Bulbous also tapered!

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

Nope. More than anything I was disappointed by the dearth of criticism of the military apparatus, which I had been lead to believe was the crux of the film's message. Tony Stark's epiphany centers around his weapons falling into the "wrong hands", not by the far greater consequences of them being held by the hands for which they were designed.

Also, what happened to his alcoholism? 

Marvel is very pro-military.  They often do Armed Forces "product placement" in their comic book stories (recruitment posters in the background and such).  They will only "support the troops."

The alcoholism is a story they're saving for movie #2.

[matthew]

That is precisely what I recall of the comic books I read: ultra-chauvinism.

This is one reason why I was surprised by most of the claims of the peoples on the political message boards.

[bebopbalogna]

yeah, i guess i missed the part about your expectations being based on reviews. also, i used "asking a bit much" totally metaphorically, not suggesting that you had literally "asked".  asking anything of any studio (even independent studios to an extent) that doesn't equal bucks at the box office is a moot point.  i guess your disappointment is similar to my thoughts about "at war with the mystics" after every single review described it as an angry concept album railing against the bush administration, which was hardly the case.   

[matthew]

i guess your disappointment is similar to my thoughts about "at war with the mystics" after every single review described it as an angry concept album railing against the bush administration, which was hardly the case.   

Yeah, the lyrics were there, but the tenor was no different from the albums which preceded it.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

Wasn't Ultra-Chauvinist an indie band from the '90s?

[matthew]

Wasn't Ultra-Chauvinist an indie band from the '90s?

Yay!