as great in other parts of the movie, this is made up for by strong character design. The background art is also very strong creating a great sense of atmosphere to the scenes in China.  

What this movie lacks though is the presence of a strong villain. Most of the villains receive so little screen time that they are not properly developed. Some of these villains are so bland and forgettable that they simply run together in your mind. There is a twist villain at the end but frankly this comes off as too little too late. 

This film's directors are Patrick Archibald, Jay Oliva and Frank Paur. All three of these directors will have work that is immediately familiar to fans of superhero animation. Frank Paur had directed episodes of such popular superhero cartoon shows as Batman: The Animated Series, X-Men Evolution and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He would later be a director on the Marvel animated direct to video movies Doctor Strange (2007) and Planet Hulk (2010). As well as being a director Paur also worked as a character designer for this movie. Jay Oliva was a director on many direct to video superhero movies including Doctor Strange, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (2012), Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013), Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and many more. Oliva also worked as a storyboard artist on many of the live action theatrical movies for both DC and Marvel.  Patrick Archibald directed episodes of the animated TV shows Spider-Man Unlimited and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. He would again serve as director on the next direct to video animated Marvel movie, Doctor Strange. He also served as a storyboard artist on the animated TV shows, Static Shock, Wolverine and the X-Men, The Super Hero Squad Show and The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. 

Based on a story by himself, Avi Arad and Craig Kyle, the screenplay was written by Greg Johnson. Greg Johnson had written episodes of such animated superhero TV shows as X-Men Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men and Spidey and His Amazing Friends. He also would write for such direct to video animated Marvel movies as Ultimate Avengers: The Movie, Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther, Doctor Strange, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Planet Hulk and Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011).  
  

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Far From Home

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

Review: Just like how Avengers: Infinity War was followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp, the massive Avengers: Endgame is followed by the lighthearted and very fun Spider-Man: Far From Home. This is not a big scale film by any means, but rather a film that has no goals to be anything more than lighthearted escapism. It succeeds very well at this, and is a movie that I am sure nearly every Marvel fan will enjoy.

Just as much as this is a superhero movie, it is also a lighthearted high school aged romantic comedy.  MJ (Zendaya) has grown up and become much more of an interesting and likable character than she was in Homecoming. Her and Peter (Tom Holland) truly have fantastic chemistry together. It is strange to use the word adorable in a review of a Spider-Man movie, but they truly do make an adorable couple. They are equally sweet, awkward and smart, yet still stand out as different, unique personalities. Every scene between them is not only charming, but feels perfectly natural. Peter's best friend (Jacob Batalon) also gets a love interest (Angourie Rice) in this movie. This couple is played much more for laughs and this is quite effective as they provide many funny moments. Some of the funniest moments come from our old friend Happy (Jon Favreau). Even Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) can at times be played for laughs and again very effectively. The action itself is typically good Marvel action.

None of this is to say there are no serious moments in this movie (if you haven't seen Endgame yet skip this paragraph). Peter feels like he is expected to be the next Iron Man, but also that he is simply unable to do this. He feels that he is just a kid and a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Because of this he is constantly doubting himself and wondering why Tony would choose him. He is also so hurt by Tony's death that he can't muster up the same enthusiasm for crime fighting as he did in Homecoming. This is extremely relatable and just makes the character feel much more real to us.

True this film is very predictable and the villain's plan is too complex for its own good. Still neither of these stop the fun from coming, and this is still an excellent film.

-Michael J. Ruhland