Film Review: Iron Man

The first big movie of the summer has arrived. Iron Man hit theaters this past weekend and has been getting a lot of positive reviews. The last time I saw a superhero movie on opening day it did not turn out well. Did Iron Man deliver or disappoint?

The mere fact that the Iron Man movie has gained such popularity before its release is very surprising to me. I understand that Batman and Spider-Man movies can draw crowds, but Iron Man is not exactly a popular superhero. Not many people know the history of Tony Stark or maybe have never heard of Iron Man at all. Lucky for them the film does an excellent job explaining his beginnings while remaining very close to his true comic book origins.

This is important because Tony Stark is different from most other heroes in terms of how he came to be. I will not spoil anything, but let me just say that Mr. Stark is not a noble character from the beginning. I think this helps him escape other generic hero conventions, leading to a fresh feeling within the genre.

The character of Stark has to be perfectly acted to be supported by an audience. When the trailer for Iron Man first released, I honestly had an unsure feeling about Robert Downey Jr. After seeing the film, I now cannot imagine it without him. It takes talent to get people to root for an insensitive billionaire jerk, and Downey Jr. pulls it off wonderfully. He also does a superb job taking us through his inner changes throughout the film, while still remaining the sarcastically charged wise guy. The other acting is good, but the show is clearly stolen by RDJ.

Another thing that makes Iron Man different from other superhero movies is the humor. I loved the fact that Iron Man the film did not take itself too seriously, and really let itself takes audiences on a fun ride. There were so many one-liners and hilarious scenes I would almost call the movie a comedy (intentionally, unlike the joke known as Spider-Man 3). It is that funny. When I was not laughing I was enjoying the special effects. The Iron Man suit looked excellent and the CG was impressive.

The downside was that there were not that many battle scenes to enjoy. This adds to my classification of the film being almost a comedy. There was far more humor than action, but I do not feel it was a major flaw. There was plenty of cheese as well, but if you let yourself enjoy everything it just becomes part of the comic book experience. I was not impressed by the final battle sequence, but the film did have a great ending (also, stay after the credits!).

Iron Man was a satisfying film on several levels. Justin the rock star loved the classic soundtrack that was chock full of historic riffage. Justin the comic geek loved how things stayed very close to the original material, and loved the post-credit end. Justin the film critic loved the acting and the excellent movie experience. Justin the humor enthusiast loved laughing for two hours.

I would say if X2 and Batman Begins are the pinnacle of superhero films, and they are, Iron Man is on a level just below them. It was a great movie I and highly recommend it.

8.5/10