General: Iron Man is a faithful fun-filled adaptation of one the most flawed heroes in comicdom. Tony Stark is a womanizing, irresponsible, hard-partying, smug son of a bitch, but he’s super-cool. His ascendancy into superherodom doesn’t necessarily change that, it just gives him a sense of obligations and duty. His origins remain true in spirit, but updated to a more modern context.
Plot: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the wunderkind industrialist inventor arms dealer that keeps America safe with the help of his dedicated personal assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). He and his military liaison Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard) head to Afghanistan for an arms test. During that foray, his assumptions about his arms and their role in America’s defense are sorely tested. Tony then vows to make a difference, with the help of his own genius and Stark technology. Along the way, his dubiously moral business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) seemingly works to balance Tony’s newfound conscience and the Stark bottom line.
Characters: Every review is going to mention Robert Downey Jr., because, simply put, he nails it. Tony Stark is Bill Gates and Bill Clinton rolled into one package that sizzles with the panache, confidence, and witticisms that a man like Tony Stark would posses. His to and fro with Pepper Potts jumps off the scream with a kind of intimacy and sexual tension that isn’t even seen in romantic comedies all that often. She is a strong character, not overwhelmed by the protagonist, and actually serves a role other than being a damsel in distress. Obadiah Stane is the villain of the movie, but he hardly feels forced. He’s not evil, just completely absent of any moral fiber (maybe that is evil), but the movie does a good job of making his character fit into the scheme of things. Stane does not start twirling a mustache out of nowhere; his nature is developed. Jim Rhodes is the straight man of the movie as a nice foil to Stark’s whimsical genius, but does not get the same opportunity to really leap off the screen with such strong performances around him.
Comic Book Action: As I said before, die hard comic fans will find little to complain about. Tony Stark’s health problems are addressed, his behavior problems are foreshadowed, his greatest enemy is mentioned, War Machine is alluded to, and the core of the Pepper/Tony relationship comes to the screen nicely. Tony is a genius and his Iron Man suit is sleek and efficient, a thing of beauty. Iron Monger is a monstrous thing, devoid of elegance and brutish but effective. The superhero clash is a bit short, but the difference between Iron Man and Iron Monger really drives home the differences between the men inside them. Even so, the other action, and the superhero fight, is well-done and ties together previous plot points neatly.
Closing: An excellent adaptation, rivaling Spider Man and Batman Begins in the hallowed halls of comic book excellence. The bar for the summer movie season is set delightfully high!
9.5/10
I agree 100%, also know that you should stay until the end of the credits, it’s definitely worth the extra 5 minutes of your time!
Oh, and I’d also put the first / second X-men movies up there in the halls of comic book excellence, because they’re at least as good as the first Spiderman.
So good. I hope that the trend of casting more mature actors with actual acting chops continues – hooray also for actually bothering to cast someone fab for the girl part (I’m looking at you, Katie Holmes…)
Side note: Seeing as how Ellen Page has blown up in the past year or so, it’s a shame she was barely noticeable in X3. All that suck just got in the way, I guess 🙁
Great review.
However, it is still a rental for me. Iron Man has always been down there on my least favorite comic characters down there with Hawkman and Risk (his getting his arms torn off by Superman Prime was priceless.).
I shall expect a fantastic movie when I do see it though. Thanks!
Going to see it on Saturday with a friend and my dad. Glad to hear it’s living up to the hype.
I was alittle leary of this movie. In some ways I still am. You put most of my fears to rest. However, I rate Spiderman 2 as the all time greatest superhero movie. It nailed every thing right. Even got 4 stars out of the movie critics who give mostly hardcore dramas more than 2 stars. Still, I think as long as it’s way better than The Hulk, it should be good.
Yeah, Iron Man was a very entertaining movie. I thought the villainy was way too generalized and even hokey most of the time — for one, Obidiah was introduced as a subtle, out-from-under-you type baddie, yet by the end they simply relegated him to, I quote, “Obidiah’s gone insane!” On the plus side, Robert Downey Jr. *completely* nailed the Tony Stark attitude.
Just got back from Iron Man…totally worth it…I know wonder how the Dark Knight will compare…the bar is most definitely set high…
Surprisingly good. The review above really nails all the good points.
I do agree with Scypher though about Obidiah. The whole “evil businessman” thing is a bit trite. I would almost prefer that he just be insane and want to eat babies or something.
The cameo post credits was a little silly. I’ll keep quiet but whenever I see this particular actor all I want him to do is just rattle off all his famous lines – just a brief reprise of everything he has ever done.
The cameo certainly has to be put in a certain context, and forgive me if someone else has already preached this to you:
SPOILERS
In the reboot of the Avengers comic, the writers actually asked this actor if his likeness could be used in the comic, and he agreed. So basically you’ve always had that actor hilariously portraying the badass Nick Fury. Nice to finally see it come full circle in that sense 🙂
END SPOILERS, EVEN THOUGH YOU ALREADY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ALL OF THAT
I’m completely ignorant when it comes to comic books, so all of that opinion comes from that point of view.
Another reason to boot me off the site I suppose 🙁
You will not be booted from the site.
You just get…
A boot to the head.
That’s ok, it’s a +1 Wis bonus not to know that stuff.
I was really hoping that was a rickroll Dave, way to ruin my day 🙁