It was back in 2002 that Spider-Man paved the way for the new wave of comic book movies and, aside from a few Marvel mistakes (Hulk, Daredevil, Ghostrider), the genre has been continually evolving and, surprisingly, getting better. This past Friday saw the release of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr., and I’m happy to say that it easily falls within the top five best comic book movies I’ve ever seen.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Iron Man is the superhero alter ego of military contractor billionaire Tony Stark. I say superhero, but really Iron Man is a guy in a suit, not a true superhero (as in a dude with superpowers). In the movie, Tony Stark is kidnapped by a terrorist group seeking to use his technical knowledge to create weapons for them. Instead of creating the missile they want, he creates a very rough version of the Iron Man suit and escapes, prompting him to start a life as Iron Man.
It’s almost a shame that these comic book movies have to spend time introducing the origins of the characters. While Tony Stark segments are all really awesome and funny, we’re treated to a lot less Iron Man action than one would expect. Instead we see plenty of the prototyping and creation process with only a little bit of fighting all the way at the end. I suppose this is the difference between a great comic book movie, like Iron Man, and a masterpiece of a comic book movie, like Batman Begins. If you’re honestly looking to watch Iron Man to see a balls-to-the-wall action movie, you will be disappointed. I think it works really well for the movie though, since Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is unparalleled as he plays that role he does oh so well (see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and his chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes steal the show from the hero itself. To give you an idea of how awesome he is, Downey Jr. even acts beautifully when onscreen with robots
Downsides: The enemies of the movie are pretty weak, but it’s an origin story, so I suppose I can forgive that. Tony Stark’s goatee also looks really stupid. Other than that, a great comic movie that will not disappoint anyone who even only kind of enjoys this sort of thing.
My recommendation: See it.
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