It's been a very mecha-ish last couple of weeks for me. Today it's Iron Man which I saw last Saturday in a pretty classy theater I might add. As I said before in a much earlier blog post about the release of the Iron Man trailer I have been waiting for this movie since I was a child. Iron Man is my favorite super hero and it's been a torturous time waiting for him to get his turn on the big silver screen. The wait is finally over, so did the movie disappoint?
Two words: HELL NO!I have to say there have been a lot of bad comic book movies. Some are good movies but poor adaptations and others are good adaptations but poor movies. Iron Man somehow manages to be both. Iron Man is the first effort by the brand new Marvel Studios and they were of course very respectful of the source material, something I was really afraid that they wouldn't be. Iron Man's origins have been messed with a lot over the past but the movie stays very close to Stan Lee's original origin except it moves it from the Vietnam War to a more contemporary Afghanistan location in order to avoid making the film a period piece.
In any case everybody who knows Iron Man knows what happens at the beginning. Billionaire industrialist and weapons designer Anthony or rather Tony Stark takes a little trip to a war zone to show off his newest weapons. To make a long story short he's wounded with shrapnel to the chest, has his life saved by a fellow man of science named Yinsen who helps construct an electromagnet that keeps the shrapnel from digging deeper into Tony's wounded heart, and Stark builds a big bad suit of powered armor that he uses to make his escape.
The movie focuses on business rival, in this case business parter, Obidiah Stane as the villain. When Tony returns from the middle east after finding out that people have been using his own weapons against the US army he's ticked and decides to take matters into his own hands. He announces that he's done building weapons and his company takes a sharp drop in the stock market, something Stane doesn't like very much. Tony builds a new and much more advanced suit of armor and returns to the middle east to get rid of the weapons he created while Stane gets his hands on the prototype Iron Man designs. I don't want to say much more since I've spoiled enough already. Go out and see the movie for yourself.
Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Iron Man as he plays the most amazing lovable asshole any human being could create. The man simply is Tony Stark and he's gone through similar trials and tribulations in his real life as Stark did in his comic book one. His chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts is ripped almost exactly as it should be from the comic book. Stane could've used a little more developing but as it is Jeff Bridges plays an excellent manipulative and bad ass villain.
Some people complain that there isn't enough action but the superb story telling and comedic elements make up for it. I'm inclined to agree but the action that is there is incredible. The suits look real and almost as if they stepped down from the comic pages and onto the screen. The action is easy to follow and thrilling to watch as well. I for one am glad that the movie isn't a CGI fest. There's a lot of special effects that aren't CGI and they also look fantastic and really make the movie feel that much more real.
The actors have all signed on for three films (The next one scheduled for 2010) and with hints and promises of the Mandarin and War Machine you better believe I'm looking forward to them. If they're any bit as good as this first effort then look out for the next few movies from Marvel Studios as well including a new Hulk, Captain America, Thor and of course when they all join together in The Avengers.10 out of 10: If you ever liked a single comic book movie go see this one now. I may be biased a little though, just a little.
