Movie Review: Iron Man

Hey all,

Sorry for the slight gap, I have just been exhausted after work this week and haven't had the energy to get around to posting. I did catch Iron Man a few days ago though, and I thought I was past due at putting my review up.

Iron Man starts Robert Downey, Jr as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy weapons manufacturer who is attacked in the Middle East during a weapons demonstration. A terrorist organization captures him and forces him to build a weapon for there group. After seeing weapons that he created for the US military being used for terrorist activities, he decided that he can't allow that to happen. Instead of creating a missile, he creates a weapons suit that has two purposes. The power source acts as a conduit to keep shrapnel from the explosion that lead to his capture from sliding into his heart and killing him, as well as providing a means of escape.

As Tony returns to America, he begins to understand the truth of his business real enterprises, selling weapons under the table led by his friend and business partner Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges. Ultimately his armor designs are stolen by Stane, and lead to a fight between Stark's sleek Iron Man, and Stane's powerful Iron Monger.

Along the way Tony is helped by his assistant and quasi love interest Pepper Potts, played great by Gwynth Paltrow and Col. James 'Rhodey" Rhodes, his liaison to the government. Casting all around is spot on for this movie, Bridges goes from the kindly father figure to menacing threat very convincingly, Paltrow rides a fine line between the tough assistant and the love lorne girlfriend. I like that there relationship doesn't really get fleshed out, the questions in there relationship is what made it work.

Director Jon Favreau also leaves plenty of teases for future Iron Man films, such as Rhodey looking at the spare Iron Man suit and saying next time. As in the comics he plays War Machine, similar to Iron Man. They also planted the seeds for future storylines, such as Iron Man's most famous story, Demon in a Bottle, about Stark's drinking problem, and what a man with the power of a tank does when he is to drunk to control himself.

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure that they could pull off a good Iron Man movie, but I think they knocked it out of the park. Casting, plotting, pacing, were all in line. There were a few moments that I thought defied believability (for a comic book movie that is) but they were few and far between. I am wholeheartedly recommending that you check out Iron Man. Oh, and stay all the way through the credits for a really great tease!

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Gerrad!