Knight and Day – movie review

MOVIES, REVIEWS | YOJIMBO FIVE | JUNE 27, 2010 12:40 PM

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We’ve seen one film of this type already this year—the Ashton Kutcher/Katherine Heigl vehicle Killers—but that one was played for
laughs and a broad farce, not all too successfully.  Knight and Day is more on the A-list with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz (and a
strong supporting cast that includes Paul Dano, Peter Saarsgaard, and Oscar nominee Viola Davis).  The theme is similar:  a single
white female gets mixed up in international intrigue when a super-secret agent (in this case, Cruise) free-falls into her life, amidst
much carnage and breaking of all sorts of vehicles in the process.

Roy Miller (Cruise) spends a lot of time carefully avoiding the subject of whose side he’s on in this risky business:  he could be a
good guy or a bad guy—in fact, a crazy bad guy, which Cruise (who has always displayed a flair for light comedy before he became
the let’s-be-serious-here superstar) plays to a T.  Everybody in authority warns Diaz’s June Havens that he’s considered a bit woo-
woo (not couch-jumping woo-woo, but unstable) something Miller is all-too-ready to acknowledge.  June doesn’t know whether to
help the guy, or run as far and as fast from him as she can.

With its Macguffin-like secret device and the innocent caught in the middle of chasing vehicles, this plot would be prime Hitchcock
material.  But Knight and Day goes further than that.  Sure, it’s played bright and easy with a lot of laughs, as the seemingly
unstoppable Miller manages to wedge himself into all sorts of sticky situations on all manner of wheeled vehicles, but the plight of
the female lead is the focus, and that’s where Knight and Day separates itself from the majority of action-adventure/comedy films.  It
is her perspective that we follow, not the knows-all-the-answers secret agent (he’s rather casual about everything, in fact).  It is
through her eyes that we see the frenetic chases and the duplicity of spy work, with all the fear and outrage that such behavior might
inspire in the real world.

Knight and Day is a James Bond movie where the “Bond-girl” is more important than the hero; with all the variations that the Bond
film-makers have done over the years, it’s interesting, surprising, even, that they’ve never thought of doing this type of story.  (Even
Ian Fleming, who created Bond, wrote a novel from “the innocent’s” perspective.)  As someone who’s gone to many a Bond movie
“with the boys” only, I’m happy to say this is one you can take the wife/girlfriend to, and she won’t stew in frustration.

Of course, it’s not a Bond film.  It’s a Tom Cruise movie, and that sometimes can be a problem when he feels the need to “intensify”
his every action.  Not here.  Cruise’s Miller is relaxed—not pushy—in his quieter moments, and zanily funny in the action
sequences.  From June’s perspective, he may be a nut, but he’s an efficient nut.  And part of the charm ofKnight and Day is seeing
June’s transition from panic to acceptance to taking charge when she has to. 

Bottom line:  Knight and Day is a fun ride.  But it is one best shared.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

Reviewer's Rating: 

Rate This Movie: 
Posted on 15 March 2011 by Matthew Parkinson
People in this movie need to cheer up. Or, to put it more specifically, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) needs to cheer up. I feel this way
because the parts of New Moon that are enjoyable are when her mood isn’t one of depression. The reason for this is mostly due to
the mood of the film mimicking hers, with the fun moments of the film being filled with humor, and the worse moments having Kristen
Stewart looking sad and lonely.
Unfortunately for New Moon, Bella spends a lot of time in a funk. The result is a film that isn’t that enjoyable, and also one that
becomes boring and tedious to watch after a certain point. I never thought I would say it, but I actually wanted to see more of
Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Not because I like his character, or any of the characters for that matter, but because when he
was around, Bella was happy, and the film was a whole lot more entertaining to watch.
The majority of the plot this time revolves around Bella being lonely after her boyfriend, Edward the vampire, leaves. He believes
that his family endangers her life, and decides to up and leave the small town of Forks. He also cuts off all contact with Bella, and
like I described earlier, makes her depressed. During this dark time, she becomes closer friends with Jacob (Taylor Lautner). Most
of the film is spent with Edward out of town and Bella and Jacob’s relationship developing. Yes, that is as boring as it sounds.
I believe the reason that New Moon fails to be as good as Twilight was is the fact that far less happens, despite the fact that it takes
longer to tell the story within it. There isn’t a lot going on withinNew Moon, and what little there is takes over two hours to tell. There
is a good chunk of the film that easily could have been removed, but I suppose then the film will not have accomplished its goal:
Translating the successful novel series onto film.
I suppose fans of the novel will be happy, once again, with the way the film turned out. The scenes are lifted from the book, quite
clearly, even if they don’t always fit properly into a film. Fans are the main reason that these films are made anyway, and if satisfying
them means leaving in scenes that easily could be cut, then that’s a choice that director Chris Weitz made, and I’ll respect him for it.
You’ve got to please your fan base after all.
For people not already fans of the Twilight series, this film isn’t going to make you one. It’s also a step backwards from the previous
film. Not a big step back, but enough of one to make you question watching the next film in the series. It doesn’t leave you wanting
more, it doesn’t make you want to see the story continue, instead, it just makes you dislike the characters even more. There are
small portions of the film that are good, and even some that are quite funny. Sadly, the majority of the film isn’t this way.
What the majority of the film ends up being plagued by is poor acting, plot and characters. Every actor and character is precisely
one-note, there is little to no development at all, save for one plot twist that the trailers of the film have given away, and the plot is
boring beyond belief. I can only speculate that fans of the series–ones who already like and relate to these characters–will really
enjoy all parts, with the sole exception being the poor acting, but I can’t say that I did. It was just not engaging enough for me.
I’m going to have to issue a spoiler alert for the following paragraph. If you know absolutely nothing about the film, skip what I’m
about to say about the special effects. While not that important, the special effects of the film were fairly poorly done. There are
werewolves in the film, and they don’t look all that good. They are essentially just really big wolves, but don’t fit into the real world at
all. They’re clearly CGI, which is a shame, because it’s distracting whenever they appear.
New Moon is a worse film than Twilight is. It’s too long, and tells a simple story that you won’t care much about. The characters are
still one-note, and do not warrant much sympathy from the audience, despite the fact that they try to be sympathetic. The depressive
nature of the majority of the film is off-putting, and also not all that enjoyable to watch. It’s a step backwards, to be certain, but will
still satisfy the hunger of its target audience: People already fans of the series. In that regard, it succeeds. For non-fans, it is less
enjoyable than the previous film, and will fail to draw you in to the series.

Iron Man 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iron Man 2
 Theatrical poster

Directed by Jon Favreau

Kevin Feige
Produced by
Susan Downey[1]

Screenplay by Justin Theroux

Based on Iron Man by

Stan Lee

Larry Lieber

Don Heck

Jack Kirby

Starring Robert Downey Jr.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Don Cheadle

Scarlett Johansson

Mickey Rourke

Music by John Debney

Tom Morello[2](Additional)
 Cinematography Matthew Libatique

Editing by Dan Lebental

Richard Pearson

Studio Marvel Studios

Distributed by Paramount Pictures

Release date(s) April 26, 2010(Los Angeles premiere)

May 7, 2010(United States)

Running time 125 minutes[3]

Country United States

Language English

Budget $170-200 million [4][5][6]

Gross revenue $623,433,331[6]

For other uses, see Iron Man (disambiguation).

Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel

Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy[7] and

is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., who reprises his role

as Tony Stark. In cinematic canon, it takes place six months after Iron Man, and directly before The Incredible Hulk.[8]

Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting calls by the United States government to hand over the

technology. Ivan Vanko has duplicated the technology and built weapons of his own, creating new challenges for Stark.

Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California, on April 26, 2010[citation needed] and in Paris, France on April 28, 2010.[citation
needed]
 It was released throughout the United States on May 7, 2010.[citation needed]
 Contents

 [hide]

1 Plot

2 Cast

3 Production

o 3.1 Develo

pment

o 3.2 Pre-

production

o 3.3 Casting

o 3.4 Filming

o 3.5 Effects

4 Music

o 4.1 Soundt

rack

o 4.2 Score

5 Marketing

o 5.1 Noveliz

ation

o 5.2 Video

games

o 5.3 Comics

6 Release

o 6.1 Home

media

7 Reception

o 7.1 Critical

reception

o 7.2 Box

office

8 Sequel

9 Awards and

nominations
 10 References

11 External links

Plot

Russian television shows Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) revealing his identity as Iron Man to the

world. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), whose father, Anton Vanko (Yevgeni Lazarev), has just died, sees this and begins

building a similar weapon.

Six months later, Stark has used his Iron Man armor to help maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo

in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) demands that Stark turn over

the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are

decades away from successfully recreating his achievements, and that the armor is in fact his own property.

The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed

to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell

anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries,

and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).

Vanko attacks Stark while racing at the Circuit de Monaco, using an arc reactor of his own powering whip-like energy

weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor. He learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old

partner, Anton Vanko. Anton collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor, but was deported to his native Soviet Union

following his attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark

family. Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of

armored combat suits to upstage Stark.

At what he believes is his last birthday party Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, Air Force

Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and after battling him,

delivers the armor to the military. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), director of S.H.I.E.L.D., approaches Stark, revealing

Rushman as undercover agentNatasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder that Fury knew

personally. Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves

to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany), Stark

synthesizes it. Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element,

removing his dependency on the palladium.

At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor.

Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks

Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Romanoff attempt to capture

Vanko. He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.
After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new, very powerful suit of armor. Neither can

match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing a large explosion. With

his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko ignites his suit and his drones' self-destruct mechanisms, apparently killing

himself in the process. Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains. Potts quits as CEO, but she and Stark kiss.

At a debriefing, while news footage of the Hulk's rampage plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable

candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not. Stark agrees to be a consultant if Senator Stern presents himself

and Rhodes with their medals for bravery.

In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a

crater in a New Mexico desert.

Cast

 Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man: The billionaire who, after being held captive, escaped with a suit of

armor he created and now uses an upgraded version to make the world a better place.

 Don Cheadle as Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes:[9] Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard from the first film.

 Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko:[10] A physicist and ex-convict who builds his own arc reactor-based weapon to exact

vengeance on the Stark family. He is an amalgamation of Iron Man villains Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo.

 Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts: Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner as

Pepper is promoted to CEO of Stark Industries.[11]

 Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer: a rival weapons manufacturer.

 Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff: She works in the legal department of Stark

Industries and is highly qualified, speaking multiple languages including Latin and Russian. An undercover spy

for S.H.I.E.L.D. posing as Stark's assistant.

 Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Jon Favreau reprises his role as Happy Hogan,[12] Tony Stark's bodyguard and chauffeur. John Slattery appears as Howard

Stark, Tony's father.[13] Garry Shandling appears as United States SenatorStern, who wants Stark to give Iron Man's

armor to the government.[14] Paul Bettany again voices Stark's computer, JARVIS.[15] Clark Gregg reprises his role

as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson from the first film.[16] Leslie Bibb also reprises her role as reporter Christine Everhart.
[17]
 Olivia Munn appears as Chess Roberts,[18] a reporter covering the Stark expo. Munn originally filmed scenes that were

later cut from the film but was asked back to film a different role. Robert Downey Jr. praised Munn for her improvisation skills

and led the crew in a round of applause.[19] Six-year-old Davin Ransom portrays Tony Stark as a child.[20] Stan Lee appears

as himself (but is mistaken for Larry King).

Additionally, news anchor Christiane Amanpour[21] and political commentator Bill O'Reilly[22] play themselves in newscasts

within the film. The late Adam Goldstein (a.k.a DJ AM) makes an appearance as himself and the film is dedicated in his

memory.[8] Further cameos include CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk and CEO of Oracle Larry Ellison.[citation needed]
Production

Development

Jon Favreau meeting with members of the U.S. Air Force while filming at Edwards Air Force Base

Jon Favreau said it was originally his intent to create a film trilogy for Iron Man,[7] with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges)

becoming Iron Monger during the sequels. After a meeting between Favreau and various comic book writers, including Mark

Millar, Stane became the main villain in Iron Man. Millar argued theMandarin, whom Favreau originally intended to be the

main villain, was too fantastical.[23] Favreau concurred, deciding, "I look at Mandarin more like how inStar Wars you had

the Emperor, but Darth Vader is the guy you want to see fight. Then you work your way to the time when lightning bolts are

shooting out of the fingers and all that stuff could happen. But you can't have what happened in Return of the Jedi happen

in A New Hope. You just can't do it."[24]

Favreau discussed in interviews how the films' version of Iron Man's comic book nemesis the Mandarin "allows us to

incorporate the whole pantheon of villains". He also mentioned that S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to have a major role.[25]

During development, Favreau said the film would explore Stark's alcoholism, but it would not be "the 'Demon in a Bottle'

version".[25] Downey said, while promoting the first film, that Stark would probably develop a drinking problem as he is unable

to cope with his age, the effects of revealing he is Iron Man, as well as Pepper getting a boyfriend.[26] Before filming began,

Downey revealed that while the film was not an adaptation of the '"Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the comic book series, it

was more about the "interim space" between the origin and the "Demon" story arc.[9]

Pre-production

Justin Theroux signed to write the script in July 2008, which is based on a story written by Jon Favreau and Robert Downey

Jr.[27] Theroux co-wrote Tropic Thunder, and Downey recommended him to Marvel.[28] Genndy Tartakovsky storyboarded the

film.[29] Shane Black gave some advice on the script, and suggested to Favreau and Downey that they model Stark on J.

Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.
[26]
 Adi Granov returned to supervise the designs for Iron Man's armor.[25] Filming primarily took place at Raleigh Studios

in Manhattan Beach, California.[30]

Casting

Don Cheadle was cast as Rhodes replacing Terrence Howard from the first film. Howard said, "There was no explanation,

apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. Promises aren't

kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."[31] Entertainment Weekly stated Favreau did not enjoy working with

Howard, often re-shooting and cutting his scenes; Howard's publicist said he had a good experience playing the part, while

Marvel chose not to comment. As Favreau and Theroux chose to minimize the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss

lowering his salary – Howard was the first actor hired in Iron Man and earned the largest salary of the cast. The publication

stated they were unsure whether Howard's representatives left the project first or if Marvel chose to stop negotiating.
[32]
 Theroux denied the part of the report stating "the role of War Machine was scaled back and then beefed up".[28] Cheadle

only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo.[33] He commented he

is a comic book fan, but had not previously participated in comics-themed films due to the lack of black superheroes.
[34]
 Cheadle said he thought Iron Man was a robot before the first film came out.[11]

Mickey Rourke was cast as Ivan Vanko, a physicist and ex-convict who builds his own arc reactor-based weapon to exact

vengeance on the Stark family. The character is an amalgamation of Iron Man villains Blacklash (originally known

as Whiplash) and the Crimson Dynamo, and is the son of impoverished Soviet physicist Anton Vanko, the original Crimson

Dynamo in the comics.[35] Downey offered Rourke the part during a roundtable discussion with David Ansen at the 2009

Golden Globes, and Rourke met with Favreau and Theroux to discuss his character's role. Rourke almost dropped out of the

role due to Marvel's initial salary offer of $250,000, so the studio chose to increase the deal.[36] Rourke researched for the

part by visiting Butyrka prison.[37] He suggested half of the character's dialogue be in Russian.[38] Rourke suggested the

addition of tattoos, gold teeth and a fondness for a pet cockatoo, paying for the teeth and bird out of his own money.
[39]
 Rourke explained he didn't want to play a "one-dimensional bad guy" and wanted to challenge the audience to see

something redeemable in him. Not knowing anything about computers himself Rourke described pretending to be tech-

savvy as the hardest part of the role.[11][40]

Sam Rockwell was considered for the role of Tony Stark in the first film, and he accepted the role of Hammer without

reading the script.[41] He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware

Hammer is an old man in the comics, whereas in the film he is closer to Stark's age.[42] Rockwell says his character is

"plucky comic relief, but he's got a little bit of an edge".[43] Scarlett Johansson was cast as Natalie Rushman / Natasha

Romanoff after a scheduling conflict, a previous commitment to Gulliver's Travels forced Emily Blunt to drop out of the part.
[44]
Samuel L. Jackson initially balked at the salary Marvel offered and was unsure about reprising the part of Fury until

reaching a deal that would entail his appearance in up to nine films as the character.[45]

Filming

Principal photography began April 6, 2009,[9] at the Pasadena Masonic Temple. The fake working title was Rasputin.
[46]
 Filming also took place at Edwards Air Force Base.[47]
Actress Olivia Munn said she had been given a different part than originally and that reshoots involving her scenes had

taken place: "Actually, they just gave me another role in the film. I had to re-shoot all of my scenes.... as they started to edit

they realized it was becoming darker than what they'd expected and what my scenes had allowed for. My parts were

lighthearted and comedic. Jon Favreau called and was like, 'I've got good news and bad news: This is what's happening in

editing but we all really like you.' Marvel and Jon had to add another character from the Marvel universe to keep me

included".[48]

A post-credits scene depicting the discovery of a large hammer was filmed on the set of Thor, and some of it will be reused

in the film.[8] Jon Favreau revealed that the scene was filmed withanamorphic lenses to match Thor.[8]

Effects

The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco action sequence had to be shot in the parking lot of Downey Studios, after permission to

film prior to the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix was initially awarded but later retracted by Bernie Ecclestone.[citation needed] The

filmmakers did ship one Rolls-Royce Phantom there, and filmed a track sequence in which race cars were later digitally

added.[citation needed] Stark's Grand Prix racer was partially based on a 1978 Walter Wolf race car powered by a Chevrolet small-

block engine. Tanner Foust took on the role of driving Stark's racing car.[citation needed]

Visual effects and computer interfaces by Perception, including gadgets such as Tony Stark's transparent LG smartphone.

They created the backdrops for the Stark Expo as well as the computer screen interfaces such as the touch-screen coffee

table, and holographic lab environment.[49][50][51]

Music

Soundtrack

Main article: Iron Man 2 (soundtrack)

An Iron Man 2 soundtrack album featuring AC/DC was released by Columbia Records on April 19, 2010.[52] There are at

least three different versions: basic, special, and deluxe. The basic edition includes solely the CD; the special edition

contains a 15-track CD, a 32-page booklet, and a DVD featuring interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and music videos;

and the deluxe also includes a reproduction of one of Iron Man's first comic book appearances. Only 2 songs on the

soundtrack actually appear in the movie.

Although not included on the soundtrack album the film includes songs by The Average White Band, The

Clash, Queen, Daft Punk, 2Pac, and Beastie Boys.[53]

Score

Main article: Iron Man 2: Original Motion Picture Score

Iron Man 2: Original Motion Picture Score was released on July 20, 2010, featuring 25 songs. John Debney composed

the musical score for Iron Man 2 along with Tom Morello.

Marketing

At the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, a five-minute teaser trailer for the movie was shown. Actors portraying Stark Industries

recruiters handed out business cards with an invitation to apply for a job at Stark Industries.[54] A website for Stark Industries

also went online, with an attached graphic of a "napkin memo" from Tony Stark to Pepper Potts announcing that Stark

Industries no longer made weapons. Another section featured an online application.[55] It was confirmed that the first Iron

Man 2 theatrical trailer would premiere in front of Sherlock Holmes (another Robert Downey, Jr. film). This trailer was

released online on December 16, 2009. A new trailer was shown by Robert Downey, Jr. on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 7

after the Academy Awards.[56] Promotional partners includeSymantec, Dr Pepper, Burger King, 7 Eleven, Audi, LG

Electronics,[57] and Hershey.[58]

Novelization

Author Alexander C. Irvine adapted the script into a novel that was released in April 2010.[59]

Video games

Main article: Iron Man 2 (video game)

A video game based on the film was released by Sega on May 4, 2010 in North America,[60] written by The Invincible Iron

Man scribe Matt Fraction.[61] The game's Comic Con trailer showed that theCrimson Dynamo is set to appear as a villain.

The Wii version will be developed by High Voltage Software and all console versions will be published by Sega.[62] Don

Cheadle and Samuel L. Jacksonvoice their respective characters in the video games.[63] The trailer revealed

that A.I.M, Roxxon Energy Corporation, and Ultimo (depicted as man named Kearson DeWitt in a large armor) will be

enemies in the game as well as reveal that the wearer of the Crimson Dynamo armor is General Valentin Shatalov.[64] The

game has received generally unfavorable reviews, with Metacritic scores of 46%[65] and 47%[66] for the PS3 and Xbox 360

versions respectively.

Gameloft has published the Iron Man 2 mobile game.[67]

Comics

Several months prior to the release of the film, Marvel Comics released a four issue miniseries titled Iron Man vs

Whiplash as a tie-in to the movie. The series introduced a new version of Whiplash that was heavily inspired by the movie's

portrayal, as Marvel's existing versions of the character had little resemblance to the movie's depiction.[citation needed]A three

issue miniseries titled Iron Man 2: Public Identity was released in April which serves as a prequel of the events of the movie.

Release

The international release date of the film was moved forward to increase interest ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer

tournament.[68]
Since the film was included in a premeditated legacy distribution deal that was signed before The Walt Disney

Company purchased Marvel, Paramount Pictures will be able to acquire 8% of the box office sales, while the remaining will

belong to Disney.[4][69]

Home media

The film was released in Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 28, 2010.[70]

Reception

Critical reception

Reception for the film has been mostly positive. It holds a 74% overall approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 258

reviews with an average rating of 6.5/10,[71] with the selected Top Critics giving the film a score of 65% based on 37

reviews[72] and the film is "Certified Fresh", with the critical consensus that "It isn't quite the breath of fresh air that Iron

Man was, but this sequel comes close with solid performances and an action-packed plot".[71] Metacritic gave the film 57%

based on a normalized rating of 40 reviews.[73]

Positive reviewers include Brian Lowry of Variety who stated, "Iron Man 2 isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the

time the smoke clears, it'll do".[74] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said, "To find a comic-book hero who doesn't agonize

over his supergifts, and would defend his constitutional right to get a kick out of them, is frankly a relief".[75] David Edelstein

of New York Magazine wrote, "It doesn't come close to the emotional heft of those two rare 2s that outclassed their

ones: Superman II and Spider-Man 2. But Iron Man 2 hums along quite nicely".[76] Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4,

stating that "Iron Man 2 is a polished, high-octane sequel, not as good as the original but building once again on a quirky

performance by Robert Downey Jr".[77] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International, a one-time Marvel Comics writer, said

that, "In a refreshing and unexpected turn, the sequel to Iron Man doesn't find a changed man. Inside the metal, imperfect

humanity grows even more so, as thought-provoking questions of identity meet techno-fantasy made flesh."[78]

Critics of the film include Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, who stated, "Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man,

a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2has substituted noise, confusion, multiple

villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines."[79]

Box office

Iron Man 2 launched internationally with number-one openings on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, in six European markets for a

total $2.2 million from 960 venues.[80] It earned $100.2 million its first five days from 6,764 theaters in 53 foreign markets for

a strong average of $14,814 per site.[5] IMAX Corporation reported that the film grossed $2.25 million at 48 IMAX theaters

overseas, for an average of $46,875. This surpassed the previous record-holder for an IMAX 2D release,

2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($2.1 million).[81]

The film grossed $128,122,480 in its opening weekend at 4,380 theaters and is marked as the fifth highest opening

weekend behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest record and had the highest opening for a movie in 2010.
[82]
 The film had an average of $29,252 per theater. It grossed $51,239,677 in its opening day and is the ninth highest

opening day on record.[83] Iron Man 2generated $9.8 million from 181 IMAX venues. This is the highest opening weekend for

a 2D film in IMAX, surpassing Star Trek's previous record of $8.5 million.[84]

Iron Man 2 closed in theaters on August 19, 2010 and grossed $312,128,345 in the United States and Canada as well as

$309,623,643 internationally giving the film a worldwide total of $621,751,988.[5]Iron Man 2 is the third-highest grossing film

of 2010 in the United States and Canada behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland.[85] It is also seventh-highest grossing

film of 2010 internationally behind Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part

1, Inception, Shrek Forever After, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.[86]

Sequel

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said he is happy with the results of Iron Man 2 and predicted that Iron Man 3 will be in

theaters by 2013. "We do have a contract with Robert Downey Jr. to do it, and it will come after The Avengers", Feige said.
[87]
 Jon Favreau said that although the character may need reworking, the Mandarin would be in the third film. The director

said, "The problem with the Mandarin is that the way it's depicted in the comic books, you don't want to see that. He has 10

magical rings — that just doesn't feel right for our [franchise]. So it's either tech-based, or the rings are not really rings."[88]

After the release of Iron Man 2, a conflict between Paramount Pictures, which has distribution rights to certain Marvel

properties, and The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Comics' new corporate parent, clouded the timing and the distribution

arrangement of a possible third film.[89] On October 18, 2010, however, Disney agreed to pay Paramount at least $115

million for the worldwide distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.[90] Disney, Marvel, and Paramount announced a

May 3, 2013 release date for Iron Man 3.[91] Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to

direct Magic Kingdom instead. He remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's planned spin-off film The

Avengers.[92] In February 2011, it was reported that Shane Black will be the director for Iron Man 3.[93]

Despicable Me
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Despicable  Me
 Theatrical release poster

Directed by Pierre Coffin

Chris Renaud

Produced by John Cohen

Janet Healy

Chris Meledandri

Written by Ken Daurio

Cinco Paul

Story by Sergio Pablos

Starring Steve Carell

Jason Segel

Russell Brand

Julie Andrews

Will Arnett

Kristen Wiig

Miranda Cosgrove
 Dana Gaier

Elsie Fisher

Music by Pharrell Williams

Heitor Pereira

Editing by Gregory Perler

Pam Ziegenhagen

Studio Illumination Entertainment

Universal Animation Studios

Mac Guff

Distributed by Universal Pictures

Release date(s) July 9, 2010

Running time 95 minutes

Country United States

Language English

Budget $69 million[1]

Gross revenue $541,897,970 [2]

Despicable  Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film from Universal

Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film
stars Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and Miranda
Cosgrove. It is the first CGI feature produced by Universal, in association with its Illumination
Entertainment division. It was entirely animated in the French studio Mac Guff in Paris, France.

The story is of a supervillain named Gru who plans to use three orphan girls as pawns for a grand
scheme, only to find that their innocent love is profoundly changing him.
The film earned positive reviews from critics, and grossed more than $500 million worldwide, against a
budget of $69 million.
Contents

 [hide]

1 Plot

2 Cast

3 Music

4 Release

o 4.1 Marketing

o 4.2 Books

o 4.3 Video game

o 4.4 Home

media

5 Reception

o 5.1 Critical

response

o 5.2 Box-office

performance

6 Sequel

7 References

8 External links

[edit]Plot

Gru (Steve Carell) is a super-villain, operating out of his suburban home that serves as a front for a
underground lair where he, his assistant Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), and thousands of short yellow
minions plan their nefarious deeds. When Gru learns that another super-villain has stolen the Great
Pyramid of Giza, his pride is injured, and he plans an even greater heist, stealing the Earth's moon, a plan
he has had since childhood but discouraged by his mother (Julie Andrews). The prospect is quite
expensive, and Gru seeks out a loan from the Bank of Evil. The Bank's president, Mr. Perkins (Will
Arnett), initially refuses to extend Gru a loan, noting that he is much older than the super-villains of the
day, but offers that if he can secure a shrink ray, the critical part of Gru's plan, the Bank will give Gru his
loan.

Gru is able to steal a shrink ray from a classified East Asia facility, but it is stolen from him moments later
by Vector (Jason Segel), a nerdy super-villain who claims responsibility for the Pyramid theft. Gru
attempts to break into Vector's lair but is easily defeated by the numerous defenses. Taking a moment to
replan, he watches as three orphan girls, Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes
(Elsie Fisher), enter Vector's lab with no difficulty to sell him cookies. Gru devices a scheme to use the
girls to take in robotic cookies that can be used to disable the lair's defenses and allow him to steal the
shrink ray. He is forced to adopt the three girls, falsifying his credentials, and has difficulty coming to
nurture them properly between their own rambunctiousness, their ballet classes, and his own
unwillingness to be a parent.

Gru is eventually able to set his plan in motion, and with the girls' help, retrieves the shrink ray. The girls
suggest going to a theme park to celebrate, which Gru agrees to, seeing it as a way to abandon the girls.
However, when he is forced to accompany the girls on one of the rides he finds himself coming around
and enjoying his time. Gru and the girls spend the entire day at the park, Gru having warmed up to them.

With the shrink ray in hand, he returns to the Bank and successfuly shows his plan to steal the moon to
Perkins. Though Perkins is impressed by Gru's plan, he still refuses to give Gru a loan, revealing that
Vector is his son and would rather see the Moon stolen by him than by Gru. Encouraged by the girls who
want to see Gru succeed by giving him the few coins in their piggy bank, Gru decides to scavenge parts
from his lair to construct the rocket that will take him to the moon. Gru plans to launch on the day the
moon is in the best position in Earth's orbit, but which happens to be the same day of the girls' ballet
recital. Dr. Nefario feels that Gru is not focused in his mission and the girls are becoming the major
distraction, so he calls Miss Hattie telling her that Gru wants to return the girls. When Miss Hatie arrives,
Gru sadly returns the girls.

Gru launches his rocket and successfully shrinks the moon, unaware that the shrink ray's effects are only
temporary. Gru sees he has time to make it to the girls' recital. By the time he lands the recital is over, but
Vector has left a ransom note, having kidnapped the girls and demanding the moon for exchange of the
girls. Gru commits to the exchange but Vector reneges on the deal, taking both the moon and the girls in
his own ship. As the shrink ray's effect wears off and the moon expands, Gru, Dr. Nefario, and the
minions launch a rescue operation. They are able to save the girls in time just as the moon causes
Vector's ship to hyperjump into space. As the moon hyperjumps back into its original orbit, it expands
back to full size, destroying Vector's ship and stranding him on its surface with a space helmet.

Some time later, Gru has readopted the girls and treats them as his family. The girls perform their own
ballet recital for Gru, his mother, Dr. Nefario, and the minions, with the movie ending as they all get on
stage to dance.

[edit]Cast

 Steve Carell as Gru, the world's former number one supervillain.

 Jason Segel as Victor "Vector" Perkins, the world's new #1 supervillain after he stole the pyramid
of Giza and egotistical nerd. He has a penchant for inventing weaponry that launches fish and other
sea creatures.
 Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario, Gru's elderly, hearing impaired scientist, collaborator and good
friend.
 Julie Andrews as Marlena (Gru's Mother). In several of Gru's flashbacks, he showed her his plans
to go to the Moon, but she showed little interest and enthusiasm in everything he said or
accomplished.
 Will Arnett as Mr. Perkins, the president of the Bank of Evil and Vector's father. He is strong
enough to crush an apple with one hand, and he views Gru as being too old and out of date for
supervillain work. He is drawn like the Pointy-haired Boss of Dilbert.
 Kristen Wiig as Miss Hattie, the mistress of a local orphanage, Miss Hattie's Home for Girls. For
the most part she seems to hate her job and sees the girls more as an irritation than anything else as
well as using the kids as child labor.
 Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, the oldest of three orphans. Cosgrove describes the character very
protective of her two younger sisters.
 Dana Gaier as Edith, the middle girl of the group. A bit of a tomboy, she is described by her voice
actor to be "sort of a trouble maker".[citation needed]
 Elsie Fisher as Agnes, the youngest girl. She is known for her fondness of unicorns.
 Pierre Coffin as Tim / Bob / Mark / Phil / Stuart, five of Gru's minions.
 Chris Renaud as Dave, one of Gru's minions.
 Ken Jeong as Talk Show Host.
 Danny R. McBride as Fred McDade, Gru's next door neighbor.
 Jack McBrayer as Tourist Father / Carnival Barker.
 Mindy Kaling as Tourist Mother.
 Jemaine Clement as Jerry, one of Gru's minions.
 Rob Huebel as Anchorman / Newscaster.
 Ken Daurio as Egyptian Guard.
[edit]Music

Despicable  Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

 Soundtrack album by Various

Released July 6, 2010

Genre Soundtrack

Label Interscope Records

Producer The Neptunes (except tracks 5 & 9)

Despicable  Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released July 6, 2010. It features new songs
from the film written, performed, and/or produced by composed by Pharrell Williams, and performances
by Destinee & Paris, The Sylvers, Robin Thicke, The Bee Gees and David Bisbal. A soundtrack album
including the many other songs that appear in the film has not been officially released.

The film's score was composed by Heitor Pereira and produced by Hans Zimmer. It was recorded with a
67-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century
Fox.[3] As of December 30, 2010, the film's score has not been officially released; however, 8 tracks
appeared on MagicBoxMusic.com in November, 2010.[4][5]
Despicable Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

No. Title Writer(s) Performer L

1. "Despicable Me"   Pharrell Williams Pharrell

2. "Fun, Fun, Fun"   Pharrell Williams Pharrell

3. "I'm On a Roll"   Pharrell Williams/Robin Thicke Destinee & Paris

 4. "Minion Mambo" (feat. Pharrell & Lupe Fiasco) Pharrell Williams/Lupe Fiasco The Minions

5. "Boogie Fever" (from the 1976 album Showcase) Freddie Perren/Kenneth St. Lewis The Sylvers

6. "My Life"   Pharrell Williams/Robin Thicke Robin Thicke

7. "Prettiest Girls"   Pharrell Williams Pharrell

8. "Rocket's Theme"   Pharrell Williams Pharrell

9. "You Should Be Dancing" (from the 1976 album Children of the

Bee Gees Bee Gees
World)

10. "The Unicorn Song"   Pharrell Williams Agnes (Elsie Fisher)

11. "Soñar (My Life)" (iTunes only Bonus track) Pharrell Williams/Robin Thicke David Bisbal

Despicable Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (More Music)

No. Title Performer L

1. "Casino Royale"   Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

2. "Despicable Me (The Balloon)"   Pharrell

3. "Sweet Home Alabama"   Lynyrd Skynyrd

4. "Rocket's Theme (Bed Scene)"   Pharrell

5. "Garota de Ipanema"   Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius De Moraes

6. "Despicable Me II (Checking Inn)"   Pharrell

7. "Prettiest Girls (Introduction)"   Pharrell

8. "Copacabana"   Barry Manilow

9. "The Way It Is (Vector's Theme)"   D.A. Wallach

10. "Prettiest Girls (Theme Park)"   Pharrell

11. "Swan Lake Waltz"   Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

12. "Fun, Fun, Fun (Orchestra Version)"   Pharrell

Despicable Me Score

No
Title L
.

1. "Happy Gru"  

2. "Door Bell Rings"  

3. "Kyle Attacks"  

4. "Nefario Calls Gru"  

 5. "Minion March"  

6. "Miss Hattie's Face"  

7. "Gru Calls Mom"  

8. "Meeting Mr. Perkins"  

9. "Explosion"  

10. "Meet The Girls (Reprise)"  

11. "Adoption Process"  

12. "Gru's Lair"  

13. "Gru's Kitchen"  

14. "All Girls Amped Up"  

15. "Girls To Bed"  

16. "Girls To Dance Class"  

17. "Gru Is Angry"  

18. "Nefario Is Angry"  

19. "Teleconference"  

20. "Piggy Bank"  

21. "Hyper Girls"  

22. "Sleepy Kittens"  

23. "Nefario Confronts Gru"  

24. "Don't Let Her Take Us"  

25. "Kisses Goodnight"  

Despicable Me Promo Score

No
Title L
.

1. "Logo – Beautiful Egypt"  

2. "Mal Mart"  

3. "Cookie Delivery"  

4. "Drunk Unicorn"  

5. "Blast Off"  
 6. "Gru In Space"  

7. "Rushing Back"  

8. "Gru VS. Vector"  

[edit]Release

[edit]Marketing

Sneak peeks were shown in episodes of The Biggest Loser. Despicable Me was also featured on Last
Comic Standing when Gru comes in to audition. There has also been a minion that came in to audition,
but he was mute for the duration.

IHOP restaurants promoted the film by introducing three new menu items, a kids' breakfast meal, and a
drink all having the word "minion" in them.

Best Buy released a free Smartphone application called "Movie Mode" that translates what the Minions
are saying during the end credits. Special content can be unlocked from the application after seeing the
film.[6]

[edit]Books

In May, 2010, three books related to the movie were published, as well as the children's puppet book
featured in the film. The first, My Dad the Super Villain (ISBN 0316083828), was rated as a preschool
book. The second, Despicable Me: The Junior Novel (ISBN 0316083801) was rated as being a Junior
Reader for ages 8 to 12. The third, Despicable  Me: The World’s Greatest Villain (ISBN 0316083771),
was rated for ages 3–6 years. The puppet book, Sleepy Kittens (ISBN 031608381X), was written
by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and illustrated by Paul.

[edit]Video game

A video game titled Despicable  Me: The Game was released for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation
Portable and Wii. A Nintendo DS version was released under the name Despicable Me: Minion
Mayhem.Namco also released a version for the iPhone and iPad platform entitled Despicable Me:
Minion Mania, developed by Anino Games.[7]

[edit]Home media

Despicable  Me was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray 3D on December 14, 2010.[8] The release
included three new short films, titled Home Makeover, Orientation Day and Banana. Also, the
website Minionmadness.com was launched to promote the home media release.

[edit]Reception

[edit]Critical response
The film has received generally positive reviews from critics. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports
that 82% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 179 reviews, with an average score of
6.8/10. The critical consensus is: "Borrowing heavily (and intelligently) from Pixar and Looney
Tunes, Despicable Me is a surprisingly thoughtful, family-friendly treat with a few surprises of its
own."[9] Among "Top Critics," comprising critics from the top newspapers and other publications, the film
holds an approval rating of 88% based on 32 reviews.[10] Metacritic, another review aggregation website,
assigned the film a score of 72%, based on 34 reviews from mainstream critics.[11]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film, awarding it three stars out of a possible four.
[12]
 Other positive reviews came from Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune and Peter Travers ofRolling
Stone.[13][14]

In contrast, A. O. Scott of The New York Times disliked the film, stating "while there's nothing worth
despising, there's not much to remember either."[15] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chroniclewrote:
"there's nothing in this to engage an audience. Obviously, no one cares if this guy gets to remain as the
world's top bad guy. Nor is this situation inherently amusing in a character way or even interesting in
a satirical or sardonic way. There is simply nothing here, except a pretext for lots of
labored, slapstick spy-versus-spy type shenanigans between the two 'villains.' Twenty minutes into
"Despicable Me," nothing has happened."[16]

The film received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 68th
Golden Globe Awards[17] and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film at the 64th BAFTA Awards.[18]

[edit]Box-office performance

Released on July 9, 2010, in the United States, Despicable Me opened at the number one spot at the
box office and pulled in $56.3 million, making it the third biggest opening grossing for an animated film in
2010 behind Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After.[19] In its second weekend, the film dipped to 42% to
second place behind Inception with $32.8 million earned. The film then had another drop of 27% in its
third weekend and finished in third place with $23.8 million. On August 5, 2010, the film crossed the $200
million mark, becoming the first Universal film to reach the milestone since 2007'sThe Bourne Ultimatum.
[20]

On the weekend lasting from September 3–5, 2010 it surpassed Shrek Forever After to become the
second highest-grossing animated film of 2010 in the United States and Canada, behind Toy Story 3. It is
also the highest-grossing non-Shrek/non-Disney·Pixar animated film of all time in these territories. The
film has made $251,513,985 in the United States and Canada as well as an estimated $290,500,000
overseas for a worldwide total of $542,013,985, against its $69 million production budget. This film is also
Universal's sixth highest-grossing film (unadjusted for inflation)[21] and the tenth-highest-grossing animated
feature of all-time in North America.[22] In worldwide earnings, it is the sixth biggest film of Universal
Studios,[23] the third-largest animated movie of 2010 trailing Toy Story 3and Shrek Forever After, the 14th
largest animated film of all time and the 8th highest-grossing film of 2010.[24]
[edit]