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Iron Man (2008)
Director: Jon Favreau
Synopsis
The latest Marvel comic book to receive a big screen adaptation, this one stars Robert Downey Jr. as the titular tycoon-cum-superhero.
Movie review
From Time Out New York
Heavy comes free of charge with Iron Man, no matter what your frame of reference—Black Sabbath’s face-melting metal anthem or Marvel’s Cold War–spawned superhero. So it’s a sweet surprise that this long-awaited Hollywood version has lightness in mind.
Paced swiftly by ex-Swinger Jon Favreau, the movie is blessed by motormouthed Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire tech genius Tony Stark, an apolitical man with stripper poles on his private plane. Much was made of this “risky” casting, but it pays off beautifully. Downey, already a walking comic strip, imparts crucial verve to Favreau’s static compositions; his glib Stark, launching smart bombs between sips of Scotch and busting out of Afghan terrorist captivity with a half-amused shrug, is dangerously appealing in a P.J. O’Rourke way.
Of course, Iron Man becomes about Stark’s reawakening: Struck by conscience, he closes his arms factory—and for a giddy moment, you wonder if a studio movie might be taking on the whole of the military-industrial complex. (The overgrown MIT geek then weaponizes his body in a sequence of tests as fun as anything in RoboCop.) But here, actually, is the sole problem with the film: Suddenly, it’s too conventional. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to correctly identify Jeff Bridges’s bald coexec as the Halliburtonian antagonist-to-be.
But Iron Man is one blockbuster that can’t end with a typical mano a mano slugfest, no matter how roboticized and Transformers-like. We want planes, tanks, enraged Congressional speeches. Such is the promise of the character that you feel like the franchise will get there. (Many hints are planted.) Then we’ll really see some heavy.
Author: Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York Issue 657: May 1 - 7, 2008
User reviews of this film
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- Godsinger said...
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Posted on Jun 26 2008 20:53
I'm going to address Mr. Boris's comments first, then the movie itself.
In his review (below) he complains simultaneously that this comic book movie doesn't have enough action. Then he complains that it is not more dramatically derived from stage-style storytelling. So does he want Terminator 2 or Casablanca? Then he goes on to tell us he wants and expects more, but he's dreading sequels.
Let's get our heads screwed on straight...all together now...are you with us, Mr. Boris?
This is a comic book movie. The story quality is aimed for the mind of a teenager. That's how comics work. People don't go to superhero movies expecting mental flickers of Shakespeare. This will not be Casablanca or Hamlet. Drama is in the other section; this is Action. Nevertheless, this being the first in the Iron Man franchise, the storyteller must give us our bearings first. He must answer for us, "Who are these characters? What elements are present (desires, alliances, struggles, etc.) and how do they connect or collide? Favreau clearly loves comics (including Daredevil) and being a part in bringing them to the movie screen, whether via cameo or director's chair. (He's got my vote of gratitude right there.) And he does a good job of interspersing the action with the exposition. The 1st Fantastic 4 movie didn't balance so well: other than a few stunts there was no action until the last 5-10 minutes of the film...and it was no crescendo by any means!
This movie advances in 3 Acts, which is very traditional.
Act 1: The abduction of Tony Stark and the invention of Iron Man, leading to a dynamic shift in his character, and the development of his motive.
Act 2: A buildup--we meet all the players, discover their relationship dynamics, see the development of the suit and the "suitor" (a-la-Who's the Boss.) We especially learn the powers and limitations of the suit, and then the alliances shift...
Act 3: The climax--including an attack and counter attack which play on both the strengths and the limitations of both the suits and the relationships we've learned about thus far. And then the (by now) much welcome setup for a sequel. (That's why they call it a "franchise.") And trust me Mr. Boris (and his fellow detractors,) there's more than enough compelling storyline in the 300+ issues of Iron Man comic books to make a sequel that rocks.
So to sum it up, yes my girlfriend likes this as much as I do, but I confess I haven't read more than a dozen issues of Iron Man in my life. There is romance, sardonic wit, a few plot twists, CG that one-ups the Transformers movie, some infinitely quotable one-liners, and plenty of humor. True fans want to see their imaginations realized onscreen--they want to see Iron Man flex his muscle and use his gadgets. I predict fans will leave quite satisfied. Girlfriends and other newbies to the Iron Man storyline want to see Robert Downey Jr. make a respectably-spotlit comeback into pop-cinema, and they need a good dose of "Iron Man 101" to understand what's happening. I predict they will leave as fans, baited with the desire to learn more and see more of this iconic superhero. Robert Downey Jr. does Iron Man justice, but the trick isn't being inside a suit and launching tank-poppers. What RD Jr. does best is breathe life and accuracy into Tony Stark...like your favorite NBA team, he has the look, and all the game to go with it.
This movie juggles 2 storylines. One, about a jet-bashing, computer-guided robo-suit (that kicks RoboCop's dated can.) It's also about a dynamic person with believable, relatable issues (which trumps Peter Weller's "Murphy" in every way.) It is a comic book movie. And it's the best one to date, in my opinion. Like Mr. Boris, I want more from Iron Man, and I realize there are only 2 ways to get it: sequels and return-trips to the cinema! (I wouldn't complain about either.)
P.S.> Did I mention that I LOVE Paul Bettany for the role of Jarvis? That's just icing on the cake. - Report as inappropriate
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- CHRISTINE said...
- Posted on Jun 18 2008 10:33 I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT COMICS! BUT THIS WAS ENTERTAINING, NOT TO MENTION, ROBERT DOWNEY HAS BECOME EYE CANDY IN HIS 40'S!!!
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- munni said...
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Posted on May 20 2008 15:46
finally a marvel movie that doesn't suck, a.k.a spider man. boo to whoever casted toby mcguire as peter parker...boooooooo
iron man rocks. can't wait for the dark knight....ooh, i get goose bumps just thinking about it. - Report as inappropriate
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- RobynLynn said...
- Posted on May 16 2008 09:42 I went to see Iron Man the day it hit theaters for only one reason...my boyfriend wanted to see it. But to my surprise, I enjoyed it enough to see it a second time! The "on the edge of your seat" action and special effects were amazing! Iron Man had everything; adventure, humor, and romance. It was the best movie I have seen in a while! Yes, it's a guy's movie...but girls will definately love it too!
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- dave said...
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Posted on May 10 2008 20:31
Might be the best of all the super hero movies.
Very inyeresting and exiting throughout the movie. - Report as inappropriate
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- borrisbatanov said...
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Posted on May 06 2008 21:43
Movie benefits greatly from the disaffected cynicism and wounded
idealism of Robert Downey Jr., but suffers from a paucity of
white-knuckle action. (Downey is as usual Downey, always the same
character.)
Too much time spent building the iron men, not enough using them.
What little power FX violence there is, to tell the truth, isn't all
that imaginative, all that thrilling, especially by today's standards.
Movie lapses too often into lulls in action.
Villains are relatively uninteresting, not that scary.
Paltrow, for once, is just right (childbearing has made her more of a woman, less mannequin).
For once, too, a comic-book action-hero flick worth seeing.
Opinion: Big-budget FX-heavy blockbusters are currently the best
Hollywood can do, best suited to the limitations of mainstream
commercial American film-making. Naturalistic mature adult drama, by
contrast, is practically nonexistent. The simple comic-book universe,
leavened by self-conscious pseudosophisticated irony, is ideally suited
to the corporate hounds of Sunset Blvd, to their crippled creativity
and imagination, to their cowardice and addiction to manipulative
digitization. Are we losing our ability to tell each other stories, to
share a common dream? Whereas cinema used to spring from the stage and
literature, it now derives from the pulp pages of comic books.
No doubt, we can look forward to endless sequels, each worse than the
one before. - Report as inappropriate
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- Mike said...
- Posted on May 02 2008 10:34 Ever put something together and it actually worked; Iron Man gives you that feeling - it's inspiring in a lot of ways!
- Report as inappropriate
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- daniel said...
- Posted on May 01 2008 12:47 i have seen movies but, this one is and exeptionet and fantasic movie and its like no other!
- Report as inappropriate
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- bob said...
- Posted on May 01 2008 12:44 it is an exciting movie.
- Report as inappropriate
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Cast & crew
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Leslie Bibb, Sayed Badreya, Clark Gregg, Tim Guinee full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Rated: PG-13
Duration: 126 mins
US Release: May 2 2008
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