Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a billionaire weapons contractor and genius inventor who is kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan and made to build missiles for them. During his captivity, Stark makes a powerful armor suit instead. When he escapes, he destroys much of the deadly missiles in the terrorists' hands. Back to America. he invents an even more powerful armor and goes on a crusade against the enemies of mankind as Iron Man. Most of the action takes place in Afghanistan with the finale battle of two iron men in USA. Many probably made be unsatisfied with the anti-climatic ending.
Iron Man is a morality play about capitalism and the ethical use of weapons. Iron Man does not have superpowers, just like Batman. Most of his powers come from the use of technology and super strength metal amour. This makes him one of the most down-to-earth superheros in the Marvel comics' universe.
Director, Jon Favreau wanted the movie to have a realistic feel and shot most of the film in California instead of East Coast to make Iron Man different from other superhero movies. Because of this, there is no memorable skyline feature which made movies like Cloverfield fun to watch. However, to his credit, Favreau has kept the story telling simple with this well-paced adventure back story about the origins of Iron Man. Overall, I would rate this blockbuster movie as very good but not exception and hopefully there is an endearing Iron Man story to come.
Iron Man is the first installment of a trilogy planned for the modern armored knight. Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man" role is a curtain raiser for Marvel's (Stan Lee) film adaptation of "The Avengers" which features Iron-Man, Hulk, Wasp, Ant-Man and Thor.
Iron Man 2008 Movie Review - Suitable for Children
Director Jon Favreau said that while he wants to make the film appealing for 13 year old kids, you can expect quite a bit of violence and intense action to cater to the older crowd. As such, while the toys may be suitable for 3 year olds, the movie may not necessarily be suitable for 3-10 year old kids.
In this movie, Iron Man has more character flaws and physical disadvantages than most other superheros which would satisfy some but disappoint other fans of this genre. Even when fully suited up, Iron Man is not fail-safe and its technology is prone to mechanical malfunction and technological limitations.
Robert Downey Jr. plays his part effectively as he has had many similar personal problems in his own real life in terms of drug addiction, weapons possession and spending time in jail. Downey's movie characterization helps bring a softer side to the hard exterior of "Shellhead" - a nickname given to Iron Man by his Marvel superheroes colleagues, like Captain America etc. They call him shellhead because his head resembles a shell. However, I felt the modern Iron Man head amour looked more like the head amour of "Predator".
The action scenes may be too intense for very young children and the death count is rather high though it is usually off screen and not graphic. The scene of surgery on Starks' battery operated heart may be of putting for the very young. The torture and captivity scenes may also upset some of the very young viewers. As a whole, the movie is darker than most superhero movies. This film has a noticeable scene of a superhero who loves junk food.
That said, adults will enjoy the movie as the action scenes are highly effective and satisfying. The funny parts of the Iron Man are enjoyable and are reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger's better action movies. The special effects by ILM are also pretty good though not exactly cutting edge. You see better stuff at any Star Wars' episode.
The movie's big supporting stars like Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Hilary Swank, Samuel L Jackson etc. helps to bring up the production values of the movie. Jeff Bridges and Samuel L. Jackson are almost unrecognizable in their new persona as bad guys. Stan Lee, of course, makes a funny cameo in this movie too. Most the film's stars have signed on for a sequel.
"Iron Man" runtime: 126 minutes. Probably most of you would have missed something special at the end of the closing credits which could usher a brand new franchise for the movie. If you have, catch it on DVD when it is released.
Iron Man video streaming trailer from YouTube:
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