IRON MAN - Ray's Review!

Jon Favreau Written by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway Based on the classic Marvel characters created by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Bill Smitrovich, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee,Paul Bettany (voice) Distributed by Paramount Pictures but the first fully financed movie from Marvel Studio€™s Film is released worldwide this week (April 30 - May 2nd 2008)€ check your local cinema for exact date & time of first showings. Review by Ray DeRousse

rating: 4

Comic books usually have two problems inherent in their adaptations into films: they lack a certain believability, and they require origin stories that usually bore the hell out of everyone. As action film fans, we flock like lemmings to the theater, only to witness such snooze-inducing and incredulous nonsense like The Fantastic Four, Hulk, or Catwoman. Even certain fairly successful ones like the first X-Men movie had a difficult time setting up the franchise without coming off silly. The ones that work - Superman, and although I'm not much of a fan, Spiderman - manage a fair amount of action and human drama that creates a solid and engaging story. And now we can add a new standard bearer to the class of greatest comic book films of all time: Iron Man. The film chronicles a billionaire genius weapons inventor named Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who is kidnapped during an impressive weapons display in Afghanistan. To escape his captors, he secretly builds a metal exoskeleton armed to the hilt. Once free, he dedicates his life to perfecting this suit and fighting the very militaristic evils he previously caused. Despite being aptly aided by his witty assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his greatest villain exists right under his nose in the form of his company's CEO, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). This film leaps to the head of the class simply due to its stunning cast. Robert Downey Jr. deserves every single penny he will ever make from this franchise due to his legendary transformation into Tony Stark. Slick, self-absorbed, and snarky, Stark is a character Downey was born to play, and he does not disappoint. From the opening seconds, Downey commands the screen with his effortless charm and limitless sense of comic timing. Many fans of the comic books howled when Paltrow was cast as Pepper Potts, yet this might be the most appealing Paltrow has ever been in a film. She plays Potts as a vulnerable woman beneath a cool, confident shell, the perfect foil for Stark's constant cockiness. The real revelation in this film - aside from Downey, of course - is Jeff Bridges as Stane. He nearly engulfs the film with his ominous presence, his voice oozing menace. Here, for once, we have a terrific cast in service to a terrific story. The best comic book movies contain sly commentaries on the world around us. IRON MAN is no different. It touches on many important themes, such as the importance of one's work in life, the meaning of true terrorism, and the corruption and emptiness of power and material pursuit. Stark is a middle-aged man - not some teeny-bopper - and he faces his accomplishments with a maturity that is sorely lacking from films of this sort. His retreat from his former lifestyle forms the dramatic heart of this film, causing us to root for this lost man's redemption. His redemption, however, does not come easily. Blown up, sewn together, tortured, half-dead, and beaten to a pulp, Stark finds himself in the middle of several stunning and ball-busting action sequences. One thing is for certain - this film will rev you up. Accompanied by AC/DC and Iron Maiden rocking over the soundtrack, Iron Man destroys everything in his path. Particularly impressive is a mid-movie rescue of families in Afghanistan who are being tortured by terrorists. Director Jon Favreau keeps the action steady, easily dissected, and humorous. Beyond all of the glorious action sequences, special effects, and brilliant character work, this film has a lot of heart. Running gags and cute, snappy wordplay keep audiences engaged. And if that's not enough, the film is also loaded to the very brim with hot cars, impressive gadgetry, and gorgeous women. This might be the most masculine superhero movie ever made, and it is a welcome sight at the multiplex. I cannot say enough about this flick. If not for the original Superman or X-Men 2, I might easily put this at the very top of my favorite comic book films. As it stands, it's a toss up. I loved this damn movie!!!