A "Marvel" (leous) product  Indeed!

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2008)

Imagine a CEO of the biggest weapons manufacturing firm addressing a press conference with one hand in a sling, munching a cheese burger and asking the press to be comfortable to an extent of sitting down on the floor itself, he himself sitting down in front of his podium! Meet Mr. Tony Stark a.k.a IRON MAN! I went into the theatre with average expectations because of the characters profile that I had some idea about myself being a huge super hero buff. I came out of the theatre only to realize that this definitely could prove a cult movie for the movies based on the same themes. I never have seen a movie that has everything in place making it just perfect! There a few parameters in a super hero film those are essential to make it live up to the comic strip version.
Most important is the characterization/performance of the protagonist  In this case what do I say. The background of the character is that of a genius, graduating from MIT at a very early age. But he is very unlike a geek when it comes to his personality - suave, flamboyant, womanizer and as Jeff Bridges puts it in the movie a person with a taste for the finest. The cool that Downey has played in the film can be compared to the likes of Brosnan and Trovolta. Everything seems to be just great about his performance in the film  his action speaking louder than his words, be it the style of his walking, contortion of his pupil and gestures using his hands just amazing! Another aspect is the direction  Now that the story, screenplay are a direct lift off from the comic strip, direction brings it into 3-D, life like! Yes, that's the catch here  it should look real. And here the director has taken it to larger than life limits, but with what perfection I must say.
Behavior/circumstance  situation  reaction: are the three ingredients that characterize a life. Same principle holds good for the "reel" life too. This movie has it all in a balance that most just cannot ignore! Special affects? Well, there weren't any in this film as everything seemed real! If one has to fly then thrust booster in the feet would suffice right? This is what I initially thought. But it's only after I saw this movie I realized that hands play an equally essential part in maintaining the balance. Hence, the iron man has boosters in both the pairs, hands and feet. Concept? Yes! The suit!  It was built in three stages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Man_(film)) ). I am not repeating the information stated in Wiki but then the Mark II design of the suit re-defines the meaning of perfection in every sense (every part of the armor assembled together in picture-perfect way). When we talk about suits then there was a recent movie  Transformers (work of the same special effects team) that also exuberated perfection. But then there was a difference. One could feel the special effects playing a significant role in the whole existence of robots. The same is not true with iron man where the close ups on the suits are so close, that it becomes hard to believe that they are a by-product of a software.
There have been super hero movies in the past and they have done well. Maybe that was the awe for the man of steel (superman) that worked with the people, maybe it were the special effects that worked with the other side of Peter Parker (spiderman), but when it comes to IRON MAN its just the quality in every aspect that worked for the film.
Not to forget, the background score of the film is very supportive with each and every moment that "flies by".
April 30th 2010 is the date to look out for now!