SYNOPSIS: Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you’ve been waiting for, Iron Man! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he’s on a mission to save the world as a hero who’s built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, it’s a fantastic, high-flying journey that is “hugely entertaining” (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).
REVIEW: “Yeah. I can fly.”
Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages and moviegoers of the world, welcome to the beginning of the blockbuster movie season of 2008. I can’t resist but to use the cliché . . . and this one starts out with a bang! Last year it was Spiderman 3 and this year it’s even better, and cooler, with Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. Yes! It was great. If by chance you have read enough of my reviews, you would be able to determine that I really enjoy a good action movie. This one made me feel like a kid again. I was adding my own sound effects during many of the action scenes. It was impressive, it was super high tech, it was quick witted, and it was a lot of fun. Iron Man as a superhero is just too fast, too cool, and too awesome. Marvel has got it going on! Talk about being hot, Marvel is on fire. And as is customary, Stan Lee does his little cameo (watch for it).
Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark (Iron Man), son of an industrialist who founded Stark Industries. The super genius son eventually takes over the company after his father passes away bringing to the table his incredible abilities and engineering savvy. Needless to say the company is quite successful and Tony is revered as a war hero of sorts being very much involved in the military without actually being in the military. Unfortunately, he is also a Lord of War of sorts (referring to the character in the movie of the same title) without him knowing it. What he does know is that he is wealthy beyond measure and he lives the life of a rich playboy extraordinaire. But don’t let that fool you because he is still a phenom. He has robots and computer systems in his lab that he can control and basically talk to like they were human . . . it’s unreal. Once Iron Man comes into the picture, he becomes a lot more down to earth, even though he can fly, really, really fast. You know, the best way to describe Iron Man is that he is cool. Peter Parker is a nerd who got bit by a spider and became Spiderman. He is an incredible superhero but not exactly cool. Bruce Wayne has a dark past which turns him into an intimidating and menacing Batman, but I wouldn’t best describe him as cool. Superman is all powerful and just plain super . . . not quite cool. The Hulk is a beast, nuff said. Iron Man is just simply cool. The gadgetry, the weaponry, the high tech computerized abilities, the flying capabilities, and even the look of the suit itself are all super cool. Can I tell you that when he puts the suit on, it’s got nothing to envy the Transformers? You’ll be saying “the Trans-who?” Mr. Downey owned the role. He was sharp, both looks and speech. I was skeptical about him playing a superhero role and I was proven wrong. Jeff Bridges with an interesting look also brings a solid performance. That’s pretty standard for him. I was a little disappointed with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Stark’s personal assistant. She was not very convincing with her role. This movie had a wide variety of interesting characters. Even one of the robots was quite a character.
The storyline was good enough for a superhero movie. You’ve got to expect it to be a little cheesy. The dialogue, however, was very quick and intelligent. You really need to pay attention if you don’t want to miss anything, especially with Downey who has quick delivery. I’m not even going to mention how good the special effects were . . . oh, I just did. But be sure to see the movie in a theater with good visual and especially good audio. I saw it in an old theater and believe me it takes away from the effect. And yes, they do play “the song”. You’ve gotta love Jon Favreau as an actor (if you don’t know the name, look him up cause you will recognize the face). By now you should really start to appreciate him as a Director (Elf, Zathura). Action fans, don’t miss it . . . yeah, he can fly!
Film Review By Cine Marcos
DVD: Paramount Home Entertainment has done it again with this 2 Disc Ultimate Edition. It contains close to four hours of special features. Fans of the film will be delight with this content. Four hours seems like a lot, but this is the Ultimate Edition. The good thing is that 90% of special features are worth watching. Some of the highlights are the feature called “I Am Iron Man” which is and extraordinary behind the scenes of the film. One hour and 20 minutes of interesting and fascinating facts about the movie. Another good feature is “The Invisible Iron Man” which explorers the origins and the evolution of this Superhero. It also includes deleted and extended scenes, as well as visual effects featurette. All in a very complete edition that is worth the money. The disappointment in this release is the absents of commentary.
