Amazon.com: You know you're going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics' longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that's Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quit hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there's always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn't get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won't be able to guess it until it's on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right. --Robert Horton
The Invincible Iron Man... As a kid, I bought a few Iron Man comics (which my Dad would dismiss as junk and throw in the trash...but I digress). Action a'plenty and I even liked the romantic tease between Paltrow and Downey. The Burger King tie-in just cracked me up (What? No McDonalds?). Were liberties taken with the story? Absoulutely! Still an enjoyable film. Four stars!
P.S., My favorite Marvel character - Mighty Thor! (I'm waiting...)
Robert Downey Jr was the movie.... Fantastic! Robert Downey Jr. was the movie (augmented by really good movie technology). He was just plain brilliant as Tony Stark. The moment in the cave where the madman was going to torture his friend and accomplice, he held the perfect freeze, wide eyed, not agitating the dangerous man or his group, throwing a deliberately casual comment to redirect the violence... and succeeding.
When the Tony Stark character was testing the equipment, Robert Downey Jr. was charmingly unembarrassed of flailing about, a man on mission bigger than himself. His facial movement are often subtle... a completely believable and rivetingly interesting character, subtly cartoonish (as was appropriate) without being clownish in the least.
The technology made all previous movie efforts look amateurish. A really really good futuristic movie that can be watched repeatedly
Fun movie. Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2008)
Wait, Jon Favreau directed this? The guy who did Elf? And Zathura? Someone must have messed up the credits, because I find it well-night impossible to believe that someone who could have unleashed those monstrosities on the world could make not only a credible, but an exceptionally enjoyable, action thriller. And yet here it is, in all its glory, Iron Man.
Robert Downey, Jr. is one of those guys who pops up in movies when he's out of rehab and either wipes the floor with the entire rest of the cast (Chaplin, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) or kind of fades into the woodwork (Gothika, a movie I'm sure everyone involved would love to forget). This is a mopping-the-floor performance, which is even more impressive given the caliber of the rest of the cast; Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, and Favreau himself all turn in good performances, but nothing on this screen at any time can touch Downey, who plays a much friendlier and more naïve Tony Stark than I've been used to seeing in comics recently. (Interesting that The Dark Knight and the upcoming Watchmen are all about making the superheroes more human and gritty, while Iron Man wants to get back to almost golden-era-comics-like exaggeration and strong lines between the good guys and the bad guys.) As a result, the bad guys come off as even more evil, and in the opening scenes this could easily have been played in a ham-handed-racist sort of way. I don't doubt there are those who will take that interpretation away from the first half-hour of this movie, in fact, but to me it came off more like Three Kings; the terrorist-as-bad-guy approach is topical, rather than racially-based, and you could have stuck in any nationality. In other words, it's not about the Arabs.
This is a fun movie, very well-done all around. It has the unfortunate distinction of being released in the same year as The Dark Knight, which is likely to eclipse every other superhero movie released in 2008, but it's such an entirely different film in tone that the two make very good foils for one another. Quite enjoyable, and well worth your time. ****
Would have worked as an animated straight to dvd movie. Iron Man started off OK. But when Tony Stark makes his escape from the terrorists it begins to go downhill. Sure it had it's funny moments as Stark builds his second Iron Man suit as well as one good action sequence once the suit was completed. Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow were completely wasted. Terrence Howard's character could have been written out of the script without affecting what little story this movie had. The Jeff Bridges character is what Mike Myers mocked as Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies, all that was missing was a cat to rub.
Iron Man Rocks!!!!! This movie is the best action film EVER! The special effects were amazing, the plot was great, and the Iron Man suit was AWESOME!!! I cant wait to see it on Blu-Ray!
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