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Bookmark this pageIron 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 London
Playboy weapons magnate Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is a greased amalgam of Howard Hughes, Hugh Hefner and C-3PO, complete with an enviable battery of glib banter and a goatee you could set your watch by. On a routine sales trip to the Middle East, his Humvee is ambushed by a terrorist cell and he is dragged away to a cave, where he is forced to reproduce one of his high-powered missiles with some scrap metal and a soldering iron.Instead, Stark uses those materials to construct a suit of robotic body armour and flee from the extremists’ clutches. This channels his epiphany – perhaps long overdue – that profiteering from weapons is far from the Promethean zenith of overarching compassion he once thought it was. He returns a changed man and, with the help of his svelte assistant ‘Pepper’ (Gwyneth Paltrow) and best mate Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), builds a shiny suit of armour with which he plans to put an end to warfare for good.
All this liberal hand-wringing comes much to the chagrin of the sinisterly named Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), Stark’s devious benefactor, who doesn’t shine to his peacenik jabbering one bit. Stane sports both a bald pate and a beard, a red flag combination in comic-book land if ever there was one.
Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau has proved with his past directorial efforts, including buddy comedy ‘Made’, Christmas film ‘Elf’ and kids’ fantasy ‘Zathura’, that he has a keen eye for character and can spin a decent yarn. Sadly, these two qualities are rarely apparent here, replaced instead by quick-fix one-liners and predictable set-piece gags. Like Iron Man’s suit, Favreau’s film feels like it has been meticulously assembled rather than lovingly formed. It’s little more than an elongated, episodic and sporadically charming introduction to the life of this mechanised millionaire superhero, light on both CGI and moral quandaries, and possessing neither the zip and sparkle of a ‘Spider-Man’ nor the brooding existential subtexts of ‘Batman Begins’.
Author: David Jenkins
Time Out London Issue 1967: April 30 - May 6
User reviews of this film
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- shrivL'D said...
- Posted on Apr 27 2008 02:30 Mizell must've been fed a steady diet of lead paint chips as a kid. Tony Stark has always been a gentleman of Caucasian descent since the comic first came out.
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- Mizell said...
- Posted on Apr 27 2008 00:13 why did they make Iron Man WHITE, he is BLACK in the comics, what is up with that?
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- geemann said...
- Posted on Apr 26 2008 20:58 Dart, I can tell you for a fact that the majority of the suit shots are indeed CGI, and they are fantastic looking. That is why you probably assumed it was a real suit.
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- dart said...
- Posted on Apr 26 2008 02:12 I saw the film. This guy is just looking for a reason to keep his job. It was really a fun, great film. I do think the sequel will have more latitude in the story telling, but this is everything it needs to be imo. I also can tell the suit is NOT cgi which is why it looks so good. Love the fact that the faceplate "clunks". My only beef is that the trailers give so much away. Can't wait til it releases officially to see it again.
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- Movie Fan said...
- Posted on Apr 26 2008 01:32 What an idiot. I haven't seen the movie yet. But your review was pure BS. I hope this movie makes millions.
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- Bob said...
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Posted on Apr 26 2008 01:03
Gawaine might be the biggest dumbass in history.
You really are an idiot. - Report as inappropriate
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- Ronnie said...
- Posted on Apr 24 2008 11:06 I haven't seen the film yet but I know for a fact that it is not-pro-war propoganda! Stark has a "road to Damascus" moment and gives up supplying the military with weapons when he sustains an injury to his heart and finds his true sense of purpose in Afghanistan.
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- Gawaine said...
- Posted on Mar 13 2008 12:39 Looks like a load of shit, more pro war propaganda supporting the US's crusade against the rest of the world
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- jas said...
- Posted on Mar 06 2008 20:02 the trailer looks AWESOME rollover for IRON MAN because he is coming to the big wide screen in MAY.
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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: 12A
Duration: 126 mins
UK Release: May 2 2008
US Release: May 2 2008
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