Iron Man

STARRING: Robert Downey Jr. View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 05/02/2008 DATE SCREENED: 04/29/2008 The Verdict GREAT - See it opening weekend

In 2005 it was reported that Marvel Comics was going to start producing films under the Marvel Studios banner. Instead of selling away the movie rights to all of their beloved comic book characters, leaving them powerless when the rights owner decides to make a movie that in no way captures the essence of what made the comic book character so great, they would now take control of their characters and make the movies the fans of the comics want to see. As a big fan of Marvel comics, this was wonderful news to me. But there was one problem. Marvel had already sold the rights to most of their major characters. Luckily, in 2006 they were able to purchase back the rights to Iron Man, which had already been in development hell for many years. As the first release from Marvel studios, Iron Man will set the standard for all the Marvel Studios productions that will follow. Thankfully, Marvel has set the bar very high.

Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the brilliant MIT alum and billionaire owner of Stark Enterprises, the top weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. Stark is living the life guys dream of. He travels the world on his private jet, making deals and bedding as many women as possible. Things take a dark turn for Stark when he’s captured in Afghanistan and forced to build weapons for some kind of terrorist cell. During the capture he was injured, with shrapnel embedded in his heart. Stark has no intention of really building the weapons. He is shocked to see that these terrorist have a stockpile of Stark Enterprises weapons. Stark’s first order of business is to create a power cell that acts as an electromagnet to keep his injured heart beating. He is assisted by Yinsen, a fellow prisoner, with his 2^nd order of business. Stark plans use the power cell to power a nearly indestructible metal suit that will house weapons and allow the two of them to escape. A crude “iron man” suit is built and Stark is able to fight his way to freedom. Stark returns home, obsessed with building a new power cell and a new Iron Man suit that will house more weapons and allow him to fly. Stark shuts down the weapons division of Stark Enterprises, which does not sit well with his business, partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). While Stark is working to perfect his suit, Stane is trying to take the company right out from under him. Once the suit is ready, Iron Man heads to Afghanistan to take out the terrorists who captured him. When he gets home, he soon discovers that Stane is his real enemy and his original prototype has been used to create another suit. The movie climaxes with our hero facing the supervillian Iron Monger.

The film follows the true origins of Iron Man as close as possible. Afghanistan is a substitute for Vietnam, but that's a perfectly understandable change for 2008. We also have his sidekicks, his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his friend Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard). But Robert Downey Jr. owns this film. I wasn’t an avid reader of the comic book, but he seems to play the character perfectly. The standard complaint of most origin comic book films is that the film spends too much time on exposition, and not enough time on action. In this case, the process of how Stark becomes Iron Man is almost as much fun as the action scenes. And the action scenes blew me away. The scene with Iron Man taking out his kidnappers in Afghanistan, and then being attacked by two U.S. planes who don’t even know what they are chasing, is a true classic.

Iron Man has it all. It has the crucial story elements from the comics, with multiple references that only the biggest Iron Man fans will get. The actors give great performances across the board. The action is vicious at times and breathtaking at times, with seamless special effects. Marvel has kicked off the summer movie season with a movie that has exceeded my expectations in every way. Marvel should have been financing their own films since day one. Rush out and see Iron Man opening weekend. My expectations are now sky high for Marvel’s 2^nd release, The Incredible Hulk, which opens June 13^th.