Review : Iron Man

IRON  MAN

Marvel's  Iron Man hits the big screen, in this 2008 Blockbuster hit. Starring Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, this movie in particular sets out to achieve boundaries of big explosions, massive effects, graphic comic strip like violence and action to prove that it stands out from all the other Marvel movies done previously.

Hey Everybody

I would like to welcome you to my next film review which is 'Iron Man' starring Robert Downing Jr in the leading role of Tony Stark. 

With this being a first movie, The Marvel enterprise is releasing yet another range of stories but specifically for Iron Man fans. I've always liked the concept of Iron Man, even if some of The comics ain't that great. I like how refreshing it is amongst all the other Marvel comic hero's put together. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by script Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. He made his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #39 in March 1963.

Initially, Iron Man was a vehicle for Stan Lee to explore Cold War themes, particularly the role of American technology and business in the fight against communism. Subsequent re-imaginings of Iron Man have transitioned from Cold War themes to contemporary concerns, such as corporate crime and terrorism. 

Are the Cold War themes explored in this first film. In some parts yes, in others no. There are parts are set in Afghanistan. The bits set back in LA I think it is, deal with cooperate internationalism. It disappoints me that the main villain of this movie is a legitimate businessman rather than a terrorist leader.

For a first film, it doesn't do too badly. It is a bit hit and miss I must admit, however Iron Man does do a great attempt of setting things off. For a beginners story, It achieves the following :

1.  Great moments of intense acting and drama.
2.  Great Explosions and visual effects.
3.  Great action sequences.
4.  Sets up the boundaries for those who don't know about Iron Man before this film came out.
5.  Great casting 'Robert Downey Jr' does a brilliant job. 
6. The Iron Man suit itself, looks dynamic and great development staging with the suit, and showing how Tony is experimenting with it.

These are just a list of six examples, however what it doesn't do so well is :

1. Keep people alert as to whats going on. My attention span on this is minimal. I find myself being only interested in bits of it and not the whole thing.
2. Plot holes in the story telling.
3. Effective but pointless climatic fight scene between Iron Man and the Bad Guy, without any clear explanation given as to why they are fighting. You may judge me as someone who complete missed the point of that scene, but to me. Its just pointless violence that has nothing to do with the story other than show that these characters can crash cars into each other and scare the s*it out of a few hundred innocent people that had nothing to do with anything except be normal.
4. The ending - what was that about? Tony Stark breaks the most important rule of being a superhero NEVER reveal your secret identity, especially to a bunch of reporters and TV people who are s*it stirrers.
5. The constant delaying of the inevitable.
6. I think in some cases the film looses the plot a little bit, and just goes mad on the budget. Though explosions and dynamic like that are effective. I just check my watch and say. 'Let's get back to the story now please'.

To elaborate these 12 points further, here's a clip. Don't just take my word for it. See for yourself.

The outline to Iron Man is this : Wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is kidnapped and forced to build an armoured suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.

Not your typical start to a Superhero movie. It isn't like Batman Begins where poor Bruce Wayne's parents are killed in front of him, and he decides to avenge them by dressing up in black and beating up criminals.

Iron Man is different. Tony is presented in a crises which actually works around well for him. He finds an easy solution out of it. That's how things set off so quickly. The first half of this film doesn't much about. It's non stop. Second half is dastardly dull. So unnecessarily boring. Quite adequately this film is a game of two halves really.

The glue holding this film together is the music. The music is what is in background and adds the atmosphere for me. It is what makes this film come alive and add a real intense feel to it. Particularly in moments of action, and intense peril.



Overall to those who haven't seen any Iron Man movies, and want to. Please do. Marvel at it's best.
Also, don't just watch the films, read the comics. As the comics are the basis of the films, if the comics weren't around neither would the films. So read the comics and watch the films to know your stuff.

Thanks for reading this review.

My next review is going to be 'Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom'. I will post that review on Thursday the 23rd of January 2014.