A Random Review
Before I start, allow me to make a simple suggestion:
STAY PAST THE CREDITS END!
Thank you, now on to the review.
So Friday at noon I went to see Iron Man with Dave, Margie and Mary, and in the words of Keanu Reeves….Whoa.
Mostly that whoa is because it was a Supe’s movie where everything just felt *right*, which doesn’t happen all the time. I mean Spider-Man I and II were close, as was the first Hell Boy, Michelle Pfeiffer as Cat Woman was almost perfect, and The Incredibles was the best Supe’s movie to date. So it was just great to finally see a Supe’s movie where all the parts come together perfectly and 99% of that is solely because of casting Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark. Just like how Johnny Depp is what made the Pirates movies so darn fun, Robert Downey, Jr. is the driving force behind Iron Man, not only in terms of the Character, but also forcing the Director Favreau to rewrite dialog that Downey thought sucked…and because of that you have some of the best quips and lines I have seen in a long time.
Plot wise they did a good job of updating Iron Man’s ‘60s background and marrying it to the recent Ultimates** plot lines. So instead of Viet Cong in the Jungles of Vietnam, we have made up terrorist warlords in Afghanistan where the movie starts. Tony Stark is returning from doing a weapons when an IED blows up the lead Humvee and all hell breaks loose and Tony Stark is almost killed by one of his own weapons….fade to black as Tony passes out…and we see the events leading up to the opening scene. A nice job of introducing all the supporting characters (Potts, Rhodes, Jarvis as a computer, and Hogan) and the main bad guy (Obadiah Stane) and how they relate to Tony Stark. Again, they take some of the old comic’s background and wed it to the Ultimates plot lines to make a nice seamless transition to modern day Iron Man.
From the beginning you get Stane. The second banana, the responsible guy, the one that has to smooth ruffled feathers caused by Tony Stark’s immaturity and irresponsibility. So, when all of a sudden when Tony sees the light and decides to be mature and responsible you understand what is driving Stane to do what he does and has done. And maybe that is the thing that really works for Iron Man compared to some of the other Super Hero movies, you and understand Tony Stark because you either are or know people like him, and the same with Stane. Plus, Stane is the “Classic” villain and he would find himself at home in any book or movie made for the past 150 years, and not like say the Joker or Doc Oc.
Also, all the scenes work, from Tony Stark talking to his robots while building and testing the Suit, to “Pepper” Potts talking to Stane, to Tony Stark being Tony Stark. The only quibble I have is that the end fight scene could have gone for 5 to 10 more minutes for a more satisfying finish.
Also, I will admit that I was thrown off when Agent Phil Caulson introduces himself as being from Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, yeah I was being blond, but it made it just that much more satisfying later when he tells Tony that the organization is S.H.I.E.L.D.
Amusingly, Stark Industries logo looks suspiciously like Lockheed Martin’s logo (Which works out since the F-22 features heavily in the movie). Burger King, Ford, and Audi got a lions share of the Product placement…and…well the U.S. Air Force as well.
Rating: a solid A.
**The Ultimates, Dave loaned me the TPB’s of them and read the first two the past two nights, and they were all sorts of good and Randy was right, the way that Cap America used the Hulk was hilarious.
UPDATE:
The company has set April 30, 2010, as the release date for "Iron Man 2" and confirmed that it will not have a new film out next year."Thor" is slated for June 4, 2010. Marvel also is planting its feature film stakes for 2011 with an Avengers-themed summer.
The May 6, 2011, release of what is now going under the working title "The First Avenger: Captain America" will be followed by "The Avengers" in July.
"Because Marvel believes that the summer is the optimal time to launch a new property, the company will not release a self produced film in 2009," the company said.
Via Defamer