The Invincible Iron Man
Posted by James Schu (jgs210@psu.edu) on February 13, 2007
Times aren’t exactly tough for comic book movie adaptations. Recent years have offered the returns of Batman and Superman to the big screen, the critically lauded and innovative renditions of Sin City and V for Vendetta, and box office smashes like the X-Men trilogy. Even marginally popular franchises are being awarded super-sized budgets, like the 2005 dud Constantine and next week’s Ghost Rider, which, despite expectations that hardly surpass Razzie fodder, can still bank on the reliable fanboy demographic. Meanwhile the buzz around 300 is deafening, the upcoming Spider-Man 3 aims to be the year’s highest grosser, and Marvel has just recently greenlit the live-action adaptation of Iron Man, expected for May 2008. So why The Invincible Iron Man, Lionsgate and Marvel’s direct-to-DVD animated origin tale of the armor-clad hero, in 2007?
Obviously, studios and comics publishers can further expect to cash in on the comics boom by combining the more affordable medium of traditional 2-D animation with the suddenly lucrative DVD market. Henceforth comes The Invincible Iron Man, an insipid and unnecessary origins tale with bloated epic ambitions and epically flawed execution. For having an 80-minute run time, Iron Man takes quite a while to get its legs, and even then is bogged down by superfluous characters and overstuffed plotlines. Hardcore fanboys will likely be turned off by the major liberties taken with the Iron Man mythology, which here is entangled with an overemphasis on ancient Chinese lore as opposed to the comic’s classic storyline.
While Iron Man’s ambitions imply commentary on the dichotomies of East vs. West, mysticism vs. technology, and old vs. new, it loses sight of any introspective presentation of its characters, including its hero’s alter ego, Tony Stark. Stark, a wealthy industrialist playboy-type in the mold of Bruce Wayne, has always been one of Marvel’s flawed heroes, most notably due to his infamous struggles with alcoholism. However, the flick doesn’t introduce this plotline at all, preferring to spend more then ample time exploring the Chinese folklore surrounding Iron Man’s first enemy, the Mandarin.
Iron Man’s 2-D animation is nothing special, but it’s glaringly exposed when juxtaposed with the computer animated action sequences. Few and far between, these scenes (usually involving the super-cool baddie henchmen known as the Elementals) will make you wish the whole film had ditched the old pen and paper and gone digital all the way. That’s not to say 2-D heroes ‘n’ tights pics can’t be good–look no further than the now-classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm or, more recently, last year’s impressive Ultimate Avengers. But Iron Man drops the ball, and the rushed 2-D scenes easily deflate the momentum of the computerized sequences.
Even The Invincible Iron Man’s climactic battle can’t salvage the wreck–in fact, it makes the film fall even harder. Rather than the traditional red-and-gold suit fans are accustomed to, Iron Man battles the Mandarin in a lame, roundish grey suit (an ill-advised homage to the costume from his ’60s debut). In fact, he does little fighting, as the Mandarin is ultimately defeated not in a spectacular set piece, but by a supporting character’s internal triumph over evil. And to cap it off, the film steals its epilogue almost beat-for-beat from Batman Begins.
Marvel flicks usually come equipped with some pretty cool extra features, though The Invincible Iron Man’s package seems a bit thin. Even so, there is an interesting behind-the scenes doc, some always-impressive concept art, and a fairly extensive gallery of Iron Man’s various armors. Also included is an alternate opening sequence, which is equally as boring as the final cut’s, and a scene previewing the Marvel’s next animated feature, Doctor Strange, which is actually more exciting than them both.
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