Reviews

The main theme centers on Cap's internal struggles and Cap's relationships with everyone from previous film. This is indeed a Captain America film and NOT Avengers 2.5. Everyone from Sam Wilson the Falcon to Bucky Barnes to Tony Stark plays a huge role but it's all in relation to Cap being the main focus. Even interaction with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and Clint Barton/Hawkeye are important. Previous films are paid off nicely and it's why even smaller roles are pivotal. This movie stands on its own, but it certainly respects its roots of everything that has made the MCU great. It not only respects it but it quite literally pays off a lot of it but in a natural and even a surprising way. It's not necessary to have sen previous films but it certainly adds to the remarkable depth and the impact of this movie.

The film is really grounded in a believable world that supports the political thriller and psychological thriller aspect, and it's helped by the caliber of the cast involved.

A core theme surrounding Cap is the idea that he once used to represent America and has now become alien to modern thoughts and values due to the passage of time and the events of the Winter Soldier movie. Seeing this level of emotional stakes of this hero's journey is rare and incredibly captivating.

All the fighting is very visceral and believable. Early on it's amazing and when it comes to hero vs hero, it becomes even more so. This is no "scrimmage" or fake fight. The stakes are VERY real and very intense.

This movie puts Cap through a lot and the audience is right there feeling everything with him. It's an incredible ride and one of the best movies that I have ever seen. Not just superhero films but movies in general. It really is that good.

This really is the definition of a "nice" movie. When the performances and the concept are this good, sometimes nice is more than enough. Everything plays out in a rather formulaic way and the resolution involving the marriage issue felt hallow. Yet, Deniro and Hathaway's characters were charming enough to make up for any shallowness. I really did love the old school versus new age philosophy on display and wish they had featured way more of that in the overall story. Seeing his skills pay off more instead of him just being a good guy would have been more rewarding and given the film more depth.

In the end, heart wins out over the clichés and the movie turned out to be a "nice" way to spend two hours.

The critics are right about this one. It's just one dumb movie any way it's sliced. Frankly, instead of being a heady re-launch of a franchise with an alternate timeline it feels more like an insult to the classic first two films.

Everything plays out like poorly written fan fiction, everything except the budget. There are plenty of explosions and robots to go around. It's too bad none of it really resonates. Honestly, I can't name one single stand out action sequence. The cast itself (with the exception of Arnie) is as vanilla as it gets and all three leads simply terribly miscast. The actor that played John Conner was flat out awful. Speaking of John Conner, having his character be yet another generation of Terminator may have seemed like a great twist in script form but it plays out just terribly. Since they showed that plot point in the very first trailer, I don't even consider that spoiler material. Overall, this is one huge disappointment.

– This is exactly what was advertised…. a pure CGI disaster film where we follow one family of beautiful people as they struggle to unite and survive. That's the movie, period. It's well paced and entertaining enough if the viewer is able to focus on the Rock, his lovely wife and stunning daughter and look beyond the constant horrific images of hundreds of thousands of people dying horrible deaths. The scope here is off the charts. That's where a movie like this differs from other films like The Poseidon Adventure or Towering Inferno. Massive disaster and destruction abounds in horrific spectacle and it comes in wave after wave, by the end, quite literally.

A good story concept and a great idea in general ruined by shallowness at every turn. The first act of the film is intriguing and nicely set up despite the remarkably shallow characters introduced. The "gosh darn amazing" dad, the little brother and even the lead female optimistic dreamer character are as clichéd as it gets. Even so, the set up and dynamic of the first half of the film is engrossing. Then, the story turns and is based upon what amounts to shallow hippie nonsense. The overall plot problem doesn't even aid in the liberal type message it appears that the movie wants to send.

This movie never knew what it wanted to be (Disney theme park promotion? Liberal agenda piece? Sappy kids move? Adventure film with creepy savage killer robots?) and the tone was all over the place. Add the fact that the script is as shallow as a mud puddle and it was actually sad to watch an interesting concept disintegrate as every scene unfolded.

I have to say given the hype, I was quite disappointed in this effort. I expected way more story and at least some intrigue. Instead, the film is an hour and a half of Keanu running around slickly shooting various different people in the head. He's angry that they killed his dog (his only chance at acceptance and peace after the death of his wife) and goes around dispatching everyone who gets in his way with head shot after head shot. That's it. Honest to God, THAT is the entire film and it's not even a spoiler because the trailer tells us as much. There's no other plot and nothing to any supporting character whatsoever. The kill action is, again, slick but nothing rises above cut video game type sequences. At least it does make a viewer stop and ponder why all the action movies we grew up watching don't factor in close range gun shots to the head more often.

Yes, I'm one of the fortunate few who got to see this gem a bit early and I'm happy to report that they took what worked so well in Iron Man and ran with it in an extremely gratifying way. The complexity, depth, heart and action are even more off the charts than the first film. It's is not just a great comic book movie but a great movie period. They took the complexities of Tony Stark that they established in movie one and built upon it masterfully. Now we get a reformed and guilt ridden weapons manufacturer weaved with a celebrity who should have never let the cat out of the bag in the final moments of Iron Man 1. They promised to up the action from the first film and they certainly did but the storytelling never suffers for it. Like in 2008, the evolution and growth of the characters is of paramount importance. It has the same flavor and humor of the original and it may even focus more on the fabulous relationships already developed. I was stunned at how they managed to deliver a better film. I didn't think that was possible. Everyone came to play and this great cast brought their best stuff and it shows on screen. Everyone knew Downey, Paltrow and Cheadle could act but Bill O'Reilly and The CNN anchor? Yes, they show up and do a GREAT job in extended cameos. Rourke and Rockwell are PERFECT as the duel foils for Tony Stark, I mean PERFECT. From the Grand Prix in Monaco to the amazing finale, buckle up because this is one intense, interesting, intelligent and fun ride. My only real complaint is that Scarlett's Black Widow has too little screen time. Still, a film that leaves you clamoring for more isn't the worst sin in the world.

When I was done viewing this movie, all I could think about was how it instantly stacks up to the all-time great sequels. What was said about classics like Spider-Man 2, X2, Empire Strikes Back, TDK and even Godfather 2 holds true for Iron Man 2. I honestly can't wait to see it again.