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It was a slight concern to me that there was way too much promotion on Iron Man - the latest Marvel hero to get a big screen treatment – with every commercial, trailer and You Tube video everywhere showing just about “everything”. The movie stills were variations of Robert Downey in the Iron Man suit striking a pose with his hand. Yet, I had a good feeling about the picture, and after I walked out after the end credits were done (with good reason) I have to admit, this was the best Marvel flick since Spider-Man 2 and as far as origin stories go, the best since the first Spider-Man. I’ll even go one step further: the film is actually one of the best films of 2008, and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
What I wound up liking more and more about Iron Man isn’t the FX and other eye candy- which is nicely done up regardless- but rather, the time and effort the film takes into characterization, story and do something which the X-Men film franchise attempted to do. Be about something. The biggest strength of the film is the motivation of the lead character, Tony Stark, (wonderfully done by Robert Downey Jr.) as he is a child prodigy who has grown up to be a weapons inventor and jet-setting playboy with loads of booze and so many women that if he ever sees one of those ladies again, he hardly would remember their name. But after his convoy is attacked, he is nearly killed by terrorists- who seem to have gotten ahold of some of the weapons and other knickknacks that he had a hand in creating. After he tricks the terrorists, he builds a prototype Iron Man suit and starts raising hell.
As the film progresses, Stark has a new outlook on life, which does not bode well for his friends Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) or his mentor Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who reminds Stark that the company’s backbone is military contracts. Stark, however wants to perfect his suit that he used to escape the terrorists, as he believes that because his company’s technology has fallen into enemy hands, he must make himself a suit of hi-tech armor to confront such threats.
{the following may contain a few “spoilers” read at your own risk-DJS}
While it comes as no real surprise who the puppet master behind such shady enterprises is, the final showdown is appropriate since Stark, as Iron Man, must confront a villain called the Iron Monger- who is a more larger, stronger, advanced and lethal version of his own prototype armor. While I wanted a bit more of this fight, I liked it more for the story appeal of it. If Stark feels that some of his inventions have been twisted and misused and he must destroy them, it is fitting that he face off a misused, twisted version of himself. There are also in these scenes, a real sense of danger and panic, as the Monger plays dirty like a Marvel comics villain should.
I also applaud the idea that the lead actress’ character isn’t a whiny snob (looking at you Jessica Alba) and actually is part of the action instead of being the kidnap victim who a hero must save (looking at you, Miss Dunst), I like the nod given to Howard’s future in the series (in the comics, Rhodes puts on Iron armor, nicknamed ‘War Machine’) and that the film has a sense of humor that doesn’t wink at the audience. Yes, in the end credits, the coda features a cameo by Samuel L Jackson in a part widely known in geekdom internet circles. It’s nice, but did nothing for me.
The rest of the film already did it all.
*******
Iron Man
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany (voice of “Jarvis”) and Jeff Bridges
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Darren Seeley (184 posts)Fave directors include David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Michael Mann, Anique Faqua, Walter Hill, John Carpenter, John Woo and James Cameron. An aspiring screenwriter, I wrote several spec scripts (platform: Final Draft) that I occasionally submit to contests, Inktip, and workshop through peer review sites like Triggerstreet and Zoetrope. I have attended The Austin Film Festival and Heart Of Screenwriters Conference in 2001 and 2002. CoP marks my third go around as an internet film reviewer of sorts. My previous film hub haunts were 'Dark Universe' and, most notably, 'The Projector Booth'. Location: MI,USA.
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I guess you can say that the Iron Standard has been set, by which the rest of this summer’s impending action hero flicks will be measured by.
Witty dialog more than makes up for the completely predictable plot and as you pointed out, there’s a nicely done build up of the main character’s motivation. Robert Downy Jr. oozes charm and is supported by a cast of highly competent actors. It’s smart eye candy.
Comment by Denise — Mon May 5, 2008 @ 4:16Lines down the block at my local theater last night to see this. I love Robert Downey, but i doubt this is my kind of film.
Comment by marisa — Mon May 5, 2008 @ 18:17The plot of Iron Man leans heavily on Robocop but that’s fine, really: better stolen well, than invented badly. And Robert Downey Jr. (still the most beautiful eyes in Hollywood) is utterly believable; as the cynical irresponsible playboy, as the (sometimes bumbling) tech-nerd, and as a reformed man (I suspect the parallels that can be drawn to his past are more than coincidental). The filmmakers should send Tom Cruise a thank you card for turning down the lead role. In his hands this film would undoubtedly have become a pompous, lumbering star-vehicle, whereas Downey hits the right notes every time. As do Jeff Bridges and Terence Howard for that matter. Only Gwyneth Paltrow was off sometimes. She was great as the confident, slightly flirty but always professional PA with a constant hint of irony in her voice. But when she had to go lovey-dovey I thought she was not always on the mark.
Comment by Mariken — Wed May 7, 2008 @ 22:17And the bad-guys were a little too clichéd for my taste; I’m kind of done with the whole ‘evil Muslim who hardly ever washes’-theme.
Having said all that, I had a ball watching this and can’t wait for the next installment. Here’s hoping Favreau will do an X-men; that way the second one will be even better than the first.
First off: you might want to put a SPOILERS warning at the beginning of your review. A problem I regularly have with your reviews. No offense.
To take one misconception away: it is not Iron Man that leans on Robocop, as Iron Man is older than most people here (he first featured in the early ‘60). So if there is a kinship, it would be the other way around.
This movie rocked and I enjoyed it thoroughly: Downey was nigh perfect, the suit and SFX were fantastic and even Paltrow was watchable (she did look good on those high heels). With the hint at the end of the credit (stay there) it gives a hint of what we will see more. Actually, almost all Marvel installments have followed the great cartoon versions that preceded them. So I expect to see a Captain America movie (The Rock maybe?) and one featuring Dr. Strange. With the new Hulk and Hellboy movies coming and later on a Wolverine spin-off, the Marvel universe is more and more firmly established.
All this can then lead to the culmination of The Secret Wars. Wouldn’t that be cool.
Comment by paco — Mon May 12, 2008 @ 2:05I agree with you that Iron Man is older than Robocop, I just meant that cinematically IM leans on RC, not just regarding to the plot bot also regarding the execution of that plot (including, but not limited to the shape of the feet of the ‘replacement’ creature that our hero has to fight and the problem that poses). However, I did not mind this as RC was a pretty good film to begin with, and IM has plenty of originality in the performances and direction.
And I realise I am quite the coward for not mentioning this sooner, but I also agree about the spoiler warning. On my second read, I found that the review is giving away a lot of the plot. This is fine if you read it after having seen the movie (as I did), but will probably give away too much for somebody reading it before seeing the film.
Comment by Mariken — Tue May 13, 2008 @ 15:53I don’t think I given away as much as you two think I have. But I will edit the review to put in a spoiler warning regarding the third act.
Oh, and Hellboy isn’t Marvel. That’s Dark Horse.
Comment by Darren Seeley — Wed May 14, 2008 @ 6:07Great movie. Better than the Spider-Man movies, but not better than the X-Men movies. I just think Bryan Singer set the golden standard when it comes to movies based on Marvel characters. Although this is perhaps the most promising franchise yet. The expectations for the Hulk as been raised.
Comment by Jose — Sun June 8, 2008 @ 3:07I love robert downey
Comment by jezz — Sat June 21, 2008 @ 20:51is beautiful