Robert Downey Jr. and the ‘Iron Man’ Review
First off, right out of the bullpen, I want to warn readers that this review of Iron Man, the first self-financed feature film from Marvel Studios, WILL HAVE SPOILERS. Normally, I try to keep any stories involving a new release free of them, but as you will read, this film is just chock full of little “fanboy delights” which enhance the experience and are an important part of the overall product.
With that said, this film should be labeled “FFBF”, meaning “For Fanboys, By Fanboys” because director Jon Favreau seems to know what the comic fans wanted to see. One gets the impression that if he were sitting in the seats, he’d want the same thing from this comics-famous tale of a millionaire, arms-manufacturing playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) who decides to craft a supersuit and fight evil. Over the course of the film, anyone familiar with the character and the greater Marvel Universe will likely enjoy the references (sometimes subtle, but not always) to things ranging from War Machine to the Mandarin… even to S.H.I.E.L.D.
So make sure to pay attention, and most importantly, stay in the theater until after the credits!
Diehard Iron Man fans shouldn’t be put off by this film. In the past, more than a few liberties have been taken with our favorite characters from the world comics, which almost never goes over well. This film’s one big change (its “organic webshooters” for the comics-savvy) is making Jarvis a computerized butler, rather than an actual human. This sounds worse than it really is, as it actually fits the story. Plus, with another film about a vigilante millionaire superhero with a butler just a few months away, who needs the extra confusion?
Breaking the film’s elements down, not a whole lot can be criticized here. With the cast and the direction, you get outstanding performances from everyone involved. Only about 1/4 of the action sequences were done using computer-graphic-imaging, which leaves for a very realistic feel. The plot and story structure never drag or induce drowsiness. Being produced independently is what makes this film work on so many levels. With other superhero films, it becomes about the actor or the studio, which is the only viable reason why Spider-Man “had” to have his mask off through 2/3 of that three-film franchise. Here, you get plenty of Downey Jr.’s pretty mug, while still getting lots of time with the cold stare of the Iron Man mask.
This film takes all of the great elements from both good and bad genre films and expands on them. If you enjoyed the fight sequences between RoboCop and his gigantic robot counterparts in that franchise, or the scenes of Bruce Wayne tooling away at his bat-gadgets during any of the Batman films, or even the quick-witted, cavalier millionaires of Entourage, there is something for you in Iron Man. But by far, the most entertaining aspects are the comedic elements placed throughout the story — from sassy robots to our main character, who is still able to spout out a quip when he’s minutes away from death.
The relationship dynamics also keep the pace of the film ripe. The complex almost-relationship of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Stark is a breath of fresh air considering what we’ve been given in the way of other superheroes’ relationships in recent films. Jeff Bridges pulls out an amazing portrayal of “corporate evil” as Stark’s nemesis, Obadiah Stane, and the puerile camraderie of Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard) and Stark is very much like the relationship between Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in the latter’s much-hyped 1996 film, Swingers.
As a whole, this film stands tall as one of the best superhero films that we’ve seen in theaters so far, and certainly the best to pull from the Marvel Universe of characters. Being that Robert Downey Jr. is one of the biggest stars the genre has been able to cast in a lead role up to this point, and the insinuation that there are greater things in store on the big screen for Marvel’s stable of characters, I think we can expect more from the actor in the future — and certainly more from Marvel’s primary stable of characters. Iron Man is easily a strong start to what is turning out to be one of the biggest blockbuster summers for comics fans and the film industry alike.
RATING: 9/10
I knew I should've stayed through the credits (my wife may have factored into the early exit). So, what'd I miss?
**SPOILER WARNING**Stark returns home. A voice from the shadows (paraphrased): " 'I am Iron Man.' Cripes. Did you really thin you were the only superhero in the world?" Samuel L Jackson steps into the light: "I'm Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative." End.
Can't wait to see! Thanks Matt!
"Here, you get plenty of Downey Jr.’s pretty mug . . ." — Ron Perlman was right! Oh, and nice review too Matt Raub!
Great movie!! RD jr. is the perfect Tony Stark.
Roy Eliasson "Iron Man" is flat-out fun.Roy Eliasson One of the biggest surprises for many people is that this fun does not come from the action scenes (they're fine, by the way). What really amazes in "Iron Man" is a tour de force from Robert Downey Jr. (they could've named it Downey Junior- The Movie) and a solid script, that efficiently introduces us to the Iron Man history and proves to be a fascinating entry in a possible new franchise.
Great movie saw it 2x great movie does any one now if it can be down loaded?
I agree — great movie! If it had a flaw, it was that it suffered from what I have come to call "STAS syndrome" — that is, the final fight had to spend 2/3 to 3/4 of the time showing the hero being trashed by the bad guy. Why the blazes do producers insist on telling a story about a supposed hero and not let him or her be a hero? I mean, if you want to have a film in which the bad guy in the big iron suit runs amok and is seemingly unstoppable, then why have the hero in armour at all? For all the good the red-and-gold suit was, Tony might as well have been in civvies, gone by another name and had the film become a monster movie rather than a superhero flick in which the hero wasn't allowed to be super. Note to producers: next time, make the fights more even! For every blow landed on the hero by the villain, an equally powerful blow should be delivered by the hero.But apart from that and the repeated "Tony-fall-out-of-sky-and-go-boom" bits (which strained my suspension of disbelief; how did he survive that crash in the desert in the original suit?), it was a great film which I hope proves to be successful enough for there to be sequels (with better fight scenes…). The casting was excellent: RDJr is Tony Stark, and GP makes a terrific Pepper (and confirms my long-held belief that Stark was an idiot not to pursue her). Go, Shellhead!
Roy Eliasson Wrote If the good guy wins from the start what do we have to cheer about. The only thing i really did not like about the movie was at the end it started to look a lot like transformers Roy Eliasson