Iron Man (2008) Review

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Screenplay written by: Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Tagline: Fully Charged.

Robocop flies to Afghanistan!

In A Nutshell

You can always count on a good super-hero film to fill in the obligatory summer blockbuster slot and this year we have this adaptation of one of Marvel Comic's truly lesser known creations, which just shows how far towards the bottom of the barrel we're scraping. The basic story is that billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is kidnapped in Derka Derkastan then builds a suit of armor and fights back his evil foreign captors and later a larger version of his outfit.

Prime Cuts

I went to this movie with low expectations, which were fulfilled as I viewed this movie.

Robert Downey Jr. is an odd but admittedly effective choice, despite his character being so loosely written that his change of heart (from cocky, cynical prick to unexpected hero) lacks depth and meaningful situations to blossom. He mellows too much to be relevant when the movie ends.

Bridges is also a decent choice as the villain, but the weak script fails to make the most out of him, while in support rising star Terrence Howard goes through the motions as a comic relief Air Force colonel.

The CGI was very well done as most all CGI constructs feel fake somehow but the stuff in Iron Man didn't seem fake even for an instant.

The movie tries to invest a lot of depth and characterization into a story.

Fat & Gristle

The wannabe sharp humor and chemistry between Downey and Paltrow (worthy of the cheesiest McConaughey/Hudson romantic comedy).

Remarks

Rest assured, Iron Man is an absolutely amazing movie. The amazing yet realistic action is paced by the plot and characters that keep you interested from start to finish. As great as everything looked, what really drives the movie is the emotional resonance and down to earth nature of the plot. Sure the concept is wild but it's all presented so that you really believe it could happen. This is, without a doubt one of the best movies of 2008, and arguably the number one superhero film.

I'd go ****1/2.