1. The Villain
I'm not talking about Mickey Rourke. Sam Rockwell is a performer that seems to never have a bad day. Some people phone it in for the cash, but I don't think Rockwell is capable of doing so. His ass-kissing during the Senate hearing? His cocky dance at the Expo? His embarassing conversation in Monaco? Nobody does petty/pissy like Mr. Rockwell. The fact that he's alive leads me to hope he's behind the Mandarin in Iron Man 3.
2. The Ladies
Olivia Munn, Kate Mara, and Scarlett Johansson. Not bad for one movie.
3. The Nerd Factor
Do you understand the glee I experienced when, the moment following Agent Coulson's handling of Captain America's work-in-progress shield, there were twelve cheers in an empty theater and not one of them came from me? You don't? Fuck off.
4. The Paltrow
Not as yummy as last time, but she definitely made up for her Act 3 "I Forgot How to Act" business.
5. The Elder Stark
Tim Robbins was originally supposed to be Howard, not John Slattery. Brilliant move! Making Slattery into a techno-geek Walt Disney? More brilliant! Hiding the discovery of vibranium in a model of EPCOT Center? Supa-genius! Hiring the Sherman Brothers (authors of "It's a Small World!") to record a Carousel of Progress parody theme for these retro bits? I'm tired of saying brilliant. But the best aspect of the introduction of Howard? He now gets to play a pivotal role in Captain America: The First Avenger.
6. The (Other) SHIELD
"Sir, step away from the donut!" When do we get a Nick Fury movie, seriously?
7. The CNN
Last time Tony took a beating from Jim Cramer. This time? Christiane Amanpour. A step up.
8. The Man
If Tony doesn't accidentally call someone else Stan Lee next time, I may cry.
9. The Expo
It brings the Titanium-Alloy Man to New York, which means that Avengers Tower is on the rise!
10. The Senator
Garry Shandling is in this movie.
11. The Map
As pointed out by some other nerds, during the final SHIELD scene, a map of the world can be seen with a large red portion in the center of Africa. That's because Wakanda is undergoing a civil war. The Black Panther will soon come to power.
12. The Bleep
"Fuck you! Fuck you, buddy!"
13. The Suitcase
It's the closest thing we're going to get to the Extremis armor, so I'll relish it while I can.
14. The (Other) Hammer
If you didn't get goosebumps after the sound of thunder, you're a bad nerd. Thor is my least favorite Avenger, but my brother and I were almost too enraptured to motivate our legs to leave the theater.
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Great, great list! I'm so glad to know that someone enjoyed the film as much as I did! I saw it with my family and they enjoyed it but apparently not quite as much as I did - literally right as we were walking out of our screening I offered to treat everyone to a 2nd viewing, like, immediately and I just got incredulous stares. (Well, except from my mom, who proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend talking about how cute RDJ and Sam Rockwell are.)
ReplyDeleteYour list is pretty sound but I think I agree most of all with how awesomely awesome it is that this film is bringing out everyone's inner Marvel geek. The Captain America shield gag got the loudest burst of laughter I've heard in a theater probably since "The Hangover." A shocking amount of people stayed through the end of the credits to see the tag and when THE HAMMER was revealed: reverent gasps. I could've cried, it was beautiful. True story.
What else is there to say? It's an amazing film. It manages to be badass yet goofy, fast-paced yet thoughtful, light-hearted yet serious and it has an inherent feeling of spontaneity even though the story elements are clearly plotted out meticulously. It's been a while since I've seen the first film but for now, I'm saying this one totally blew it out of the water. It Empired it, as it were.
In closing, The Avengers needs to come out, like, tomorrow. But I suppose I'll settle for both Thor and Captain America coming out next summer.
And not to beat a dead horse, but with Slattery as Howard Stark, imagine how wicked it would've been if JON HAMM had been cast as Cap? Just saying.
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