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Iron Man
Posted: May 01, 2008 in Movies
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The suit looks way cool.
Robert Downey Jr. is a hoot as playboy industrialist Tony Stark.
Industrial Light & Magic performs its usual wizardry with slam-bang computer-generated effects.
And the supporting cast, with a total of six Oscar nominations, isn't exactly chintzy (and Downey adds another).
In short, "Iron Man" blasts off the summer in just the right way -- fun, funny and a treat for fans of the comic book on which it's based.
Unlike other superheroes, who are basically good people with faults, Stark is pretty much a waste of space. The billionaire head of a weapons corporation inherited from his dad, Stark uses his scientific brilliance to make things blow up for the U.S. military -- in between one-night stands with models and an ever-present tumbler of scotch.
Downey is the perfect fit for this puckish character. His devilish charisma is infectious. When he's not cruising around in the Iron Man suit, he tosses off a rapid stream of one-liners and argues good-naturedly with his robots.
And oh, that suit. Director Jon Favreau ("Elf") wisely sticks close to the classic red-and-gold armor from the comics. It's sleek, yet it has a visual weight to it, and when the eyes shine with white light and the power cell in the chest glows -- well, the geeks will struggle to hold onto their inhalers.
The story (credited to four writers) has just enough meat to keep things tripping along. While showing off his newest missile in Afghanistan, Stark is injured and captured by terrorists. Ordered to build weapons for them, he instead crafts crude armor that enables him to escape. He's aided by an Arab scientist who creates an implant to keep Stark's damaged heart beating.
Returning home, Stark renounces his war profiteering, which doesn't go over well with his company's board, though loyal henchman Obadiah Stone (Jeff Bridges) seems to have his back. Stark sets about refining his armor, helped by right-hand woman and wannabe girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Air Force Col. Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) to run interference with the military.
Favreau and his creative team clearly have a fetish for the technology, and it's hard not to share their enthusiasm.
After all, Stark has no superpowers -- he's just a guy who's smart enough to build armor that lets him fly and blast things.
Still, there's more screen time spent on Stark designing and testing the suit than doing superhero stuff in it.
Maybe they're saving that for the sequel.
Who caught one of the early Thursday screenings? What'd ya think?
The critics have given it a big, wet sloppy kiss. It scored an astonishing 94% on Rotten Tomatoes:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/
A theatre owner friend in northern Indiana had an 8:00 p.m. screening Thursday night to a crowd of geeky-nerds with comic book hair who still live in their mother's basements. Got a standing ovation at the end. The kids liked it, too, although on a totally different level; they just enjoyed it without having to debate every nuance.
this movie is totally cutting into GTA 4's earning power.
I loved it! I'm ready for a part 2 right NOW! I love RDJr. Did you stay through the ending credits? I was expecting a little more for sitting through such a long credit roll but it was still cool. They have to give you more after that tease! But I loved every part of Iron Man, nothing was flawed for me! It just left me wanting for more.
I really liked it, I get easily bored at movies and this one kept my short attention span!
I took the boy to see it today...there was in fact bonus footage after the end credits. Great geek moment, I must say.
Oh wow, keycinemas, you went for the "mother's basement" smear. Nice job, never seen that one before! I'm still laughing that was so clever and insightful! You should write reviews of all comic book movies, you sure can turn a unique phrase!
As Joe said, that was a great geek moment at the end. I am a mild Marvel fan and I believe I was the only female in the theatre on a weekday afternoon. Those who were hip enough to stay after the end credits pummped their fists and were downright giddy when (spoiler alert) Samuel Jackson appeared.