Rated PG-13
Written by Jack P. King
Edited by Ma’at
I give this film a Tropical Dot rating
If this film is any indication of the blockbuster season to come we are in for one of the best summer movie experiences in the last five years. It is not unheard of for a movie to open the first weekend of May, starting the blockbuster season, and then be eclipsed by the films that are released the next week. Iron Man has real staying power. It shot the opening weekend numbers up to over one hundred million dollars, as most well timed releases can during the summer. However the numbers are not the type of indicator I look for when state it has staying power. Iron Man seemed to be on everyone’s mind and the topic of many conversations over the weekend. It seemed no matter where I went shopping people were either going to or coming from the theater and seeing Iron Man and for good reason.
Firstly, Iron Man is one of my favorite comic book heroes in fact my first comic book was an issue of The Invincible Iron Man, combine this with my adolescent love of armor clad knights of the middle ages and you have a recipe for an Iron Man fan for life. This modern retelling of the original story has been updated and well told, hitting all major points that any fan, of the metal hero, would be hard pressed to identify any faults with the film. I typically am hard on comic films and for one of the few times I have little to say about the film that would put it in a negative light.
The casting was one of the most surprising and excellent pieces of this film. It was long thought that Robert Downy Jr. was a poor choice for the armored hero and business man, Tony Stark. However, anyone who knows more than surface information about the old shellhead would have known that Robert is the best and maybe only person to play this character. Not to mention the amazing job done by Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony’s assistant Pepper Pots. The interaction between these two characters on screen surprised me. The high quality of acting between these two in their scenes made for a strong foundation in this action blockbuster. The addition of Terrance Howard (as Jim Rhodes) and Jeff Bridges (as Obadiah Stane) made for great acting all the major characters of the film.
Visually it could not have been easy to portray a hero that has repulser beams, flies, and does hand to hand combat with giant robots. Yet the makers of Iron Man do a superb job with some very respectable CG, even my friend Dave would have little to complain about. The only real problems I had were the lack of experience by director Jon Favreau, who also plays Tony’s driver, with action films and the lose of the movies villain. Jon Favreau has come along way from his earliest roles in Rudy (as D-Bob) and PCU (as Gutter) to have not only a role in the comic book film Daredevil, but also Directing one of his own (Iron Man). His directing and acting credits have little in the way of action film experience. He did do an amazing job with Iron Man and it was good watch. I feel that more experience could have made a few scenes better, but the action packed Iron Man did benefit from the none action style that might not have come with a big action film director. Lastly, I felt that the introducing of the specific villain for Iron Man in this film could have been put off until they make a sequel, but this comes from my background knowledge of Iron Man. I feel the potential of keeping this villain around might have made for a great sequel story.
Great movie, great way to start the blockbuster season, great cast and acting. Overall a worth while theater watch and I will more than likely buy it for my library.
