Iron Man

May 1, 2008

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 120 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Iron Man is a movie that follows the transition of billionaire playboy Tony Stark (Downy Jr), to the righteous hand of God, in the form of a flying suit of armor that kicks ass. Now I realize that me dumbing down the overall plot of the movie may seem like sort of a cop out, but come on you’ve seen the trailers, you know what it is. If you are not a fan of the comic, or you’ve just never read one, the movie will flesh out all that you need to know in pretty short order.

The movie blasts off with Tony riding along with some of our brave men and ‘women’ throughout the mountains of Afghanistan, where he plans to dazzle the brass with his newest weapon of mass devastation, the Jericho… Break the walls Down! This thing is a sight to behold, lord help anyone if we already have it, but it would look damned cool on CNN. For those of you not aware of Tony’s comic adventures, he is a bona-fide war mongering, womanizing, alcoholic that loves to make money, and in the first 10 minutes you get to see just how cool it is to be him. Just think of Batman but less broody.

Anywhoo, back to the plot… Tony is in this Hum-vee, cruising along shooting the sheeot, when suddenly it gets attacked by insurgents, and all hell breaks loose around him. Tony is the only survivor of the assault, and just as he thinks he’s safe, out of no where a brand spanky new ‘Stark Industries’ anti personnel device lands right next to him. The bomb blows up and when he regains consciousness, he finds that he’s attached to a car battery, and he’s being held captive by some very nasty cave dwellers, that want him to save them with a Jericho of their own. Tony has plans of his own and instead of building the Jericho, he builds the coolest suit or armor ever, and begins his journey to redemption.

The story is good and the acting is not too shabby either. Robert Downey Jr IS Iron Man/Tony Stark and that’s the main reason the movie works so well. I have a friend that claims other than Batman Begins, this is hte best comic book movie he’s ever seen. To clarify that statement I’ll just say this, Tony Stark/Iron Man is the star, not Robert Downey Jr. Supporting cast members Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges all turn in really good performances.

In closing, Iron Man follows a pretty steady formula from start to finish but if you’ve seen another comic book movie in the past, you’ll know what I’m talking about. WARNING GEEK MOMENT AHEAD - If Iron Man is your favorite Marvel character then the absence of a ‘true’ Mandarin might be a big disappointment but the subtlety of inclduing his 10 rings in the story was nice touch to build on for the sequel.

If fast paced action with very little build up is the corner stone of your viewing pleasure, Iron Man will not be for you. But, if solid story telling, character development, plot devices and a great pay off are more your style, you’ll love it. OR, you’ve been dying to see this movie for 2 years, then you’re definitely Golden!

Posted by J.C. Edwards | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, PG-13, Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Theatrical