Iron Man is a superhero film unlike any I have seen in recent years. With Robert Downey Jr. in the lead, Iron Man takes a direction which is both entertaining and more believable than most superhero films of this decade.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the head of a weapons manufacturer, aptly named Stark Industries. After the death of his father, who started the company, Tony, along with business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), took over the leading position with Stark Industries.
While giving a weapons demonstration for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Tony is captured by terrorists and held captive. The terrorists demand he build one of his new missiles, the Jericho. In his captivity he finds a friend and assistant in his cellmate, Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who saves Stark’s life and aides him in building his first Iron Man suit, and the mini arc reactor which power both the suit and Stark’s heart.
After Stark’s escape and rescue, his feelings about weaponry change and he decides to help others with his knowledge instead of developing weapons. Obadiah Stane, Stark’s business partner, is not happy about this new outlook and we begin to see Obadiah turn on Stark and eventually become his nemesis. Meanwhile Stark begins work on a new Iron Man suit, working out the kinks, and eventually setting out to make the world a safer place.
When I first saw the trailer for Iron Man I had mixed feelings. I am always happy to see Robert Downey Jr. on the big screen, however, I thought the idea of another superhero film was played out and this one looked cheesy to the hilt. I am here to tell you, I no longer have mixed feelings about Iron Man. It is one of the best superhero films I have ever seen.
Although credit is due to the writers and Jon Favreau, who directed the film, I believe most of the credit is due to Robert Downey Jr.’s amazing performance. Downey does a few things in this film that are not easy for any actor. First, he takes a despicable self-centered prick of a character and makes him likable. We know Tony Stark is a womanizing, wise-cracking, jerk who has more money and power than he deserves, but we like him anyway, and that is a testament to Downey’s acting. Also, Downey was able to pull of the whole superhero thing without coming across as cheesy or overly dramatic. Downey’s dialogue (much of which was ad-libbed) also fits perfectly with the character and gives him a realistic human quality. Tony is someone we can identify with, even though he is a billionaire genius with a shop full of toys and gadgets.
Robert Downey Jr. is not the only one who deserves praise in Iron Man. The casting was spot on, there really is not a bad performance in the film. Jeff Bridges does and excellent job with Obadiah and creates a smooth transition from business partner to nemesis. We don’t normally see Bridges in this kind of roles, but he made a believer out of me.
Gwyneth Paltrow, as Tony Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts, brought a realism to the role with the potential sexual tension between her character and that of Tony Stark. We believe they have known each other for years, and they have come to terms with the possibility of hooking up, but have never acted on it. This made for a nice dynamic as the filmed refused to take the typical route to pair them as lovers.
Terrence Howard was enjoyable as Rhodey, the friend and cohort of Tony. Howard was not given a lot to work with in this film. He was more the straight man, but in the sequels (yes, there are plans for an Iron Man trilogy) I think we will see him shine as Rhodey.
Although we never see him in the film, Paul Bettany lent his voice for a entertaining performance as Jarvis, the HAL 9000-esque butler/assistant to Tony Stark, however, unlike HAL 9000, Jarvis does not go crazy or attempt to kill anyone.
We see four variations of the Iron Man suit throughout the film. Each one has it’s own unique design, all of which look amazing and would be a great addition to any superhero fans’ collection. The first suit (Mark I), created by Tony Stark and Yinsen, has a great retro-future (or if you prefer, hi-tech, low-tech) feel, think Robocop (1987) meets Brazil (1985). The second suit (Mark II) has a sleek design and is a prototype of the final third suit (Mark III), which we see on all the DVD covers, it is a sleek stylized version which looks sharp and functions properly, it even flies like it should. The fourth suit (Iron Monger) is a monstrous creation by Obadiah which looks and acts like a well oiled machine, complete with hydraulics.
The majority of the visual special effects were handled by George Lucas’ ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), which means every shot is painstakingly detailed and flows smoothly.
The sound and music in the film are top notch. The sounds used for the movements for each suit have a mechanical quality which kept me aware I was watching men in robotic suits. Ramin Djawadi’s score contains a hint of industrial which blended perfectly to what was happening on the screen.
During the credits, there is an animated sequence, which shows the details of the Iron Man suit and eludes to a suit which will appear in the sequal, as a matter of fact, there are several moments throughout the film which hint to the sequels. Speaking of credits and sequels, be sure to stick around after the credits as there is a scene you will not want to miss.
Despite all of the above praise, I have a few complaints about Iron Man. There were several times throughout the film when the pacing seemed to crawl. There was too much time spent on Tony Stark’s trial and error in his shop/lab. This was a result of director Jon Favreau feeling many superhero films do not contain enough of these scenes. Also, during these scenes, there are several slapstick sight gags, some of them work, however, many were predictable and failed to get a laugh as a result. I realize there is a need for scenes showing the development of the character, and I welcome those scenes, but in the case of Iron Man the balance shifted too much on the side of build up, taking away from the action.
The scenes featuring Iron Man where wonderfully executed and left me wanting more. I am hoping this want will be meet with the sequels, since we already have the background, hopefully we’ll get more of the great action sequences we saw so little of in this film.
Despite it’s few shortcomings, Iron Man is bound to be one of the best superhero movies you will ever see.
Iron Man: DVD Features
Disc 1: Film & Special Features
Menu
- The menu screens for Iron Man feature a 3-D panoramic view of Iron Man while images from the film scroll across the screen. If this is your first time viewing the film, there is not much worry of seeing anything that would give away to much about the film.
Film
- This edition of the DVD includes only the widescreen presentation of the film (as God intended), which is shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.
Set up
- Audio in English 5.1 Surround, French and Spanish.
- Subtitles in English, French and Spanish
Special Features
Deleted/Extended Scenes
- Convoy Ambush: This is an extended cut of the scene from the film, with some alternate dialogue and more shots of the ambush.
- Craps Table With Tony & Rhodey: An extended cut of Tony Stark in the casino at the craps table and the roulette table.
- Tony & Rhodey on Stark Jet and Military Ceremony: Another extended scene featuring more drunken dialogue between Tony & Rhodey, along with more interaction with the women on the jet. The military ceremony is a boring and useless segment which was cut for obvious reasons.
- Rhodey and General Gabriel: A deleted scene which shows Rhodey and General Gabriel discussing Rhodey’s decision to go back and look for Tony Stark after his abduction.
- Tony Comes Home: A deleted scene where Tony arrives back home after his abduction. He finds a watch from Obadiah sitting on a table and there is some interaction between Tony and Jarvis.
- Tony Begins Mark II: Deleted scene featuring a few machines working in Tony’s shop.
- Dubai Party: Deleted scene of a party taking place at Tony’s house in Dubai. The scene features rapper Ghostface Killah and expounds on Tony’s womanizing.
- Pepper Discovers Tony as Iron Man: Deleted scene of Pepper walking through the house and discovering Tony sitting in a chair wearing the Iron Man suit.
- Obadiah Addresses Scientists: Deleted scene of Obadiah giving a ‘pep-talk’ to the scientists working on his Iron Man suit and the arc reactor.
- Rhodey Saves Iron Man on Freeway: Extended scene featuring Rhodey coming in to help Tony as he battles Obadiah.
- Rooftop Battle: Extended scene of the rooftop battle featuring more dialogue and screentime between Tony and Obadiah. This is a good scene, I’m guessing it was cut for time.
Iron Man: Armored Adventures
- A trailer for Iron Man: The Animated Series, which is scheduled to appear on Nickelodeon in 2009.
Previews
- You cannot select trailers individually, once you select Previews, they begin to play automatically.
- Teaser trailer for Star Trek
- Trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- Teaser trailer for The Incredible Hulk
Easter Eggs
- From the Main Menu select Special Features. On the Special Features menu, highlight Main Menu. Then press Left on your remote. You will see a yellow symbol appear between Previews and Main Menu. Press Enter to view a segment featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Stan Lee on the set of Iron Man.
Disc 2: Special Features
I Am Iron Man
- The Journey Begins (20 min.): An in-depth look at the pre-production of Iron Man with focus on the suit.
- The Suit That Makes the Iron Man (10 min.): Focus is on actors wearing the suits during filming.
- Walk of Destruction (22 min.): Covering the first few weeks of shooting, finishing with a great segment showcasing the stuntman in the Mark I suit shooting flames.
- Grounded in Reality (15 min.): Focus is on the filming of scenes in Tony’s shop/lab.
- Beneath the Armor (15 min.): Focus on supporting cast and end of principal photography.
- It’s All in the Details (14 min.): Post-production at Skywalker Ranch. Prologue Films creation of Jarvis interface and title sequence.
- A Good Story, Well Told (12 min.): Post-production meeting, last minute post-production and a few words from director Jon Favreau about his anticipation of the films release.
The Invincible Iron Man
- Origins (8 min.): A few words from Stan Lee and others at Marvel about the beginnings of the Iron Man comic and character.
- Friends and Foes (3 min.): Discussion of other characters in the Iron Man universe.
- The Definitive Iron Man (5 min.): Discussion of the development of Iron Man through the years. Editor’s Note: This segment ends abruptly almost mid-sentence.
- Demon in a Bottle (1 min.): A few words about an issue of Iron Man which addressed alcoholism.
- Extremis and Beyond (25 min.): Discussion of the Iron Man: Extremis graphic novel (upon which the film is largely based) and the major changes it brought to the character, as well as discussion with current Iron Man writers and artists.
- Ultimate Iron Man (4 min.): Brief discussion of the Ultimate Iron Man comic and final thoughts on the character.
Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
- A 27 minute featurette on the visual effects created by ILM: Industrial Light & Magic, The Orphanage, and The Embassy.
Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
- A six minute segment featuring Robert Downey Jr. performing lines with other actors from three scenes in the script.
The Actor’s Process
- A four minute segment featuring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges and director Jon Favreau working out how a scene should be played.
The Onion Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted Into Full-Length Film
- A humorous two and a half minute segment from The Onion (a parody news publication) discussing the fears fans have of the trailer being turned into a feature film.
Galleries
- Art and photo galleries divided into Concept Art, Tech, Unit Photography, and Posters.
Credits
- DVD credits
Set Up
- Subtitle Options, which include English, French and Spanish.
Overall this is a strong two-disc DVD. It contains a film which is on a par with the Batman franchise and it contains many informative and worthwhile special features. My only complaint is the lack of an audio commentary. It would have been great to her Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau commentating on the film.
DVD reviewed – Ultimate 2-Disc Edition DVD (Region 1)
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