Iron Man (2008)

Originally Written

Thursday, May 8, 2008

It's safe to say May 2008 might be a pinnacle of in the history of Paramount (except for 1997 with Titanic) as Iron Man not only brings forth the year's first big blockbuster, but also brings forth the real first good movie of the year and one of the best superhero films ever made. Iron Man serves as a glimmer to what promises to be a very profitable month for Paramount, who will undoubtedly set some box office records come May 22nd. I must admit had my doubts about the film, not being familiar with the comic series or the character I found the casting of Robert Downey Jr. to be quite strange, and the early hype for this film months before it's release really didn't leave me overly impressed, added to the fact the creators of the film seemed quite confident they had a winner on their hands early on by stating two follow up films were already planned. But this time around I'll admit my faults. As the film etched closer to its opening I became more interested and anxious to check it out, which doesn't happen much anymore, and after finally watching the film I must say I am thoroughly confident that Iron Man is quite possibly the best comic book film to date... yes it's that good.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as the famed billionaire and weapons dealer Tony Stark. Stark is captured by a terrorist group in Afghanistan, while demonstrating his new weapon, the Jericho. Stark discovers that his weapons are being sold to the enemy when he's shown their massive weapons cash all marked Stark Enterprises. One weapon they don't have is the Jericho, the weapon they want Stark to build. Stark knows whether or not he builds them the weapon he's dead, so he decides to build a weapon to get himself out. What follows is the most unbelievable part of the film as Stark designs and builds a working and primitive Iron Man suit within 3 months time without his captors ever finding out! Of course the suit does everything flawlessly and so begins Stark's new mission in life, to protect those his weapons have put in danger!

Iron Man is not your typical superhero film, which was nice for a change. It's the first superhero film I've seen that doesn't rely on massive CGI and corny jokes to entertain. Iron Man has heart and wit, which is sometimes sarcastic but still usually intelligent. While Iron Man might not top Marvel's flagship, Spider-Man, in terms of box office grossing, it certainly gives the series a run for it's money. I much more preferred the cast and overall feel of Iron Man compared to the too often corny Spider-Man. The Spider-Man films where notorious for lengthy boring conversations between characters, well there's none of that in this film. Iron Man doesn't miss a step and even at a little over two hours I never once was wondering when this film was going to end.

Overall, my only problem with Iron Man was its unrealistic use of time progression. Maybe I'm swatting at flies here but it's a little too hard for me believe that Tony Stark could create and build a successful prototype of the Iron Man suit out of scraps in three months all under the surveillance of his captors (who never once had a clue). Then when he returns home it takes him only weeks to turn his prototype idea into a masterpiece... that was pushing it a little too beyond belief for me. But aside from that I loved the film, the cast turned out to be great, the acting was a whole lot better than your used to seeing in comic book films and the storyline was really the best I have seen in a superhero film. Usually I get a little anxious for the big entrance of the alternate identity of the main character, but for the first time ever I really was so engrossed Tony Stark and his colleagues that I wasn't in any hurry to see revelation of Iron Man.

In the end, Iron Man sets a new standard for superhero films and in terms of the overall movie experience it delivers better than anything out there. Iron Man finds its success by finding a style somewhere between that of Batman Begins and Spider-Man by flawlessly mixing seriousness with some witty humor and not attempting to venture to either extreme. Definitely do yourself a favor and check this film out, it doesn't matter whether your a fan of the comic series or not but do be warned, this film may change your opinon of past comic book films (Spider-Man particularly) after seeing what a comic book film should really be!

9/10