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As expected, Iron Man fails the John Wayne Purity Test for some:
“Peace,” says Tony Stark, the weapons manufacturer hero of Iron Man, “means having a bigger stick than the other guy.” Could it be that we’re in for a superhero action movie that blasts away at the senses with cynically funny escapism and an unapologetic celebration of American swagger? “Ensuring freedom and protecting American interests” are Tony’s stated goals, especially if he can make a lot of money in the process, and what’s more American than that?
So it’s a letdown when the movie spends the second half being very apologetic indeed. You come to Iron Man to see a bullet-proof one-man flying tank, not hear a Ralph Nader lecture on how American industry is responsible for all the wars in the world. Does even Ralph Nader attend a superhero movie hoping to swallow a guilt trip along with his Jujubes?
[...]
We don’t want a fantasy movie to be a cliché, but we don’t want it to stray too far from the familiar either, and anyway Iron Man merely substitutes one cliché for another: must we be tricked into sitting through another America-as-root-of-all-evil message? Must this superhero be powered by super-shame?
The comments at PeePee media are amusing in their own way:
I read the Iron Man comics in my youth. They were my favorite. Tony Stark was a fallible hero I understood : a drunk who lost it all, crawled out of the bottle and earned it back, patriotic and capitalistic. I thought Robert Downey Jr was an excellent choice to play Stark, they have similar career ups and downs. Really, so similar it’s spooky. But … alas Hollywood is more interested in scoring points at their own dinner parties than making a good product. It comes out in everything they do, sometimes in little ways, sometimes in large ones. This just changed from ‘must own’ to rent for me. /sigh Is nothing above political perversion?
I’d be interested in Roger Simon’s comments on the economics of this. As I understand it, 60% of film revenue comes from overseas. Hey, that market largely hates America and loves this stuff – probably significantly as a result of Hollywood selling them negative images about America for decades.
In that case, these anti-American bastards in Hollywood are making money from trashing the country that has been so good to them.
Before people who have actually seen the movie call "bullshit":
I had mixed feelings about this movie while watching it. Its an enjoyable movie for the most part. I would say it never is anti-US military or even anti-US government, but it is anti-arms manufacturing and business. The villains in the movie are a US corporate executive (standard Hollywood fare) but also a bunch of foreign terrorists from the ’stans with a distinctly brownish hue to their skin. The preachiness regarding US arms manufacturers is unwarranted, as US arms manufacturers are highly regulated and unable to even attempt the things the the rogue executive was able to do.
Oh please, the movie was great. You are being way too fricken critical re: the responsibility of wars deal, and I say that as a veteran, pro-war for peach kind of guy. It potrays the US military is a good light which is a fricken miracle these days.
I think you purposefully found fault where it does not exist just to have an interesting review.
The movie rocks. It is pro-American in every aspect. Sit back and enjoy
Great Movie with active audience reception. This is a Marvel comic, not DC, so some ambiguity and internal battle is going to be there. No doubt though, Iron Man is the *good guy*. And it’s not just his tech, it’s his brain and his heart and his humanity. This move should be a HUGE hit with the Military.
Even the guys at Libertas are going all squishy when they find out that their All American Steely Resolve is no match for their fanboy boners, although I found this comment amusing:
As an independent voter I’m not sure how to feel about this review.
As a wise man once said, ""Luke, trust your feelings. Use the Force, Luke, let go."
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these WATBs must have read different comics then I have, cause it was pretty much dead on to the source material. He was always conflicted about the military and his role in it. I think there should be more movies about self-destructive chronic alcoholic superheroes.
I think it’s sad that people give a fuck about what a comic-book movie says.
Of course, these folks have comic-book brains, so what should I expect?
I’m still wondering when people began unironically referring to themselves as “pro-war”. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, Any war in particular, or just generally well-disposed toward wars in general?
I also kinda dig the pairing of “patriotic” and “capitalistic” as super-hero virtues. These people genuinely are nuts, aren’t they.
I also kinda dig the pairing of “patriotic” and “capitalistic” as super-hero virtues. These people genuinely are nuts, aren’t they.
If these chuckle heads were writing comics, Superman would have been started working for LexCorp a long time ago; Spiderman would still be pulling the fat money in pro-wrestling; and Batman would hang up his tights and would trade junk bonds.
It is axiomatic that anyone who wants to hear the opinion of Roger L. Simon is waiting to inherit the wind.
You know, there is one thing that has bothered me since I saw the film and have read reviews talking about the people who kidnapped Stark as terrorists. They aren’t terrorists or at least nothing indicates that they are except that they are swarthy and have dark complexions. Its pretty clear that they are Afghani Warlords with pretty much zero interest in holy wars. It is certainly no mystery why they can be casually referred to as terrorists insofar as that seems to be the common language for any darkly complected villain these days but it still really irks me.
“…I think there should be more movies about self-destructive chronic alcoholic superheroes.”
I’ve had enough of self-destructive, chronic alcoholic,
superheroeschuckleheaded incompetents to last me a lifetime.Let’s have a movie with them all in the dock at The Hague.
Clearly, the real conservative hero in this movie is Obadiah Stane. Talk about a patriotic capitalist! He sells weapons to anybody with cash. He cruises around in a giant SUV in Third-World countries. He’s a big, broad-shouldered manly man who smokes expensive cigars. He is condescending toward women. His iron suit is big and menacing and brutal-looking, perfect for picking up some little country and throwing it against the wall. Also, he worries a lot about Stark Industries’ stock price.