‘Iron Man 2’ (2010), ‘Thor’ (2011) and ‘Captain America’ (2011)
Continuing with the MCU Challenge, I had a lot of catching up to do in order to fulfill this month’s quota of films. Here are my thoughts regarding these three installments:
‘Iron Man 2’ (2010)
Making a sequel is not easy, especially after having to follow such a solid entry as Iron Man (2008), which, as I mentioned in my review, was a wonderful character study. And the main characters are the best part of the sequel as well.
Robert Downey Junior continues to shine as Tony. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts is the perfect match to our main character’s chaotic energy. And the newcomers add a much welcomed energy to the mix: from Scarlett Johansson’s Natalie / Natasha Romanoff, to our new Rhodey, the wonderful Don Cheadle.
The performances are great, and the action sequences are just as wonderfully achieved as in the first movie. However, the story has many flaws that keep this sequel from being as great as its’ predecessor.
On one hand, there’s a potentially interesting plot regarding Tony’s lifespan that gets resolved too early. The ticking clock is stopped just before the final act, and its resolution is somewhat underwhelming, especially since it has little to do with the villain and his actions.
The villain is also a big problem. Mickey Rourke’s Ivan looks and acts like an exciting character, yet he has only one important moment at the beginning before he turns into a generic baddie. The ‘revenge’ plot could be fascinating, but it turns out that after being introduced, it carries little to no weight throughout the character’s actions. Unlike the villain in Captain America: Civil War, for example, we get almost no callbacks to the reasons behind his actions, and it’s easy to forget why he is doing what he is doing in the first place. He seems perfectly content instead of seriously haunted, like Zemo (Daniel Brühl).
The other antagonist, Justin Hammer, is just as tedious. His camaraderie with Ivan seems extremely forced, and Sam Rockwell’s cartoonish portrayal doesn’t help. He is weak, skittish, and anything but a real menace.
Something that also affects the film is the lack of a genuine change in our main character. Unlike Iron Man, where Tony receives and internalizes a heartfelt lesson, in Iron Man 2 he starts and ends almost at the same exact point. Yes, he learns more about his father, manages to solve his life-threatening situation, and takes a big step with Pepper, but none of it carries the same weight when it comes to the resolution of the narrative.
Once again, he must face something he has created. This time, it’s an army of Iron Man-like soldiers that are conveniently machine-only –so they can be easily destroyed without remorse! So, what are the stakes? What’s different this time? As it turns out, quite little.
Iron Man 2 is definitely a fun film with great performances, but severely skin-deep in comparison to Iron Man.
‘Thor’ (2011)
How do you introduce a literal god into a story without making him so powerful that the audience can’t relate to him at all? That was part of the challenge the team behind Thor had to face, and they passed it with flying colors.
Thor is a fun, exhilarating ride, with a simple yet effective origin story.
Most of the characters –both mortal and gods- are great: interesting, surprisingly human, and the dynamics between them are the best part of the film. This is particularly true when it comes to the relationship between the brothers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddelston) as they try to gain the favors of their father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins).
The introduction of Loki, a complex and deeply broken villain, is a particularly high point in a series of films that so far hadn’t had any luck with its antagonists. Loki is deliciously tricky, imperfect, and just the right amount of vulnerable. His love-hate relationship with the people who he has known as ‘family’ make his every move painful and engaging. Unlike regular interactions between hero and villain, whenever Loki pulls a fast one on Thor we feel just as betrayed and confused as our main character. There are stakes in their interactions, which makes their rivalry even more poignant.
Thor also excels at having a more distinctive visual presence than its predecessors. Thanks to Kenneth Branagh’s direction and Haris Zambarloukos’ cinematography, it’s a movie that successfully builds an eye-catching world we are interested in exploring.
Still, there are flaws. Thor has some frames that stick out like a sore thumb –which tends to happen in a few of Branagh’s other films-, a romance that feels a little forced and shallow, some odd editing choices while shifting from Earth to Asgard, and a few shaky performances.
And yet, what the writers achieved wonderfully was to take a flawless character and make him relatable, fun, and a hero we can root for. By forcing Thor to face his own arrogance and aggression, and learning the importance of having to earn his place in the world, they took the god down from his pedestal and turned him into an interesting, layered character.
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011)
Quick confession: although I’ve seen the second and third installments of the Captain America trilogy dozens –if not more- times, it turns out the first entry has been one of two MCU movies I’ve never watched before –the other one being The Incredible Hulk. And since most critics and fans agree in stating that it’s not the most solid of the three, I’ve never felt particularly interested in seeing it.
Well, the time has finally arrived!
Since I watched Thor and Captain America almost back-to-back, one of the first things I noticed was the similarity of both films with Iron Man’s structure. The three of them begin in the midst of a ‘present day’ situation that is later explained through a long flashback. Iron Man begins in the midst of Tony’s convoy being attacked in the desert, and the film stops to explain how he gets there; Thor starts with the title character being hit by Jane’s car, and then the movie explores the events that led to his eviction from Asgard; and Captain America starts with the main character being retrieved from the ice, after which the movie explores his origin story.
It’s a fun little detail to notice!
However, where the films differ is in the way they treat their main characters. While Tony and Thor’s journey is that of facing their own hubris, Steve’s path is that of finding his place in order to better serving his ideals. His character can come across as almost ‘too good’, as he’s a standard human being even before he is turned into Captain America. Luckily, Chris Evans does a wonderful job giving him a little more gravity, so that he doesn’t come off as unauthentic or annoying.
It’s unusual to have characters that are genuinely ‘good’, or that have such strong moral values as Steve Rogers. Perhaps the most recent example we’ve had is Diana in Wonder Woman (2017). He’s willing to be whatever his country needs him to be until the very end. And even when other soldiers mistreat him, he still goes above and beyond duty to aid them. But it’s just as refreshing to see a character that is not yet disillusioned with life. Naiveté and goodness are looked-downed-upon way too often in our world.
Captain America has many wonderful characters. Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Peggy (Hayley Atwell), Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and even Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), are fun, remarkable additions to the MCU. The dynamics between Bucky and Steve, and Peggy and Steve, are also particularly outstanding. They don’t feel cheap nor forced, and they turn Steve into a more interesting, grounded character.
Unfortunately, although Thor took a step forward when it comes to villains, Captain America took a step back. Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) has a lackluster design that is more odd than intimidating, and there’s no bond between him and Steve. The connection is missing, and Red Skull becomes just another underdeveloped Nazi-type character, when he could be much more.
The film also uses some funny-looking special effects for Steve right at the beginning, but it does compensate with great action and a straightforward story that works well.
I have often heard that the first Captain America is the weakest of his films. And although I do agree that it’s a trilogy that has improved with each installment, I must say that in my opinion Captain America surprised me by being every bit as enjoyable as the other two.
This is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Challenge: I’ll be watching 1 Marvel film each week in preparation for the release of Avengers: Infinity War.
