Ironed out

Robert Downey Jr. What a man. Going from a strong upward career in the 80’s to a complete downward spiral into drugs and substance abuse that aired on the tragically funny side, see the incident involving a mistaken bed in 1996, to becoming an A list staple, it’s safe to say the man has been around the block a good few times.  Look “comeback” up in the dictionary and you will probably see a picture of his face. Never has someone returned to the celebrity stratosphere more perfectly than Downey and it must be more than coincidence that Iron Man 3 is a return to the charming, cheeky form of Tony Stark that audiences fell in love with in 2008.

 

 

 

Iron Man 3 picks up where The Avengers left off, leaving Tony to deal with a whole wealth of anxiety issues due to “what happened in New York”. A new super terrorist in the form of the always great Ben Kingsley is the new baddie up to bat, blowing places up and doing general bad guy things left right and centre. What follows could be summed up as the generic superhero story arch but Shane Black has done a terrific job in slotting in a few dips in the road of the action film highway. Fair enough there is no “I see dead people” twist during the end credits but there is enough intelligence to keep the movie feeling fresh and somewhat smart. Special credit also to Guy Pearce who fills in the smarmy suit void that the delightful Sam Rockwell left open in Iron Man 2.  Not to mention a good healthy dose of Downey Jr witticisms thrown in for good measure. That is after all what the movie goers paid the cost of the cinema ticket to see, right?

Some may argue that Robert Downey Jr. isn’t a good actor, that he just plays himself in all his roles. But I think it would be without question that the Iron Man franchise is what it is today thanks to the man himself. He adds a certain realism and tongue in cheek attitude to the films that speak the viewer’s thoughts, echoing a certain Dr.Jones along the way. He gets things wrong, fumbles with baddies, trips up during the big fight, but that’s what makes Tony Stark so gosh darn enjoyable to watch.

This might be the last viewers could see of the Iron Man but something tells me his story isn’t going to be over just yet. Normally with franchises they decline as the numbers after the titles rise but Iron Man 3 has taken a big leap up from its predecessor. The Fat Lady, or should I say Angus Young hasn’t sung just yet.

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Entrancing

Danny Boyle must live his life by the belief that variety is the spice of it. From big scale sci-fi to true life stories, from zombie attacks to quirky tales of love, ranging in locations from Scotland all the way to Mumbai no two Danny Boyle films share the same ideas. But where Mr.Boyle really comes into strength is with his inherent splash of “Boyle-ness” that seeps from the screen, making you instantly recognise his work from a mile away. Be it found in the original and trademark cinematography ( no over use of lens flares here ) or even just a few bars of some randomly placed 90’s House, or a plot with twists and turns that entertain the viewer not annoy ( M.Night take note ) a Danny Boyle film is hard to ignore.

 

With that being said his latest offering of Trance appears to have slipped under the radar for much of the general public. This film fryer-upper having gotten a lot of “What?” or “Never heard of it” when bringing Boyle’s most recent work in conversation. Which surprised me, fair enough, he was always a little bit more of an independent man, more Fox Searchlight than 20^TH Century, but this is the man who cleaned up at the Oscars a few years back, making him a household name overnight.

All that aside Trance maintains the essence of Boyle with some nice little twisty plot points along the way. Telling the story of a man who must undergo a series of hypnotherapy sessions to unlock the forgotten location of a very expensive painting he has robbed. It may not be as fresh a concept as Boyle’s earlier works and that may take away some of its charms, but it’s strong pace and great performances from the leads help this movie move a fraction above the normal fare running at your local picture house.  It sometimes feels like a mixed bag of ideas that have all been done before, see Inception and another film that if I told you its name would ruin a big plot point, and in the hands of another director it might have seemed contrived and a bit “head up its own ass-y” but with some great and jarring soundtrack choices and inspired casting ( see McAvoy playing against his usual character, one quite similar to Ewan McGregor’s in Shallow Grave ) , Trance is pulled off with a fine level of success. Fans of Boyle’s work will be harder on the director as they know what he is capable of but on its own, without comparison to other movies, Trance is an entertaining if flawed piece.

It’s great in places where it needs to be great and has flashes of Boyle’s earlier work but sometimes, like McAvoy’s accent, it slips up along the way. Entrancing, you bet, but it’s no Derren Brown.

 

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