Quick n’ Dirty Review: Iron Man
Our good friend Jason (aka ‘Centurion’ for old-skool Yellow-Menace / Destroy-All-Monsters visitors) sent us this short-but-sweet review of the new Iron Man movie.
Much to the surprise of some of my friends, I didn’t read comic books when I was growing up. I watched cartoons like other kids, but I never really got into the whole comic thing. I knew the headliners like Superman, Spiderman and Batman mainly because their either had their own movies or their own cartoons. I may have heard of Iron Man and knew a bit about the character: Billionaire playboy turned superhero who flies around in a metal suit blowing shit up. That was pretty much all I knew, but it was enough. When I heard this movie was coming out I had a mix of boyish excitement and nervous dread. An Iron Man movie could either be very very cool, or very very horrible. My first question of course, was who is going to play lead head.
The answer was Robert Downey Jr., and I can honestly say once I heard it I was intrigued. I had long been a half-hearted fan of Downey ever since I first saw his drug addict performance in Less Than Zero; a movie which would ironically describe long periods of Downey’s life. Downey was this somewhat insane and unpredictable Hollywood cat. He was Johnny Depp before Johnny Depp was, although with a lot more drug and criminal baggage (or at least his was more public). In addition to this he was by all accounts, a complete asshole. Right or wrong he was at least up front about it, and that at least I always admired. I mean, who better to play a ruthless, cold, sarcastic, egotistical weapons dealer than Robert Downey Jr.? I think the trailer speaks for itself.
Even as cool as this all seemed, however, I had to know if it would live up to the hype. After seeing the movie I can honestly say it does, and then some. It is dramatic and cool without taking itself too seriously. There are a lot of comedic moments, mainly Downey’s, that just work. The script, the performances, the special effects, the direction and even the pace of the movie are superb. I’m not one to geek out when I’m at a theater, but I can honestly say I was alternating between laughing out loud, clapping, cheering and just sitting there staring in amazement. I think the best compliments I can pay the movie are these: First, I was so into the story that the special effects took a back seat, which is very impressive considering what an effects-driven movie this is. Second, I’d pay to go see it again, tomorrow.
If you are even remotely interested, or if you just want to feel like your money is well-spent when you go to the theater, then go see Iron Man. Now.
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Dude - I took The Kid to see Iron Man last night - sweet Jeezus, that was a great movie. ‘Avengers Initiative’? Yes, please!