Pseudo Review: Iron Man

I’m gonna keep this short: Iron Man kicks all kinds of crazy ass.

Want some more detail?  Okay, here goes. My expectations for this move were sky freakin’ high, which usually leads to a big letdown. Not this time. It may not be the greatest Superhero movie of all time (Batman Begins and the first half of Richard Donner’s Superman and are still my faves) but I’m willing to say that Iron Man is the best of the Marvel comic movies. Even better than Rami’s Spider-Man, which I loved a little bit more than my first wife. 

The film’s two biggest strengths are Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr. Downey’s portrayal of Tony stark is perfection. Seriously, this is a way better Stark then you’ve read in the comics lately. Downey is good, Christopher Reeve as Superman good. Who better to play a flawed yet charming rogue that is able to conquer his demons and redeem himself then Downey? I can’t quite fathom how anyone ever doubted his casting. If you were one of the doubters, I hate you.

Speaking of doubting, a lot of people weren’t sold on Jon Favreau as director. Known more for comedic work, Favreau proves that he can elicit loud laughs and loud explosions. There is humor in the movie for sure, but its never campy or corny. I’ve seen some pretty good Superhero movies ruined because some jackhole (probably a producer who’s never read a comic in his life) feels the need to force some campy humor in to it. All the laughs in Iron Man are natural and usually pretty funny.  

The effects are also top notch. Where Ang Lee’s Hulk failed to have a convicning CGI character (and by the looks of the trailers, so will the upcoming Incredible Hulk), Iron Man is able to blend what has to be Computer imagery w/ practical effects pretty seamlessly. I never doubted it was Downey in the Iron Man suit, even when he was flying in to the stratosphere. It helps when you have the legendary Stan Winston working on those awesome Iron Man suits.  

I could go on and on, but you’ve probably already read and heard a tonne of Iron Man reviews by now (all good reviews it seems). So I’ll just end w/ this: If your not a comic book fan, you’ll still get a huge kick out of Iron Man. If you are a comic book fan, you’ll get a huge geek boner.