I have to tell you that this next piece of news, which has many other people excited, doesn’t move me so much. First the news and then my Eeyore-like raining on the parade:
Jon Favreau has revealed to Quint at Aint It Cool that he is working with Genndy Tartakovsky on storyboarding action scenes in Iron Man 2. Genndy, for those not in the know, is the guy behind the cartoons Samurai Jack and the original Clone Wars. He’s known for a very dynamic, storytelling-oriented action style.
So why don’t I care? First of all, I don’t think the lack of good action in Iron Man hurt the movie all that much. I think the end battle of Iron Man was anticlimactic, but that was more about the yapfest at the end than the serviceable battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger. Frankly, what I liked about Iron Man was all the non-action stuff, and that’s what I care about being in Iron Man 2.
Secondly, you’re probably not going to walk out of the theater and be able to name the Genndy influences in Iron Man 2 fight scenes. I think you can see the influence of visual artists when they’re brought in to create design elements, but frankly I have a hard time seeing Genndy’s style translating to the universe Favreau has created (something Favreau himself acknowledges in the interview).
Thirdly, I think Favreau gets the action better now than he did when he started Iron Man. Talking to him a couple of months ago when he was stumping for the DVD, he mentioned that the scene where Iron Man faces a bunch of Afghan dudes who had hostages was one of the very last things he did, coming in reshoots. And that scene works as an action scene, and shows that Favreau’s learning curve ended at a good place. It’s always helpful to have more input when designing your action scenes, but I think that Favreau’s at a place where he can make it work.
Of course there’s a fourth thing here – I’m so fucking burnt out on superhero movies and news about them (and specifically Batman and Iron Man sequels). I’d like to just let these things lay low for a little while instead of having them beat into the ground. I would love for Marvel to go into a total media blackout at this point on Iron Man 2. Unless I get a scoop out of it, in which case I will suddenly regain my enthusiasm.
16 comments
While he has a cool style, whats the point in having him do the story boards? And I do agree with Devin, it was the non-action beats that I enjoyed the most.
Genndy frames action really well, as is evident in how kinetic Samurai Jack always managed to be even though the animation was so simplistic. Regardless, none of that is going to carry through to the final bit of digital celluloid. Oh, and Devin is fat.
It's better than nothing. Gendy has something Jon doesn't, patience. He lets his action flow naturally like in the old days before we decided to cgi everything and clutter up the screen and call it art.
I'm not going to preface my comment stating that Devin is fat. He knows he's fat, we know he's fat. Some people can't help being fat. There's no real need to go over that any more.
However, he does dress like a fucking hobo and that's something that anyone with any self respect should fix.
Now what was I going to say? I can't remember. I liked Iron Man.
slurp slurp slurp…oh, iron mans balls taste so good in chuds mouth..slurp slurp….i hate when websites sucks movie balls so im gonna end my article sucking balls to defend it…slurp slurp
If Tartakovsky makes little to no difference, why would Marvel pay what I assume is a higher fee than the normal storyboard artist? Is this just indulging a successful director, something like buying a $5,000 shower curtain?
Too bad Fav didn't hire the Wachowski's for the action bits, look at how excellent the Matrix sequels and Speed Racer turned out……
What worked about Iron Man was that you weren't sitting there waiting for the next set piece (ahem, KOTCS). It was all good, and left you as satisfied as a blow job with ball-tickling. Maybe a little taint action, too.
What the fuck is a KOTCS? Also, I smell a super-expensive, hardcover, Storyboard Art of Iron Man 2: Iron Mannier merchandising scheme…
I think this is the smartest thing Faverau has done. He is definitely lacking in the action department. While I liked Iron Man, it was probably my least favorite Super Hero movie next to Hulk and Batman, this year, mainly because the action was so terrible.
They should consult Michael Bay for the action sequences. Then they'll all be shot five minutes before sundown in CONFUSOVISION!!!
A little whine with your cheese? I mean, you've got a little genre news bit, mildly interesting and, yes, even a mildly interesting take on the story. But skip the whining about having to report a little comic book movie news. Save it for your girlfriend, or boyfriend, or dog, or goat, or whatever it is you go home to. Show a little bit of professionalism. I visit a site like this once or twice a month when things are slow at work, and each time I'm amazed that anyone gets a dime for this shit!
So, just so I understand this, you'd rather have great non-action scenes and average action scenes, than great everything?
The fact Favreau is looking to improve the action doesn't mean that's gonna hurt the rest of the film. I think this is great news!
Because they hired a well known artist to storyboard the scenes that means they're ignoring all character work, ok GOT IT. Honestly, first Iron Man was serviceable. One of the highlights was Terrence Howard and they should have done more to get him back. They'll regret it, Cheadle is amazing but all wrong for that character.
Sounds like a bullshit marketing ploy for all the dweebs on the net. Fav's is fucking gold at this sort of stuff. He plays the internet web journo's like a fiddle, saying all the shit that crowd wants to hear, like how he hates cgi and loves practical effects, and all other manner of walking Internet movie cliches. Barely any of the stuff he pimp's initially makes it into the final movie. The guy's full of shit and people seem to be slurping it up. Shut the fuck up and just make the movie, favs. Make sure its as decent as the first.
I think it's quite strange that a movie critic doesn't care about visual storytelling.
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