Bad Dialogue. Good CGI

Rating: 5/10 (9 October 2008)

Genius Industrialist Tony Stark (Downey) decides to give up his selfish playboy ways and help mankind after a life threatening experience. He dons a suit of iron to do this.
Okay, now we have another Super Hero from the Comic Books. Let's see who is left: Plastic Man, Mandrake the Magician, Captain America or was that Captain Marvel, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman (the TV show doesn't count), Aquaman. Yes, I am going back in time as I do not know the names of the newer Super Heroes. Well, we have Superman, but not Superboy. Hmmm.
This movie was okay but there were many things not right with it. First of all the dialogue was truly bad in many places, and attempts at humor didn't quite make it. The dialogue in the scene with Pepper (Paltrow) and Stark where he asks her to remove a copper wire from the electro-magnetic device in his chest (you had to be there) was embarrassing to say the least. For the rest of the movie, it felt like much of the dialogue was dubbed in. Even Terrence Howard's dialogue was bad - he is good, the dialogue given to him is badly written. If the writers were using dialogue from the Comic Book, then they needed to upgrade the verbiage. In a Comic Book, it works, but in a movie not so much.
Now, when we have a super hero we see him or her saving someone and the saved person is very happy and thankful to have been saved. Didn't happen here. The occupants of the car that Iron Man does save were truly, hysterically terrified. Hell, I was even cringing. This needed more of the saved people showing more appreciation for having been saved. A few lighter moments like that would have gone a long way to a better review.
Robert Downey Jr is quite good and his facial expressions almost made up for some bad dialogue. I looked forward to those expressions. They are really good. But, truth be told his dialogue was better all the way thru. Just his. Just so you know.
Jeff Bridges as Stark's partner was good, but again his dialogue needed help. He has a new look with beard, and bald head, but he is still one of the most under-rated actors around. Shaun Taub as Yinsen, the bad guy, was terrific. Paltrow was unaware in this movie, not sure of where her marks were and her demeanor as the "love interest" was lost in translation.
Now, what was the "okay" part here? Why the CGI, of course. But, keep in mind even good CGI does not a good movie make. Remember Transformers?
Violence: Yes. Sex: Not really. An attempt was made but they fell off the bed. Nudity: No. Language: No and that was a break.
Rating: C