June 22, 2008

Iron Man Rules

I'm a little late to the party on this, but after protestations from ScottE and my family, I finally caved and agreed to go see Iron Man. My primary hesitation was that the trailer, which I'd seen numerous times in the theater, was about as exciting as a Yanni concert. Also the comic book was never one I was into as a kid. And let's face it - superhero movies in the past few years have varied widely in quality. While some were truly super (X-Men 2, Spider-Man 2, Superman Returns), others have been so bad we'd like to forget they even happened (Daredevil, anyone?).

[On a side note, I finally saw the first half of The Hulk. WOW was that bad.]

Anywho, I went with my brother and sister-in-law to go see it last weekend (second time for them). And it was in fact a really great movie. This is the rare case where a trailer undersold a movie!

I believe that the primary reason it is so successful is that the origin story is carefully crafted, and the entire film is very character-driven. There are actually only a handful of action sequences, so when they do come, you can settle in and enjoy. It's not constant explosions and guns, etc. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Transformers!)

But I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Robert Downey Jr. makes the movie. He's a lovable lothario (with a hot body) that draws you into every scene. Surprisingly, Gwyneth Paltrow makes a good foil for him. She's a nice mix of smart and sexy.

And for you die-hard comic fans out there, there are a couple nice winks thrown in for good measure. Terrence Howard sees Tony's other iron suit sitting there and says, "Next time, baby." And indeed, his character later becomes Iron Man - perhaps in the third film? If you sit through those long ending credits, you get a hint of where the Marvel Studios are headed - an Avengers movie! The real question - will they do the other indvidiual character films first? (Thor and Captain America, if you're keeping track. Although I'm holding out for The Scarlet Witch!)

6 comments:

ScottE. said...

A good fun film. I'm very happy I saw it. And I was very surprised with how well Robert Downey Jr. did.

"Thor's a homo."

The Kara said...

OY - wish I had read your review before I escaped the rain and went to see THE HAPPENING. I usually think reviewers are too cruel to M. Night Shyamalan, but whatever they said about this movie - it's got to be true in triplicate! I'll be seeing IRON MAN next - thanks, J-Lo!

Stef said...

I'm glad you liked it!

Kara, thanks for the warning... after the last few experiences, I'm more than happy to stay away from M. Night.

Dancer in DC said...

Scott also saw it and hated it - so stay away, Stef!

ScottE. said...

Doesn't mean I won't try to see his next movie...I like his ideas, this one was executed very poorly.

Charles Boyington said...

Freaking loved it! Would sucked with out Downey.