Iron Man 2

The Plot

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies.

The Review

With Hollywood always looking to go over the top, there is no matter better character than Tony Stark/Iron Man. He is the opposite of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Sure Stark and Wayne are alike as both are rich men that love the media attention, but their motives are very different. Wayne does it so that there is no link between him and and Batman, and he is a very dark person. Iron Man however is not separate from Stark and he is happy to admit this. This is why one movie is very dark and gothic inspired whereas this one is more colourful.

The casting is great as we already know, but adding Scarlett Johanssan as Black Widow is always an epic win. Sam Rockwell is awesome as Hammer, unrecognisable from his amazing movie Moon. Its funny that Sam was originally the first choice to be cast as Iron Man, It would have been nice to see Terrence Howard reprise his role as Rhodey but due to contract wrangles...this was not to be. Micky Rourke was great as the villain in the movie, he actually went to Russia and visited prisons to get the vibe. He even got russian tattoos with his favourite being...Give me a blond, a bottle and a boat and I'll sail away. The character of Ivan Vanko is a combination of Iron Man's enemy the Crimson Dynamo (Dr Vanko, who wears armor that can control electricity) and the supervillain Whiplash (who possesses a specially-designed razor/acid whip). In addition, the film's Whiplash gets its nationality and real name from the comics' first incarnation of Crimson Dynamo.

I really enjoyed the movie as it was light hearted fun with glimpse of things to come. The were the sneak shots of Thors Hammer, Hulk on the Telly and Captain America's shield which will lead to an Avengers movie. I dislike Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, and hearing that he will play the role in more Marvel movies does not go down with me

This is a must see film, with some great scenes, gadgets and jokes. Robert Downy Jr is really on fire in this film. He feels like Tony Stark and matches the look established in the comic books.

4/5 stars

Centurion

The Plot

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias (Fassbender), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.

The Review

It's funny because I really enjoyed this film, but my friend who I watched this film with did not enjoy it so much. I liked how The Romans spoke the language we could understand, so it would create empathy towards the characters. They were after all attacking Britain and you would feel natural hate for the characters.

Olga (Hitman and Quantum of Solace) shone in her role. She brought a natural charisma to her role without even speaking. Dominic West also gave a great performance, but the others were pretty one dimensional and easily forgettable.

The scene that made me laugh was when the black guy who was the natural sprinter went to help the guy who he was with as they ran from the wolves, but in a great moment of selfishness, the black guy is betrayed. He is stabbed so not only is he weakened and unable to run, the wolves we see his blood and feast upon...allowing the other guy to run clear.

The film has a greek style tragedy which is worth watching.

The cast is talented but a bigger production and more meat on the bones to character would not go amiss. There is plenty of violence which is always a win in these types of movies

I am going to say 2 and 3/4s out of 5 stars