Iron Man

It takes a few elements to make the Iron Man authentic. The fact that the character has been modernized by different versions in cartoon and comic book had me wondering which version would the movie bring about. Well let’s look into what elements are needed to make the Iron Man, well you need the genius billionaire, superior technology, hints of alcohol abuse and of course the awesome suit of armor that keeps his heart beating. What Jon Favreau has put together is a very real Iron Man that not only reflects the original comic book but improves upon it in many ways. The newest Marvel cartoons disappointed me in their reduction of Tony Stark to being a spoiled rich kid and his buddy Jim Rhodes as his errand boy (I own this abortion on DVD). The version Favreau brings to us has ressurected the original concept of Tony Stark being a genius, a brilliant genius who throughout his life was decades ahead of his peers, and as an adult leads Stark Enterprises as the premier weapons developer for modern warfare. This alone is Stark’s power, not the pretty suit and not his ability to score quick tail on will, it’s the mind of the Iron Man that reigns supreme and this movie captured it well.

I have never doubted Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark since his resume speaks for itself and any serious film jockey will admit that the boy is good at what he does. Sprinkle in the real demons that he has fought through drug abuse and you have the perfect candidate to play the complicated billionaire genius. The drama was not over the top in this one so there was no depth of character open to the audience, but in the moments of hurt, sorrow and want, Tony Starks seemed authentic. A mind like that which swirls through confidence that borders on cockiness, back to his love and trust for best friend Jim Rhodes and assistant Pepper Potts, and then back again to his need to sleep with every sexy female that brushes by… is not a task that would have worked with a stiff, flavor of the month actor. Which takes us to Terrence Howard and the change in scenery this movie brings him to the superhero scene…

“NEXT TIME BABY!”

That was the line of the movie, which he conveyed that mix of want, disappointment and hope all in one expression at a key point in the story. As you can tell I was impressed with these two guys and Gwyneth Paltrow did justice to the role of Pepper Potts… Tony’s one and only stable female in his life. Without the influx of a bunch of cameos, whjich I thought would happen. Iron Man can be summed up as one of the only solid comic book movies I’ve seen to this day, there is normally one lingering problem that bothers me (worse when you are a fan of the comics like myself) but I can honestly say there is none. From the looks of it there will be a sequel and it needs to happen like yesterday. The music was on point but not exactly memorable but the CGI used on the computer interface and the Iron Man itself was brilliant. I am speechless about the technologuy used for Jarvis (the super computer), I will say that Minority Report was used as the example to space-aged UI, but I think Iron Man has it now. Cinematography ranged from sand dunes to dark city-scapes and nothing else but the focus was on the machines so nothing is missed there.

Normally in the stories of the Iron Man an evil genius will create some sort of weapon or being to go after Stark Enterprises or the Iron Man himself, but Tony always had the Superior Technology. Just like that held true for the comics, the same can be said about this movie, it just moved the bar of Marvel movies up a tad, I think it will be hard to reach. Great job Jon, you did myself and every other wannabe Iron Men proud.

Written by Greg Dragon – who has written 365 reviews on Spicy Movie Dogs.

Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.