Iron Man

There are certain comic book movie that stand out above the others.  Obviously, I'm a huge fan of the Dark Knight, so much so that I don't know that I really consider it a comic book movie.  I thought Spider-Man 2 was great in so many ways, and when I saw Iron Man, I started to believe that Hollywood could keep producing great comic book movies.*  Iron Man did so many things right, and it became a standard I judged other comic book movies by.

The movie has a serious tone but isn't afraid to be funny.  Charismatic may be the best term to describe Iron Man.  There are a number of good one liners and quirky characters.  A lot of that is owed to the comic books themselves, but it took writers and a director who understood the characters to create the tone of the film.

Were the casting any different, Iron Man may not have worked.  With Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man had a leading actor that could pull off being a smarmy jerk who was likable.
     Good looking?  Check.
     Devil may care attitude?  Check.
     Charisma?  Check.
Robert Downey Jr. pairs well with the rest of the cast, as well.  While I feel like Gyneth Paltrow is an odd casting choice for Pepper Potts, she works.  I like her in the role, and she and RDJ play well off of each other. When you throw Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard into the mix, you have a winning cast.  They're all capable actors.

Visually, Iron Man continues to be well done.  Jon Favreau crafts great scenes, with the opening in particular being well done.  He knows where to put his people and how to shoot them.  In the hands of a less capable and caring director, Iron Man may not have worked.  It's a story about a guy in power armor; this should raise eyebrows.  With this configuration, it doesn't.  It's just accepted as pure awesome.

If Iron Man has a weakness, it is in the ending.  As the movie has been out since 2008, I am going to speak candidly, with no care for spoilers.  If you haven't seen it yet, just skip the rest of this paragraph.  Still reading?  Good, that means you have already seen the film and know how awesome it is.  With regards to the ending, watching Iron Man fight a bigger Iron Man is not the most inspired turn.  It's understandable and follows the set-up well, but it's a boring ending for such a spectacular film.  Don't get me wrong.  It's well done, and I don't know what I would have done differently.  Frankly, the movie is great, and I was hard pressed to find a flaw.  The ending isn't a flaw; it just isn't as unique as the rest of the film.

If you haven't seen Iron Man yet, you need to.  At this point, I'm pretty sure most people have seen it.  It's a great film.  I hadn't watched it in a few years, and it sucked me right in when we put it in.  Iron Man is worth about two hours of your time.  Besides, don't you want to re-watch all the Marvel movies before the Avengers comes out?


*They tried to kill that belief with Spider-Man 3.  Jerks.