one late, one early

so Finally i went to see iron man. and, as promised, although some of my screenings come a little Later than i'd desire, some come early. so here's a pre-release review as well.

iron man--
Do believe the hype: this film is really entertaining. And it Is all about robert downey, jr. that being said, you've gotta hand it to the tremendous teamwork of a Whole Lot of superstar artisans who made it shine. (i'll talk departments, You look up names, numbering too many to mention.) exceptionally good script, Outstanding music supervision And composition, good art direction, great f/x (apparently every f/x house in christendom pitched in), cool wardrobe, good cinematography, good gwyneth....
so for any shortcomings that jon favreau may have revealed during this monstrous undertaking (rumors of $30M in reshoots come to mind), he certainly did deliver a final product with flair. kudos to his knack for comic moments and one-liners, his passion for the material, and most importantly, for his Leadership. for a director, hiring a good team is Essential, because a film will ride on the strength of collective craftsmanship.
teamwork: 3 stars

kung fu panda--
kids will love it, sure; and as is true of every exceptional animated feature, this is a movie for everyone. youngsters will certainly respond to (maybe as much as the old guy behind me did) the countless panda pratfalls, while adults will also vibe with the lessons of eastern wisdom. all the classic martial arts film tropes are there, perfectly tweaked for maximum titters. superb voice casting and acting, tight script, and slick animation. the delightful requisite fight-training montage that ends act two is topped only by the "awesomeness" of the opening sequence.
delightful: 4 stars