Magnum Gold?! and Iron Man 2 Review

By now you would have seen the print, outdoor and TV ads for the new "Magnum Gold?!" (and yes, the "?!" is part of the product name). They feature Benicio Del Toro and Caroline de Souza Correa paired together with an uncanny resemblence to Brangelina.



The Hollywood trailer style TVC is directed by none other than Bryan Singer. Benicio and Caroline play a married couple who attempt a heist of 75 million pieces of gold.



But what is this new "Magnum Gold?!"? (sorry, is that one too many question marks?)



It's smooth Madagascan vanilla ice cream swirled with sea-salt caramel, and it sports a gold dipped milk chocolate coat. Salted caramel! You just have to mention that and I'm instantly sold.

Magnum showed off this new flavour to selected media at a private screening of Iron Man 2 (which was absolutely awesome!!). The signature thick creaminess of the ice cream was a familiar pleasure, but the caramel swirls were rather subtle and delicate. I would have liked more, but I'm just too much of a salted caramel fanatic.

The golden bar does look decadent. Even in the dim theatre, I could make out the golden gleam. Sorry I wasn't able to take a shot of it. For sample photos of the actual product, check out Sparklette's blog. 

Singapore is the only Asian country out of the 29 to get this ice cream on its launch today. The Impulse Singles retail at S$3.90, and the Multi-pack of three are S$10.90 islandwide. Quite a steal.

And if you'd like more of a steal, literally, you can join the Heist event at Orchard Road on 15-16 May. Using a secret code online from www.MyMagnum.com.sg, enter a Heist container and count all the gold bars inside, and you can win a trip to Maldives, Koh Samui or Resort World Sentosa.



Meanwhile, if you haven't caught Iron Man 2, you should! It's not easy making a sequel to match the expectations racked up by such a successful first movie. But I thought this one rocked (along with the ACDC soundtrack). It does pretty well as a standalone movie by itself too. Good job, Favreau!

Robert Downey Jr shines again inimitably as genius industrialist and playboy Tony Stark. His narcissism is bigger and badder than ever, cutting down slimy senators and sleazy competitors, all of whom want his technology. He is more fun outside his iron suit (when inside, he's just a Robocop). It is penultimate cool when he hand-builds his own particle accelerator. Finally, I can divorce Downey's longstanding image in my mind as Chaplin and the forgettable irritant in Ally McBeal.

But Mickey Rourke is the one who (for me) steals the show as Whiplash/Ivan Vanko, the Russian nemesis with the sly, metal-toothed smirk (Mickey's clearly having fun with the Russian accent). He's big, brooding, and brilliantly talented. When he cracks those menacing electrified whips, you feel genuine fear. What a comeback! Mickey Rourke is almost sexy again! Didn't like the way they finished him off - no, he deserves a tougher ending, or to be recruited to the good side at least. Way better sidekick than Don Cheadle.

And Scarlett Johansson as triple agent Natalie ("from legal") brings not only eye candy but a spritz of humour to her stunts. Gwyneth is sweet but just a bit too hysterical. Samuel L.Jackson never fails to delight. Oh there are a lot of people and subplots, which can be confusing, but it worked for me.

For sure Iron Man 2 has got imperfections, but it's still rollicking good fun. Oh yes, don't forget the little teaser at the end of the credits.

I'll leave you with RDJ's chat with David Letterman...


All photos courtesy of Magnum/Unilever.