The Invincible Iron Man
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Movie Reviews of The Invincible Iron Man
Movie Review: Finally...a great Iron Man story!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this story. It made Iron Man seem just like he did in the comics whne I was little.Movie Review: great movie
Summary: 5 Stars
i got this movie a lot faster than i anticipated and it is great.Movie Review: Rebooting Iron Man
Summary: 4 Stars
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN retcons the Iron Man mythos to a degree. Given that Tony Stark was originally wounded in Vietnam in the 1960s and he would have been in his sixties, something had to be done. So the creators brought the story into "now" and still maintained an Asian flavoring by setting Iron Man up against the Mandarin, one of Shellhead's oldest and coolest foes.
Die-hard purists are going to be disappointed in some aspects of the film, but it delivers enough action and characterization to get the job done. Strangely, though, we don't really get to know that much about Tony or his relationship with his dad, Howard Stark. We don't even get to know anything about why he created the Iron Man armor when he plainly states in the movie that he's never invented weapons. The Iron Man armor has been compared to a human-sized F16 fighter jet loaded to the gills with munitions and destructive power. Not to mention all the other cool, on-board technology.
The plot centers on Tony's efforts to help China raise a sunken city to engender goodwill that results in very profitable trade agreements. However, the Jade Dragons -- a local group -- have attacked the dig site on a number of occasions to stop the city's recovery. But Stark's technology is successful and the city returns to the surface. Unfortunately, that return also heralds of the mystical forces that will ultimately resurrect the Mandarin.
I'm not sure if pitting a technology-based hero against the supernatural was a good idea for a first Iron Man movie. For the fans like me, it wouldn't have been that much of a reach bccause we'd all be familiar with the Mandarin (though I'm pretty sure the comics alluded to the fact that the Mandarin's rings were alien tech at one point and not mystical). But newcomers might be expected to see a technology versus technology battle, and that's really lacking here.
I didn't like the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. was onstage mainly as the bad guys, or at least an opposing force, without any face time to put a more positive spin on them. Nick Fury and his agents are some of my favorite characters.
There was a lot to like about the straight-to-DVD presentation, though. The use of CGI animation throughout the film was good, and so were the action sequences. One of the other BIG pluses was that a LOT of the other Iron Man armor was shown. The specialized deep-sea armor took center stage during one battle. And many of the other suits were on display.
Some of the scenes felt rushed, and plot development was thin. The Mandarin was late in getting into the mix, though the four Elementals working on his behalf were there, and never quite came to fruition as a real threat.
But the chance to see Iron Man onscreen in your living room is just too good to pass up. Buy this one for comic geeks' night, or for the kids. Then have a seat with your friends or your children, and get down to a night of superheroing Iron Man style.
Movie Review: Above average comic book transplant
Summary: 4 Stars
Wastrel billionaire playboy Tony Stark flies to China when his top employee and best friend is kidnapped by a group of modern day ninjas. The ninjas are trying to stop a Stark Enterprise-funded raising of an ancient Chinese city and, potentially, the re-animation of a fabled evil-doer named the Mandarin.
People are taking their comic book heroes very serious nowadays, and this shot-for-video includes a helpful "The Origins of Iron Man" featurette that more or less clears up the things I'd forgotten about ol' Shellhead. Just in time, too, since a big screen, live-action movie is planned for release in the summer of 2008 - a little over a year from when this review was written. Anyway, in the original origin story Tony Stark was injured while in Vietnam, shrapnel in or near his heart or something like that, and he needed an iron lung-type medical device to stay alive. In INVINCIBLE IRON MAN they drop Vietnam, keep Asia, the chest wound and the custom-cut iron suit. The other big change in the story, according to the featurette (and some less-than-happy blog postings I've read recently) is the Armor Room, hidden deep in Stark Enterprise's headquarter, which holds the Underwater suit, the Outer Space suit, etc. Apparently the suits changed slowly over time, and the Armor Room represents a type of heresy - Tony Stark did NOT create all those suits at once before he was even Iron Man! Which may be true, but the multitude of suits allow Iron Man more costume changes than a Follies chorus girl during a Saturday matinee, and if they aren't true to the comic book history they probably make the action figure manufacturers happy enough.
Fidelity to the source, in this case, doesn't matter that much to me. When they raise that Chinese city, with inflatable steel, no less, four Elementals are awakened. They, in turn, must locate five rings to awaken the big boss Mandarin. All that stands between them and that unimaginable horror is Iron Man. What does matter to me in an animated action comic book is plot and action. The plot, they have to find five rings in five distinct quests, would fit well in a video game (really, this feature is a marketer's dream) and otherwise does adequate, if not spectacular, service as a plot. The action - Iron Man battling the Elementals at each stage before squaring off against the big boss - were pretty well done. I didn't know they were mixing CGI with 2-D animation, but they do so here with middling results. The Elementals, representing Earth, Ice, etc. are your typical air-borne meanies with the special ability to control different elements. Some of the footage of the Elementals was computer generated, and it shows. I'm not the target audience for a movie like this, but as someone who remembers Iron Man from his 1960's and 1970's comic book incarnation, I am someone the film makers hoped to appeal to. If you fall in that category INVINCIBLE IRON MAN might not thrill you, but it won't disappoint you, either.
Movie Review: Marvel & Lionsgate succeed again
Summary: 4 Stars
Purists will no doubt be perturbed with the changes in the origin story. I enjoyed it, however. It's fun, true to the spirit of the characters and has excellent production values.
The story uses the juxtaposition of the high tech world of Tony Stark against the ancient world of China to tell the origin of Iron Man. In about 83 minutes of movie, we get to see the beginnings of the character and a great battle against his enemy, Mandarin, using at least 4 Iron Man costumes. Rhodey is well featured and Pepper gets a few good scenes.
The film will probably change the way I read Iron Man. My imagination didn't have his suit being so noisy. It probably will, now.
The animation style is more subdued than the previous Ultimate Avengers films. Traditional 2D animation is used for backgrounds and people, with some CGI used for the Iron Man suits and the 5 elementals he fights. The CGI is not too overt, it just provides them with the capability for more dynamic special effects and better rotational motion.
The DVD also features a brief documentary about the origin of Iron Man, with interviews with the films creators and Joe Quesada. There is also a 2-3 minute clip from the upcoming Dr. Strange animated film. I'm not even sure Dr. Strange was in the clip, but that film looks pretty intense. Speaking of intense, the Iron Man film is PG-13. I'm guessing this is because there are a couple of characters that are shot and killed and there is a mild scene of Tony and a bimbette in a hot tub. Nothing that will prevent me from sending a copy to my 7 year old nephew.
It will be interesting to see if any elements from this film appear in the upcoming live action Iron Man film.