I saw a couple of movies (within a few weeks of each other) that are slowly being linked together- I'll get to that later. (see "TOGETHER" below) But first: (don't worry, no spoilers)...
IRON MAN
Awesome. Go see it. Seriously, it captures the essence of the character (some liberties were taken with back story, of course, but as in the case of the X-Men movies, I didn't mind so much!), while delivering a great movie to people who don't know Iron Man as well.
At first, I was like- Robert Downey Jr? As Tony Stark? Really? Are they kidding??? But you know what- he did an EXCELLENT job! The acting was superb, the effects were not too over the top, (altho I had a few flashbacks to 'The Rocketeer' movie LOL), and it kept your interest the whole time. Good to take the kids to- most all of the violence was aimed at men in Iron Suits.
For all you die-hard fans, Keep an eye out for the silver Iron Man suit in a quick and funny scene.
HULK (2008)
Oh thank you! Hulk has been saved! After that awful 2003 Ang Lee version, I had my doubts that the Hulk would ever make another screen appearance. But, lo! And Like the current incarnation of Batman, it's a darker, grittier Hulk than the Saturday morning cartoons. Again, I was like- Ed Norton? the Hulk? Really? Seriously??? But as before, I have been humbled by the performance and fit that the actor brings to the Hulk. Even though they took small licences with the origins of the Hulk, they stayed true to the original character, and even payed homage to the TV show and comics: In one scene, Bruce's girlfriend buys him giant purple stretch pants to wear so he wont rip up his clothes. in another scene- Lou Farigno makes a brief appearance as a security guard. There are other bits and pieces thru the whole movie too.
But don't let the tongue-in-cheek bits fool you. If you are wary of too-violent movies, better think twice before taking the kids to this one. While no "gore" is shown, people DO get killed, both by the Hulk and his nemesis "The Abomination". Lots of collateral damage, explosions, and things getting punched and smashed make this a true-to-form Hulk movie, but something parents might want to avoid if they don't want their 5 year old emulating the big green guy.
TOGETHER:
Ok- without saying too much about the actual scenes- there are 2 scenes that LINK the Hulk movie with the IRON MAN one (and methinks other MARVEL movies coming out soon will have some linking scenes too!). The scenes are just BEFORE the credits in the Hulk, but you have to wait until AFTER the credits in Iron Man. I cant say much more and not spoil the scenes, but I will let you know what i think they are alluding to... (a NON-animated version of course)....so here's a hint in picture form:
