Iron Man Movie Review

Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 2, 2008

Yeah, I'm Iron Man

Superhero movies sure have come a long way. I remember growing up and seeing the original Superman films with Christopher Reeve. They were marvels of filmmaking back then, but they still had their warts. With the advent of digital effects and practical effects technology, we have finally approached the reality of seeing the comic books come to life on screen.

Even as short as jut a few years ago, there were still plenty of warts. After all, we could see where the CGI began and the practical effect ended in films like X-Men. And who doesn’t recognize the digital manipulation to get Mr. Fantastic to stretch like that.

With the release of Iron Man, there is almost a perfect blend of special effects. In the action sequences of the film, I cannot say where the CGI Iron Man bridged with a real metal suit. If the 1940s was the Golden Age of Comic Books, then we are now in the Golden Age of Comic Book movies.

Ultimately, Iron Man could not have been made even five years ago without looking a bit cheesy or having the effects break down. And this film so relies on those effects to give it its look and feel that it is really the first of its kind.

I’ve been a DC guy most of my life, and my interest in the Marvel universe is really something driven by Hollywood rather than the comic book industry. Consequently, I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of the Marvel heroes. Sure, I know about Spider-Man and the X-Men, but second tier characters like Iron Man I knew by their costume only.

Iron Man begins with an origin story, and while I poo-poo this kind of treatment for someone as famous as Superman or Batman, an origin is essential for this film.

Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark, an alcoholic, womanizing weapons mogul who is kidnapped by a fringe group of terrorists in the Middle East. They want him to build them a weapon, but Stark uses their lab-in-a-cave to construct the ultimate fighting armor. When he returns to the U.S., he continues to improve upon the design so he can fight crime and the war mongers who have gotten their hands on his weapon technology.

The buzz behind Iron Man has created the perfect storm of media hype leading into the summer season. For some, the film simply cannot live up to the hype, but that’s only reserved for sci-fi nerds who have downloaded every scrap of leaked footage and hi-res photo onto their computer. For the casual viewer, the film delivers exactly what the trailer promises.

Jon Favreau has a strong sense of action and excitement to his films. He manages to make the movie kick a whole lot of ass while still tempering the violence a bit for the family market. In other words, lots of things blow up, but most of the deaths are bloodless and seen off-screen.

But the real hero of the movie is Tony Stark himself, Robert Downey, Jr. For years, Downey has been a respected actor who could do both serious work and Hollywood fluff. He manages to give us a blend of both in this film. All jokes about his possible method acting to play a drunk aside, Downey gives us a very realistic yet hyper-realistic portrayal of Stark.

The story gets thin in parts, but really only for the secondary characters. It’s Stark’s film, and Downey owns the role. In the hands of a lesser actor, the film could have become tedious.

With awkward misfires from the past two years (specifically Spider-Man 3 and Mission: Impossible III), it’s nice to see a film that is an exciting kick-off to the summer season. It’s a great film and fun to watch, but it’s also not so perfect that nothing will ever live up to it.

THE UPSIDE: One of the best kick-offs to the summer movie season in years.

THE DOWNSIDE: The score isn’t as good as the kick-ass music from the trailers.

ON THE SIDE: Personally, I think the hype was way too much, but it was still a decent film.

Grade: A-

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brent

i really liked this movie and i think robert downey jr was amazing as tony stark but for some reason i just felt like that villian at the end came totally out of no where and didnt make a whole lot of sense to me. still a great flick though

Kevin Carr

Yeah, it wasn't the greatest villain, but it served its purpose. It was really more a story of Stark's journey, so I thought the relatively soft villain was okay in that respect.

Evan

Personally, I hope it's better than "Spider-Man 3" and "Mission: Impossible III." Honestly, I didn't like "Mission: Impossible III." But I will have to say that "Iron Man" will make a lot more money than "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Here's what I think is going to be the box office results for this month. There's too many Speed Racers, so probably, "Speed Racer" will make the least amount of money. Who knows? Harrison Ford is getting very old for the role of Indiana Jones, so therefore "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" will be in third place. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" has been out for about 3 years now, so therefore it's sequel - "Prince Caspian" - will make the second place round. "Iron Man" wins. It's at least something original and something we've never heard of - well except for the cartoons and comics.

I'm seeing "Iron Man" tomorrow, so hopefully you're right on my behalf.

Elizabeth

I'm usually not a fan of the first of a comic book movie franchise. The origin part of the origin story takes too long, and bogs up the middle like a cousin Oliver plot device. Ironman, however, I loved. There were a few moments where I got a little antsy, but overall, there was enough action mixed with enough wit mixed with enough heart to engage me throughout the movie. And you're right-in the hands of anyone but Robert Downey Jr, this movie would have been a much lesser fare.

And, of course, the Marvel bump at the end made me grin a bit.

Brian

Ok, so, I just finished watching Iron Man earlier today and loved it. I loved it, and yet, I couldn't really put my finger on why it was that I liked it so much. I started thinking back to other recent action movies I've seen like Transformers.
Were the effects better in Iron Man? No. Was the story better? No. Was the directing better? No. Nothing was really better, yet I liked it more. Why?
Then it hit me. Not once during the whole movie was I taken out of my engagement with the storyline by the lead character being emasculated by the "strong female character role model" while she did something fantastical while the heroine is left cowering somewhere in awe of her massive stones.
I was never left shaking my head at nauseating cheeseball stunts to pull the males role down just to boost the women's role up in an attempt to gain a few extra bucks.
Hollywood uses this tactic ad-nauseum to attract female movie goers and I find it to be insulting that such a cheap trick is so often employed. Women are strong and confident enough that they don't need stunts like this. A strong female role is more effective by having a strong role and character rather than a lame tactic like this.
That is what made Iron Man for me. It's in no way degrading women, which I would not stand for, but it is completely sans cheesy all too common Hollywood gender role reversals.
All I can say is that I'm glad that Iron man was allowed to keep his masculinity throughout. Never once was he made to watch an androgynous romantic interest drive an 18 wheeler 60 mph in reverse while blasting aliens out of the sky with an m16/grenade launcher while he cried in the corner.
Were there strong female roles? Not exceptionally strong, no. But Pepper had more courage all throughout the film than I could ever muster. The movie revolves around Iron man, because that's what the movie is about; Iron man. Forcing anything else would be nothing more than a cheap stunt.

Iron Man Movie Review

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