Iron Man (2008) (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Sjordal]

I have to agree that as comic book adaptations this isn't up there with Batman Begins or Ghost in the Shell, but it's certainly in the same ballpark. Mostly I think the positive response it's getting (i.e. claims that it is better than Batman Begins) comes from the lighter tone.

Anyway, someone mentioned that the Mandarin was hinted at.

Unfortunately, I never really read any of the Iron Man comics that involved Mandarin, so I don't really know his story that well. Can someone tell me what the hint was? Was he one of the baddies in the caves at the beginning of the movie?

 

[Greg_S_H]

I believe he is Raza, who was the guy that fired a rocket at Stark in the cave. Stark fired back, and Raza was scarred. This is the guy that Stane later paralyzed. In the comics, the Mandarin gets his power from his ten rings. Raza is the leader of the Ten Rings, and his introductory shot has him rotating the ring on his finger.

If this is the case, the nationality is changed. The Mandarin was originally Chinese.

Actually, I just read at wikipedia that the novelization has Raza stating that the Ten Rings has a leader higher than himself. That will be the Mandarin. And, that's probably what Stane meant when he told Raza that his "troubles were just beginning," or something to that effect. He failed, and the Mandarin will take it out of his hide.

.

 

[JonZ]

Im glad others got the 10 Rings comment in there. It made me smile.

 

[Andy Sheets]

I would hope they keep his ethnicity. I can't really wrap my head around a Mandarin who isn't Chinese. It'd be like having a villain called the Scotsman, only to cast a Ukrainian in the part because you don't want to risk offending Scottish people. Maybe you could make it work by claiming the dude just has a fetish for kilts but at that point you might as well say "screw it" and just acknowledge that you're creating a whole new character

 

[Greg_S_H]

No, read my last paragraph. That kind of threw all of that out.

 

[Vlad D]

I loved this movie. IMO its definitely one of the best comic book movies; right up there with Batman Begins, X2, and Spiderman 2. Can't wait to see it again. Especially since I missed the Nick Fury scene.

 

[BrandonL]

After telling everyone how perfect RDJ was for this part, I was being told he had to fight really hard to be Iron Man. Who in the world were they considering for this? The only other person I could picture being Iron Man would be Christian Bale, and then I realized what other character he is playing. Awesome movie. That last scene in the movie had the crowd cheering so loud during the midnight showing.

 

[Lenny Rakes]

By having to fight for the role, I believe it made him more determined to give a better performance and not simply go through the motions like a lot of other actors tend to do in these type of films.

 

[Patrick Sun]

RDJ's battle with drug abuse makes him a risk when it comes to high dollar productions (insurance, and so on), so I could see that RDJ would have to fight for the role given that there are other alternatives if they passed on RDJ. But that's not to say RDJ isn't a talented actor, he is, he just has a lot of past baggage that requires him to do more than someone with less baggage for roles he really wants.

 

[ErichH]

So, his credit rating (in Brazil Terms) is low enough to damage actual talent perception.
I'll assume suits on set keeping vigil.

 

[Claire Panke]

Don't think you need to assume suits on set but probably should assume random drug testing.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Very interesting when you consider that Downey improvised the sit-down press conference scene.

Worth a read:

The Columbus Dispatch : Profile | Robert Downey Jr.: 'Iron Man' role no stretch

 

[Patrick Sun]

I read that there was quite a bit of improvising on the set when they were shooting, as Favreau wanted some funny choices in certain scenes to keep the energy level up in the film.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Another really good Downey interview:

'I Beat Impossible Odds' | PARADE Magazine

I'm pretty impressed with this guy now.

 

[oscar_merkx]

Absolutely loved the IM movie which I saw last night.

RDJ is IM imo and he nailed the role perfectly.

I really liked how they kept introducing characters from the comics such as Jarvis or Shield.

I watched al of the credits to see about SLJ's cameo as Nick Fury, awesome

 

[John Geelan]

I also enjoyed the film. Very steady workman like structure to the movie which builds to its climax "I Am IronMan" cue music.

Perfect cast especially Gwennie and Leslie Bibb (yum yum).

Loved Stan Lee's little cameo, it was spot on.

This will make a great Blu-ray disc!!!

 

[Greg_S_H]

I didn't like that Jarvis was just a computer program, but I guess it would be too Batman in the year of Dark Knight to have another billionaire with a butler.

Even though the origin was different, it was a thrill when the agent revealed the final name of his agency.

 

[Sam Favate]

Saw this over the weekend and thought it was great. Really gets the vibe right for a comic book movie - plenty of action, and lots of fun, but not at the expense of the dramatic tension. Also enjoyed the real-life pokes at defense contractors. Great cast, all given some interesting things to do (although Terence Howard could have been used more). As with Spider-Man in 2002, this could end up being the movie of the summer, beating out even Indiana Jones. (You will recall that Spider-Man was the top-grossing movie of 2002, beating out even Attack of the Clones.)

In any event, bring on the Blu-Ray and the sequel!

 

[Vlad D]

Looks like this movie made about $50 million this weekend and beat out Speed Racer for the #1 spot.

Need for Speed? Nope, 'Iron Man' rules

 

[Jerome Grate]

Wow, it made over 120 million last weekend, then another 50 this weekend above Speed Racer. That's very impressive. I took my son and we enjoyed the movie quite a bit.