A Review of IronMan as told from Sichuan Province

Last night a few of my friends and I decided to indulge in a very American movie (Iron Man) in a very American-feeling place (air conditioned shopping mall in southern Chengdu) and just forget about everything for awhile. Here is my review of the movie:



In the movie, our hero, Iron Man, watches the news to figure out where to fight his next battle. He hears about a camp of refugees left behind by international media, full of injured families and orphaned children looking for their parents. In light of this past weekend's experiences (next post), this all hits a little too close to home for us.

To add a visceral element to the experience, the stadium seating and digital surround sound made our seats rattle whenever anything blew up on screen (often)... it felt like an earthquake. My friends and I glanced at each other and towards the exits, mentally preparing evacuation plans.

Thankfully, we did adjust to the rattling seats (as one does adjust over time to things shaking all around them). The movie helped this process by quickly leaving behind its serious inclinations and happily digressing into a series of Robert Downey Jr. vs. Jeff "The Dude" Bridges robot battles, which I could not relate to in the least. The corny dialogue flowed and the improbable action sequences commenced. There. Now we could finally relax and let go. This was fiction.

B+