movies: iron man

I went into Iron Man pretty much expecting another fluffy superhero movie... but I was very pleasantly surprised... it seems to be so much more than that.

The opening sequence is pretty damn spectacular, and is definitely one of those scenes that just grabs you and throws you around a little before the movie settles in.

It's a really good mix of the marginally fluffy, the very serious and the "realistic" superhero stuff... it doesn't always dwell on the "how" (like "how does this chest mounted power thing actually work"), but instead concentrates on the "why" and the results, which I think was very much the right idea for this movie (and not just because the "how" is pretty much "because he has to make the suit, so we'll just let him make it and skim over some of the how").

There were also a sequence set in Afganistan with a father and his son that started to slide over the line to being a little intense... it could have been lifted out of this movie and dropped pretty much without alteration into a much more serious and dramatic movie without missing a beat. It was something of a relief when Iron Man made his appearance actually.

Robert Downey Jr is just PERFECT as the title character... his dry sense of humour and ability to switch between real drama and dry comedy work really well in the role. Plus he looks really buff in all the scenes where he's "required" to wear a tanktop... and that "power source" thing in the middle of his chest actually kinda adds to the whole look... or it could just be I'm a little strange...

Sadly Gwyneth Paltrow is slightly wooden as the unfortunately named "Pepper Potts"... and the strawberry blonde hair didn't seem to be doing her any favours.

Unlike many similar superhero movies, the CGI didn't jump out and pull me out of the moment. Maybe because Iron Man is a constructed object, which computer graphics always do better than trying to replicate the human form, but while I can guess which bits were Robert in the suit (and I'm guessing there was a suit, and that he was wearing it in a few scenes) and which bits were totally CG. Which coming from me is a pretty big compliment.

Like with almost all of the Marvel and DC properties, I somehow seem to know large chunks of backstory without knowing how I know it... I've never really read any Marvel titles and I'm pretty certain I've never seen the Iron Man cartoon, but yet bits of the mythology has seeped into my brain somehow. So there were a couple of bits and pieces that I picked up as tips of the hat to the fans... which were nice.

And speaking of which, this is TOTALLY one of those movies where you have to stay right until the very, very end of the credits for an extra little scene... now only for the very cool cameo, but also because it kind of sets up the idea of a sequel (woohoo).

It will be nice to see what they do if they do produce a sequel...

yani's rating: 4 Jericho rockets out of 5