Solid

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2008)

Iron Man is arguably the biggest blockbuster movie this summer (aside from the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). With a marketing campaign of $50 million dollars, Paramount was banking on this movie pleasing the core fan base and the general audience. What happens when you risk it all? Generally, you're going to play it safe.
This is exactly what Iron Man does. Now, Iron Man is by no means a bad film. It's actually rather good. But come on Marvel, we have seen it all before. This is the mandatory 'origins' story (which means this is turning into a film franchise of course) which builds up protagonist Tony Stark from multi-billion dollar CEO, socialite, and Albert Einstein-like genius to the vigilante that must uncreate everything that he has created.
RDJ (Robert Downey Jr. for you ignorant fools) plays the part very well, though if you've followed his career for quite sometime, it's nothing that exercises his acting ability. Gwenyth Paltrow does well for Stark's PA and love interest, though unfortunately her character doesn't accumulate into anything substantial. Jeff Bridges played well as the antagonist, and though it was a great concept, it was handled poorly by the filmmakers. The best thing about Terrance Howard's character was when he looked at the spare suit Stark built and said "Maybe next time", hinting at the possibility of War Machine in the sequel.
The biggest gripe I have with this movie is that it does not try to break out of conventions; it does not have an edge to stand out as a defining film, let alone a defining Marvel adaptation. It does not help that Favreau and his team kept the look rather generic. When we see Spider- man, we can see Sam Raimi's touch. Nolan can be seen throughout Batman Begins. This film could have been directed by Tim Story (director of Fantastic Four "fame") and you would not even be able to tell the difference.
What I did like in the film was all the references to other Marvel properties, which are all conveniently coming together (the Avengers movie is coming soon). S.H.I.E.L.D and War Machine are the two I remember the clearly, and releasing the movie about one of Marvel's lesser known characters before his alleged cameo in The Incredible Hulkmovie will be a treat to all movie-goers alike.
I guess what it comes down to is the gut feeling I have inside. When I came out of Spider- man 2 & 3, I wanted to be Spider-man. With Batman 1 & 2 and Batman Begins, I wanted to be Batman. With X-Men, I wanted to be Wolverine, only because Cyclops was treated as a pansy. With Iron Man... Iron Man is just damn bloody cool. He almost makes me want to be him, but it's just not quite. Maybe his character is too overwhelming for me to want to be in his shoes (pun not intended), but rather fight along side him like all the other Marvel heroes that have had that honour.
Final Rating: 7.5/10