My Review, Iron Man

[Merovingian 0]

Iron Man, for the non-geeks out there, is said summer Superhero from the 60s and from the same company (Marvel Comics) that gave us Spiderman, The X-Men and The Hulk. And since he’s the new hero on the block, the film takes the traditional formula to get its message across; Introduce the hero, his life, have him suffer some kind of disaster/trauma leading to gaining powers, decides to fight crime, fights crime, saves the girl & then gets outed to the rest of the world. So, by applying the above formula, I can tell you that the story is about millionaire, playboy, alcoholic Tony Stark (played by millionaire, playboy, alcoholic Robert Downey Jr.) who’s basically a cross between Hugh Hefner and Bill Gates. Mr Stark is the proud owner a rather large weapons company and whilst in the Middle East (originally Vietnam, but obviously given a 00s update) demoing some next generation missiles to the US Army, is involved and seriously injured in what appears to be a kidnapping. Now with a gun to his head, he is forced to build weapons for his captors. He uses this chance to escape and does so by building a suit of armour which gives him extra strength, firepower and flight. Upon his return to the US, he decides that his life of warmongering must come to an end (with some amusing comedy moments trying to rebuild the suit) and in a nod towards truth, justice (and the American… no, that doesn’t work. Um, Canadian way?), rebuilds his power suit to rid the world of war. But its never that easy! Simply put, I loved this film!!! Actor/Director Jon Favreau (with the help of the "Children of Men" writing team) originally wanted to cast an unknown for the role of Stark, however Downey Jr. pulls off the role as if he were Stark in real life. And based on all the tabloid reports about his private life over the last few years, its no surprise. He delivers the action when needed but uses his comedy background very well to show he's still the rich *bottom* we love to hate (Like Simon Cowell only less of a "see you next tuesday"). Supporting cast also includes the usual love interest/damsel in distress, here played by the lovely Mrs Chris Martin: AKA Gwyneth Paltrow. She plays Starks loyal PA, Virginia "Pepper" Potts and when not busy picking up his dry-cleaning is wooing him from a distance. Paltrow and Downey Jr’s on screen chemistry isn’t exactly on fire as has been other hero flicks but this film (unlike the others) does not need to revolve around the usual love story and instead goes for a “will the/won’t they” approach reminding us that Favreau wants you to fix on the man in the iron suit and not what’s going on around him. A rather odd looking Jeff Bridges also makes up a good chunk of the film as Obadiah Stane. Fans of the comics will recognise the name of the character straight away however unlike the comics, Favreau slightly re-invents the character for everyone else and keeps the fans guessing a while longer… a smart move which still keeps the fanboys on his side. We finally have a mix of supporting cast members who serve to make Stark’s character more likeable and human from best friend Lt. Colonel "Rhodey" Rhodes: (Oscar nominated Terrence Howard) to the traditional scumbag terrorist (Faran Tahir). Oh and don’t forget to play the usual game of “Where’s Stan?”. As always Stan “The Man” Lee makes his 2 second cameo much to the delight of the audience. So, time for the pros and cons. Pro, it’s a great action film for all the family. Con, it’s a great action film for all the family. Its an unfortunate problem but its greatest strength is also its weakness. From the comics POV, the character of Stark is far more complex, dark and seriously flawed than Fraveau is able to communicate in this first outing. In a perfect world, he could have made a gritty “Casino Royale” showing as much of Starks inner demons after years of selling death. They are hinted at with his womanising and drinking but for Marvel to catch that younger $ide of the audience, $ome thing$ had to be left out of the cut to make $ure they got their me$$age acro$$. But with that small i$$ue aside (sorry, I’ll stop that), its still a great movie with superb action pieces and eye candy to ensure you have a great night out. In the superhero scale of movies (where Catwoman is a 1, Spidy III is a 5 and Batman Begins is a 9.5), we have ourselves a solid 8 out of 10. But be warned, this is a superhero flick for superhero fans. Unlike some hero films that have a much younger “OC” cast for young moviegoers to woo over, this one does not. Don’t get me wrong, Paltrow is nice to look at and Downey Jr is no beast, however he’s no Hugh Jackman either. This is pure hero, boys with toys action the way it should be! You will walk out of that cinema either wanting Starks life or his suit… however one word of warning, don’t walk out too soon, as I did. Whilst writing this, I consulted the web only to discover that there is a fanboy treat and huge cameo following the end credits, so stick around true belivers!! Cheers, Mero (Rich)

[Maxfelgar 0]

First of all, I'd like to say that I didn't walk out of the film wanting Stark's suit, or his life. Just his cars . I saw the movie twice, once in a regular theater and once at a drive in, and both times it was excellent. The acting was quite good, and I really enjoyed the storyline. The effects, and the 'gadgets' in general were absolutely awesome, although the thing I wished I could have most in the movie were Tony Stark's cars . I liked this movie much more than any other 'superhero movie', especially any or all of the Spiderman movies. I did write a big review about Batman, so I guess I would consider these two as tied. I'm DEFINITELY planning on buying it when it comes on DVD, and I'm looking forward to a sequel .

[skedad 0]

This movie seemed to really put a lot of detail into throughout. It almost seemed like would not get anywhere, but alas, once he made his suit... it was all on! I am not complaining, I wanted to savor it from start to finish, and it did not disappoint. I gives props to Downey... never would have seen him as an action figure... let alone a superhero.... and he is also in Tropic Thunder... action kind of humor film.... Where has he been!!??I loved the CG of course... How it adds to all of the new comic book to movie genre... I am thinking the comic superhero movie genre is becoming my favorite. I love the action and how well everything is starting to convert over well... and a lot of these flicks have a great soundtrack, too.Ok, so in a way I started to get off track... but it is ok. I still loved the movie and plan to get it on DVD... along with many others that keep adding to my collection.

[MoonLightCity 0]

I really enjoyed it, I didn't really like it at first, but once he started to build the suit, it was awesome..

[skedad 0]

So I have seen it on the big screen and planned on renting it again to see on my big screen... and ended up just buying it there on the spot.I am definitely a sucker for the comic book super hero flix nowadays!

[Running With Scissors1405241561 0]

I think I'll rent the movie along with the Hulk next week since they both be out. At least I think they'll both be out by then. I want to watch them back to back and compare them. I thought the last Hulk movie sucked or wasn't what I thought it was going to be like. I wasn't even planing on seeing Iron Man but after reading your review I going to. So far my favorite super hero movie is probably Spiderman 3 but Xmen 3 was good also. It seems like the 3rd movie is always good.

[Atomic0 0]

I have watched the movie Iron Man. It was quite a good adaptation of the comic series compared to the Batman series, which I thought wasn't that good since the actors performed unnaturally in the way they interacted with each other. However, I wouldn't say it is the best movie I have seen in the last year.

[levimage 0]

I finally got a chance to see the movie at my gf's house. I didn't get to see it in the theater.I think it was pretty kool, I kept yhinking is this movie for kids, families, geeks, or comic fans. It kind of reminded me of the movie 48 hours with the terrorist bit. I liked the automations, robots, suits, but thought the weapons were cheesy. Robocop had better weapons and explosions for it's time. I guess I'm more of a Transfomer kind of guy. If i had a choice of a superhero to come out it would be... that vampire chick or something Gothic suitable for late teens/adults. Or something else from Darkhorse comics.