Marvel's latest comic based action movie came out this weekend, and I had to see it for myself on Friday evening. I'd seen the trailers, and to be perfectly honest, the production looked kind of cheesy/lame. My skepticism vanished in the first fifteen minutes.
Iron Man destroyed my expectations for what superhero movies should be. It raised the bar so high that I'm almost afraid that I will be disappointed with The Dark Knight because my standards have increased so dramatically. That standard was last set for me at Batman Begins, which I felt was one of the most well organized, plot-driven, comic/cartoon-based movies in recent memory.
So, what is it that made Iron Man so, well, amazing?
First of all, the plot shifts quite fluidly, despite being a two hour movie. There wasn't a single instant through the duration of the viewing that I was bored; on the contrary, I don't remember a point at which I wasn't on the edge of my seat. There isn't a really groundbreaking twist or anything like that though, but I really didn't expect one.
Secondly, the CG effects were excellent, and not abused or overused. I had trouble distinguishing instances where Robert Downey Jr. was in a real suit or when it was a CG scene. This gave off the feel that the Iron Man world could overlap reality, which was pleasurably surreal.
Finally, the Actors/Actress themselves were incredible. RDJ is utterly insane; he IS Tony Stark. Being able to pull off 'serious superhero saves the world' and 'funny superhero who saves the audience from falling asleep' together cohesively was ultra impressive. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Pots quite well, and the Pepper/Tony relationship doesn't develop the way you hope/expect, which I thought was a great way to make room for a sequel, which, if you wait for the final short scene after the credits are done rolling, seems very likely. Jeff Bridges does Obadiah Stane alright, but I've never been able to get used to him in other acting parts since he starred in The Big Lebowski. Lastly, the oblig Stan Lee cameo was priceless and well placed.
I would give this movie a perfect score, except I think that from the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything about the Marvel universe, I would lose some of the epic, so I give it a 9.5 out of 10. Still, go see it. It's well worth it.
Iron Man destroyed my expectations for what superhero movies should be. It raised the bar so high that I'm almost afraid that I will be disappointed with The Dark Knight because my standards have increased so dramatically. That standard was last set for me at Batman Begins, which I felt was one of the most well organized, plot-driven, comic/cartoon-based movies in recent memory.
So, what is it that made Iron Man so, well, amazing?
First of all, the plot shifts quite fluidly, despite being a two hour movie. There wasn't a single instant through the duration of the viewing that I was bored; on the contrary, I don't remember a point at which I wasn't on the edge of my seat. There isn't a really groundbreaking twist or anything like that though, but I really didn't expect one.
Secondly, the CG effects were excellent, and not abused or overused. I had trouble distinguishing instances where Robert Downey Jr. was in a real suit or when it was a CG scene. This gave off the feel that the Iron Man world could overlap reality, which was pleasurably surreal.
Finally, the Actors/Actress themselves were incredible. RDJ is utterly insane; he IS Tony Stark. Being able to pull off 'serious superhero saves the world' and 'funny superhero who saves the audience from falling asleep' together cohesively was ultra impressive. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Pots quite well, and the Pepper/Tony relationship doesn't develop the way you hope/expect, which I thought was a great way to make room for a sequel, which, if you wait for the final short scene after the credits are done rolling, seems very likely. Jeff Bridges does Obadiah Stane alright, but I've never been able to get used to him in other acting parts since he starred in The Big Lebowski. Lastly, the oblig Stan Lee cameo was priceless and well placed.
I would give this movie a perfect score, except I think that from the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything about the Marvel universe, I would lose some of the epic, so I give it a 9.5 out of 10. Still, go see it. It's well worth it.
