Decent Comic Book Action Sunk By Flimsy Plot.

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2008)

First and foremost, I am an ardent fan of Marvel Comics and even though my favourite superhero happens to be Spidey, I decided to catch this flick as comic book film adaptations have always been a must-see for me.
As expected, this film draws its blood from the Iron Man comics from Marvel and Favreau directs this one beautifully. Downey's performance as the poor little rich boy Tony Stark is average to say the least and his chemistry with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is awkward. However, this does not totally derail the film from its track of satisfying the Iron Man fans in the aisles.
The premise and basically the whole plot of the film is stupefyingly simple which in a positive way, does not distract the viewers from the actual action sequences but does pull down the quality of cinematography for this film.
Tony Stark builds a suit and fights bad guys climaxing with a furious battle against the main villain. Works for comic books but in this case, you'll probably figure out who's the arch nemesis from the very beginning which really kills the plot head-on. Not that there's anything wrong with it since Spider-man, X-Men and other comic book film adaptations worked around it fine but somehow, Iron Man doesn't quite pull it off.
Perhaps it's the stereotypical fact of Stark being an American and having to fight USA's number one enemy (read: Middle-Eastern Caucasian-hating terrorists). Or maybe it's how the arch nemesis goes overboard at displaying how he's the baddest of all badasses. Or it's just the fact that there's only a SINGLE part where Iron-Man actually fights bad guys before the final sequences with the main villain. I for one would have preferred Stark take on more bad guys instead of just having a major part of the movie focused on the drama of Stark's personal and corporate life.
The ending is particularly unsurprising so don't expect any shocking revelations. A cliff- hanger it may be but still, anyone watching could've spotted it a mile away.
In short, Iron Man is an average quality comic book film adaptation which is worth a watch but I doubt you'll be resisting the urge to watch it again and again like Spider-man or X- Men since there's really nothing much that hasn't been done by earlier films.
Granted, if you're a truly fervent Iron Man fan, it's a definite must-see but if you have no interest in comic book superheroes and the like, I suggest you give this one a rain check unless you have a passion for CGI action sequences and get a hard-on watching things blow up.
Iron Man succeeds at being a satisfying film but seems hurried and leaky. Do look out for Stan Lee's cameo as a, without spoiling it, playboy. That's a cute scene by itself since Stan Lee cameos in all Marvel Comics films. Get a ticket, munch on popcorn and stretch yourself when it's done because it's just another film based on a comic book superhero, nothing more.