Film: Iron Man

[SA]

I saw this the other day. Went in with pretty low expectations, as I really couldn't picture Robert Downey Jr. in this role as a superhero. Surprisingly, it was a decent fit. Not the best, but decent enough.

I liked the fact that the film was set in the present day and not in the retro past, as with some other comic based scripts. The special effects were mostly well proportioned, not overbearing. There were a few cases of overkill, simply because they subjected to serious injury a superhero without any inherent superhuman powers, yet he came out either unscathed, hardly harmed, or recovered extremely quickly. Details, details, I know.

Overall, a good action flick. This would make a much better mini series than Robocop. Solid three stars.

 

[JerryBlunted]

I think Robert Downey Junior and Jeffrey Bridges KILLED their roles. Totally excellent jobs by both. Terrance Howard and Gwyneth Paltrew were both pretty good as well. The story and themes were excellent, the special effects were great, and the pacing was fast but not frenetic.

This is one of the better superhero movies, hell its one of the better action movies I've seen in awhile, period.

And yes, I almost pissed my pants when Samuel Motherfucking Jackson said the words "Avengers Initiative"

The trailer for the Incredible Hulk was attached. Anyone's curiousity piqued by that one? Didn't think much of the first, it wasn't terrible like some say, but it wasn't great either. But, the new one looks really good and it will further tie in to set up the Avengers.

Between Iron Man, the Hulk and the Dark Knight this is a hell of a movie going summer for us comic book geeks. Hell, I might even watch Indiana Jones just for nostalgia's sake. Though, I'd like to slap Shia Belouf's stupid face.

 

[Benefit]

it would have to be a red-blooded, blond haired, blue eyed American in the classic sense. I have no answers.

Robert Redford!

 

[L2R]

^as crazy as it sounds, that shit makes some sense.

saw iron man tonight. pretty good flick. i'd rate it up there with x-men 1 or superman. solid interpretation.
although it was far from the likes of batman begins or hulk (yeah ang lee's one..... you heard me)

 

[axl blaze]

The trailer for the Incredible Hulk was attached. Anyone's curiousity piqued by that one? Didn't think much of the first, it wasn't terrible like some say, but it wasn't great either. But, the new one looks really good and it will further tie in to set up the Avengers.

yeah, the trailer looks sick. I just want to point out that this will not be a sequel to Ang Lee's movie, apparently Marvel is just going to pretend that that Eric Bana disaster did not happen and this is going to be the actual first one.

no qualms here, Edward Norton is the perfect Bruce Banner.

and to all the non-comic book faithful who have seen Iron Man and doubt that RDJ could rep a super-hero, well you are wrong! RDJ is Tony Stark in every sense of the word - he was born to play Star I think.

 

[JerryBlunted]

RDJ as Tony Stark: "Clearly, I'm not the heroic type."

 

[axl blaze]

that was the best ending to a movie ever. ok, perhaps Citizen Kane edges it out by a bit. although "Screw it, I'm Iron Man" sounds kewler than "rosebud" in every sense of the sentences.

I have always wanted to be Tony Stark. the guy has it all, women, money, booze, brains, and style.

 

[Daisybabe]

Captain America would be very fit for the times we currently live in, but who could pull of Steve Rogers (the Capn)? it would have to be a red-blooded, blond haired, blue eyed American in the classic sense.

According to a couple of sites, it will be Matthew McConaghey.

 

[captainballs]

Captain America would be very fit for the times we currently live in, but who could pull of Steve Rogers (the Capn)? it would have to be a red-blooded, blond haired, blue eyed American in the classic sense.

 

[axl blaze]

but isn't he Danish or something? lol

 

[captainballs]

Yeah. I couldn't imagine any character less appropriate to stick in a Captain America costume.

 

[L2R]

^yeah but i wouldn't be surprised if they give the role to buck toothed and noodle armed puff daddy.

 

[captainballs]

The version I'm watching does have diddy in it - he keeps getting up for popcorn and howling at the screen.

edit: crap, my attention span is off - i'm watching iron man, not the non-existent captain america

 

[L2R]

non-existent popcorn howling cap ftl!

 

[captainballs]

Tom Cruise over Diddy any day.

I just finished Ironman, and it was pretty cool. Compared to most big budget action movies it was great. Robert Downey Jr. did a good job - nothing about his character was annoying or stupid.

 

[SmokingMan]

Iron Man was pretty good. I was kind of skeptical of how this was going to be done, but it was coherent and not completely silly. Toungue-in-cheek was enough to make it believable.

FWIW, Randy Coture should play Capt. America.

 

[alasdairm]

just got in from seeing it at the theatre. i would file under good not great.

that said, in much of the preview stuff i read and heard, a common theme seemed to be robert downey jr.'s weakness as a leading man. i totally disagree - i thought he absolutely carried the part with an excellent, just-over-the-top enough performance

alasdair

 

[-Guido-]

It's Duke Nukem!

Balls of steel.

 

[*=Regulator=*]

Saw it last night and thought it was great. I only gave it 3 stars because I reserve 4 stars for classics and 5 stars for absolute movie perfection and it didn't quite hit that mark. I would give it 3.5 stars if BL could handle fractions...

Anyway, RDJ was great as the lead. He pulled off the passionate inventor/arms dealer with a conscience very convincingly. The dynamic between RDJ and Gwyn was good as well; definately some chemistry there.

The CG was amazing as well. I think we've just about hit the point where CG can be integrated with 'real life' photography absolutely seamlessly. Up to now, there was always something 'off' about CG but I think Iron Man has finally crossed this divide which is a major accomplishment in film making.

The only thing I found falt with was the pacing. IMO, they spent a bit too much time on the kidnapping section and not enough time on the development of the suit from the clunky prototype to the polished up final product. I would have also liked to see a bit more development of Stark's character such as his supposed alcoholism and general background.

Still, I think it's the best comic-book adaptation since X-Men 1 and is far, far better than the majority of Marvel cash-ins. Definately worth seeing.

 

[Benefit]

Robert Downey Jr carries this film. No question about it. Most awesome movie super hero to date. Much, much cooler than pansy little Peter Parker. And I like that even after the pendulum swings on his morality and he starts going after the evil-doers, he doesn't turn into some lame moralizing hero. You hate to see that in your super heros.

Gwyneth Paltrow was very good as well which is cool because she is so hit and miss as an actress. I think she's the kind of performer who needs a good director to maximize her potential. Left to her own devices or with a lamer behind the camera, she tends to be bad at acting.

You gotta give a lot of credit to Jon Favreau. This movie is exceptionally well plotted: all the major establishing information is conveyed quickly, efficiently (cool newsreel) and there are plenty of subtle nods (Iron Monger, War Machine) to keep the fanboys happy. As Squaresoft discovered with their bankrupt inducing Final Fantasy failure, it can be really hard to walk the line between mass appeal and keeping the rabid fans happy.

The CGI was good, but you expect high production values from blockbusters. I'm much more impressed with the editorial decisions made by the creative team. I think it's a really good thing that Marvel is self financing these pictures.