Iron Man Movie Review
Bwaaaaaaaaawwwaawwwwwwwhhhhhhhh......IIIIIIIIIII AM IIIIIIIIIIRONNNNNN MAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNN...DUUHHHH DUHHHH, DUHDUH-DUHHHH, NANANANANANA-NAAAAAA, NA-NA-NAAAA!!!!!
Heh...ok, now I'll start writing. If you've been hiding under a rock for the past week and not hearing things about this movie, let me just say right off the bat, it's amazing. I might even go so far as to criticize you for sitting here reading this if you haven't seen it already, because only so often does a comic book movie come out that is virtually gripe-less, which this movie is. I had no complaints when I saw this film. Wait, hold on, back up, let's do this in somewhat of an orderly fashion shall we? If you haven't seen this movie, stop reading and just go see it. If you still want to sit there and read yet another review, well then, read on true believer.
Iron Man. Not the strongest character out there in comics. In fact, as he stands at the moment, he's somewhat of the George Bush of the Marvel Universe as far as public perception goes. Pretty much nobody likes anything he's been doing lately. Also, he seemed to be a bit of a weird pick when lined up against other heroes, such as Captain America, Thor and so on and so forth. Paired up with a Director who's track record sports Elf and 'Space Jumanji' (a.k.a. Zathura), it did seem as if we had another Fantastic Four scenario on our hands. A Director out of his genre-related depth. I'm so happy to see that this was not the case. Not by a long shot. After being so hurt by the enormous sandy cat-turd by the name of Spider-Man 3, it's really nice to see something on the opposite side of the spectrum. This movie has a broad appeal unlike any other comic book movie. If Iron Man, the comic, had never existed, this would still fly in theaters. It's just plain good.
One of the things that makes / breaks a comic movie from the get go is the actor's portrayal of the character we already know so well as comic book readers. This is why it's so hard to make a good comic book movie. We already know what the character should be like, so if they're off by even the smallest degree, we can sniff it out like a bloodhound can sniff a drop of pee-pee in a silo of water. That being said, this movie nails it. Robert Downey Jr. is so freaking phenomenal. It's just ridiculous. I mean I've enjoyed him in a lot of his recent rolls, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang immediately comes to mind, but he's just been doing really well since he's cleaned up his act a bit, and admittedly, even before all that mess. Obviously he's to be praised in this movie since he's the starring role, but I feel that the supporting cast is going to be somewhat overlooked in the reviews you'll be hearing from other places, so I'm just going to say it. The key supporting characters are all equally well done. Obadiah Stane, James Rhodes and Pepper Potts are all extremely well done, giving this movie not only a bright glimmering figurehead, but a very solid, well built supportive base that allows Mr. Stark to really shine at his best. I want to pick one person out of the lineup that I think out shined the rest, but in all honesty, Gweneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrance Howard all did astounding jobs at bringing the characters of the comics to life in such a way that they fill all those slots and gaps in the proverbial Iron Man Armor to really round out this movie in all the ways that make this world our hero lives in a believable one.
The special effects are amazing. As always, Stan Winston delivers like a crazy mofo. This guy's track record is just astounding. It's so good it prompted me to go home last night after seeing the movie and dreaming that I was on set just watching him build things and being amazed while doing so. Terminator, Alien, Predator, Jurassic Park, and of course, Invaders from Mars. What can't this guy make look amazing on film. We'll, the list continues with Iron Man. There are scenes in this movie where you'd swear it's just amazing CG you're looking at but no. They built a freaking Iron Man suit. Actually, they built 4. Mach 1-3 and Iron Monger, and God, they're so cool looking. The transitions of shots between actual models and CG models are literally seamless. The only way I could tell whether or not what I as seeing was CG or not was just what it was doing. If it was heaving a car, it was CG, that's pretty much the only way to tell, haha. My point: they do the Invincible Iron Man proud in this movie.
The movie is over 2 hours long, but it doesn't feel like it. And even if it did, it's just not enough. When this movie was over, I wished I could just jump ahead 2 or 3 years and watch the sequel right there, which is an unmistakably good sign. This movie makes you hunger for more, and obviously, it's bitter sweet, because besides The Dark Knight coming up in 2 months, I don't think we'll see a comic movie of this caliber again in quite some time. So enough of me just waxing praise for this movie, what are you still here for? Get to a theater and watch this. And when you do, make sure you stay after the credits for what will surely give you a geek-gasm that'll have the guys who clean up the theater after the showtime cursing you for all they're worth. A.
That bonus after the credits can be found at the link below on youtube while it lasts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjBiVZ2uoeA
please, if you're gonna see this movie, don't click on the link above, go see it in a movie theater instead of on a crappy resolution youtube cam video. it's such a good moment.
I agree with joshiebear, but keep the link handy. I saw the film yesterday and my theatre didn't have the clip (or they didn't show it, as they clipped the end credits a bit)
Great review of the movie. I agree with everything you say. Now I really look forward to the Hulk movie. Thanks for the link Keith. Didn't know anything about those till you posted that link.
Haha, did you see this brilliant spoiler?
"Iron Man dies after 30 minutes. Everyone spends the remaining 90 minutes suffering at the hands of bad guys while also feeling sad because Iron Man died. The final shot of a family of raccoons nesting on Tony Stark's dried bones inside Iron Man's rusting metal suit is a comment on man's futility against the forces of nature or something."
I saw it here: http://www.236.com//news/2008/05/02/236_summer_movie_spoilers_1_6251.php
Ellana, you need to give some context in that quote. It's SUPPOSED to be silly.
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! Best Super Hero movie since Spider-Man 2 in my opinion, mostly because of the fanboy goodness. Shell head's one of my favorite heroes and this film, which I have been looking foreward to since its announcement, did not let me down!
I'm so freaking happy S.H.I.E.L.D has been introduced, if you see the film then you know that this marks the beginning of finally starting to tie all of these movies together. It is VITAL to stay after the credits, fanboy bliss people.
Other than that I agree with Joshibear in that it's just plain good. Great action and effects, the perfoances were phenominal, and it gives us a wondeful story jam packed with that superhero origin tail we all love. *****5 stars baby!!
just got back from it. Great film. Did anybody who remembers the original 1960s cartoon catch the theme song from it in the film? Hint: it's in Vegas, baby!
And I loved that bit after the credits where they introduce John Travolta as the Titanium Man. Oh, wait, sorry. Didn't mean to let that spoiler out. Don't read that bit above. Stop reading, like three lines back. STOP IT I SAID!
hero004, you're right. I didn't talk about how i thought the seeds they were planting in this film for the avengers was so good. it totally was amazing.
and drwhofan...you bastard. why'd you have to go and ruin it for everyone else?
Oh by all means, See the movie on the big screen. I've seen it twice now and will probably see it a couple more times. But I know quite a few people that see movies only once and didn't know about it at all. It's a dead link now as well. Surprised it was up as long as it was.
My bad, Joshiebear. I got so pumped when I saw Sean Connery as The Mandarin that I-- Oh crap! I did it again!
DOOOOOCTOOOOOORWHOOOOOOFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (SHAKING FIST!!!!)
(thick Scottish accent) "And now, Mister Stark.. Feel the agony of my ring's power to make your sequel suck ass! I killed off one "Avengers" franchise and I shall do the same to yours!"
So much for a spoiler free review, sheesh Dr.WhoFan.
What's better, Joshibear and crew, is that as of this morning we now know that in 2010 we get IRON MAN 2 and THOR, while in 2011 we get CAPTAIN AMERICA and THE AVENGERS. But Ya'll know that by now.
(Oh and 2010 theres SPIDER-MAN 4 following the critically acclaimed path of Batman Forever. Woopti-fuckin-doo, I've moved on, my dear cinematic Spidey)- end smart-ass rant.
I loved the movie myself and that ending credits was awesome. I don't know if an Avengers movie would work. Just too many characters in one big screen. Can not wait for Narnia, Indiana 4, Batman, and Hulk. This summer is going to be great.
yeah i read that this morning, and pretty much shat myself in anticipatory awe. stephanie....shutty uppy. don't jinx an avengers movie. the way marvel's trying to make this happen is as good as anything i could ever dream up and i'd love to think we have a decent shot of an avengers movie that'd make sense. don't ruin it. :-D
Oh Hero 004 how close you are in your rant but just off by a little, IMHO Batman Forever (the third in the franchise) was right on par with Spider-Man 3 or as I like to call it Suck Dick-fest '07 and I agree that Spider-Man 4 will be just as big an expected let down as Batman and Robin was. Oh well, one hero movie dies and another quickly takes over.
I missed the podcast tonight because of car trouble so I guess I'll say my Iron Man peice now since I was saving it for the podcast....it simply could not have been any better, I wish I had saw an early show so I could have walked out, bought another ticket, and gone back in. The ticket ripper guy was the one that said to stay after the credits, and God bless that high school kid whereever he is, if Karma is real he is in a threesome right now, the cool kind. I must say I did call the ending while the credits were roling, I only said it possible scenarios and it was of course the best scenario. I wasn't an Iron Man fan before this movie, but I am now. I also avoided all reviews and criticisms before I saw it, including this one, and I think it helped because as excited as I was to see it, I was more excited when I left. My official ranking of Comic Book movies has now changed, move over Spider-Man 2 it is now Sin City, Batman Begins, Iron Man. Bring on the sequal though I fear the rush of Thor, Cap, and the Avengers. There was no rush for Iron Man and look what we got, I wish they would learn to take their time rather than get gready.
I wouldn't call them "rushed" though, Chris. 2010/2011 isn't really rushed. Remember, Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980 after Star Wars came out in 1977. So 2-3 years is a good distance for them to get a decent script, work out the bugs, and produce a decent product.
"Rushed" would be, "We're making all these movies, which are not yet in pre-production, next year." That would be rushed.
Look at it in typical high school geek terms. If you were a freshman in high school now, then by the time the movies come out you'd be getting ready to be a senior. Or in to look at it in Chris-time Between Iron Man 1 & 2 you might have sex. :-P Just kidding, buddy.
No it is rushed if they are going to have an Avengers movie with Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America as the same actors that were in their own solo movie, for whoever plays Captain America it will probably feel very much like back to back filming, like with the Matrix trilogy, and we all know that worked out so well. If Downey Jr. signed on for 3 films than The Avengers would be his third film and thats pretty back to back in my opinion. I was going to make a crack at you being old Jeff, but than that would be me making fun of something that is true as opposed to you making fun of me based on something you made up in your head.
LOL. too true, Chris.
I think it makes a little bit of sense to do the Cap film last. As much of a Cap fan as I am, I think based on the old movies and just the premise of Captain America, it's alway been a crapshoot to make a film of him that'll be as successful as Iron Man or even Thor (fingers crossed).
yeah, seeing as how i live down here and have seen the production process, albeit not for a movie this big, 3 years is actually quite a decent amount of time for such a high-profile movie. that's essentially 1 year for pre-production prep, most likely a few months for shooting, and the rest of the time for post production, which takes a good degree of time doing special effects and whatnot.
While I agree that the time frame might seem rushed, it isn't so if this has been part of the plan already, and work has already started.
What I wonder is of any of the other Marvel chars will possibly make a cameo.
Well, in the Hulk trailer you see someone walking along a snow-capped mountain. If Hulk jumps over the North Sea Ice floes, then that could be a cameo of Captain America. Just pick an iceberg.
well, robert downey is gonna be in hulk for a scene, so there's that. plus, captain america's sheild is in iron man...so...they're doing stuuuuff.