Share TonyHa's profile
TonyHa
TonyHa's stats
- Review count1
- Helpfulness votes0
- First reviewMay 3, 2008
- Last reviewMay 3, 2008
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating5
TonyHa's Reviews
Overall rating
5
/
5
Iron-Clad Excellence
PostedMay 3, 2008
TonyHa
from Minneapolis, MN
I may be biased - I have at least 12 years worth of "Iron Man" comics sitting in my closet. Iron Man has been a favorite character for a long time. I know the backstory of these characters well - I even know the story of Jon Favreau's character in the comics, and what he did before he was Stark's driver. So I can say with some surety that this cinematic adaptation is remarkably faithful to the source material; however, Favreau's direction and the skill of the cast gave me moments of suspense and humor and elation and joy. Every aspect of this movie made me look at these characters that I've known for a long time with fresh eyes.
As with any summer fare, this is effects laden. However, they are crafted so well you can't obviously pick out what's CG and what's real. The armor looks fantastic - as if it leapt off the pages of the Marvel comic. The set pieces are also phenomenal. We've seen flying superheroes for years - how many dogfights with FA-22's?
But the best part of the movie is the cast. Having Robert Downey, Jr. play Tony Stark is/was an inspired choice. He brings depth and complexity and humor to the character of Tony Stark. Gwyeth Paltrow was the picture of elegance as Pepper Potts, and the almost always excellent Jeff Bridges pulled off something I don't know if I've seen in a comic book movie adaptation - a subtle villain (well, until the big fight scene). Terence Howard, though, may have given the best performance - as James Rhodes, Tony Stark's combative best friend. The hint dropped at the climax of the film as to his character's future leaves me downright giddy. All of these actors are excellent. In lesser hands all of the characters would have come off as bland and uninteresting, but all of the characters - even Leslie Bibb's glam reporter - are very well rounded and complex. Last but certainly not least, credit goes to the writers who gave all of these actors intelligence and wit. I think there's a lot of fodder here to think about and discuss.
The bar has been raised for crafting a comic book movie.
T!
As with any summer fare, this is effects laden. However, they are crafted so well you can't obviously pick out what's CG and what's real. The armor looks fantastic - as if it leapt off the pages of the Marvel comic. The set pieces are also phenomenal. We've seen flying superheroes for years - how many dogfights with FA-22's?
But the best part of the movie is the cast. Having Robert Downey, Jr. play Tony Stark is/was an inspired choice. He brings depth and complexity and humor to the character of Tony Stark. Gwyeth Paltrow was the picture of elegance as Pepper Potts, and the almost always excellent Jeff Bridges pulled off something I don't know if I've seen in a comic book movie adaptation - a subtle villain (well, until the big fight scene). Terence Howard, though, may have given the best performance - as James Rhodes, Tony Stark's combative best friend. The hint dropped at the climax of the film as to his character's future leaves me downright giddy. All of these actors are excellent. In lesser hands all of the characters would have come off as bland and uninteresting, but all of the characters - even Leslie Bibb's glam reporter - are very well rounded and complex. Last but certainly not least, credit goes to the writers who gave all of these actors intelligence and wit. I think there's a lot of fodder here to think about and discuss.
The bar has been raised for crafting a comic book movie.
T!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.