*** Official IRON MAN Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Dave H]

I liked it. I didn't think it was as good as some of the other comic book movies, but still entertaining. I thought there was just a bit much humor to Downey's character in the beginning of the movie and the overall plot was questionable. However, most of the acting was good and the movie kept my interest. Should be a nice Blu-ray disc.

 

[DaveF]

If you want to watch a guy in a great-looking exoskeleton blow stuff up good to a heavy-metal guitar riffs, Iron Man is the movie for you. If you want your superhero fun and easy, unencumbered by character drama and complex story details, this is a good time.

If, however, you now expect a superhero movie to have that interesting mixture of character drama, compelling story, and super-suited heroes as in X-Men 2, Spiderman 2, and The Incredibles, Iron Man disappoints.

Iron Man wasn't a bad movie, it was simply uninteresting. It's about as competent as Daredevil, but less engaging. I simply found little to care about in Iron Man. Tony Stark, a generically degenerate, boozin' and womanizin' super-genius CEO is taken hostage by generically thuggish, Middle-Eastern warlords who -- horror -- use his company's weapons to attach his convoy.

He survives, and becomes a generically reformed man-with-a-mission. And an hour later, with an awesome robo-skeleton suit that flys, shoots, talks, and presents a fantastically soul-tormented scowl to those facing it.

The movie, uncertain what it wants to be, lurches between gritty, realistic political commentary on our current war efforts and silly, flippant physical humors gags. Oh, and there's romantic tension sub-sub-plot between Stark and his assistant, whose utter lack of chemistry undermines the whole business.

Then the Big Bad emerges. More of a Middling Mediocre. The filmmakers obviously ran out of creative juice when thinking of a suitable enemy. For a globe-trotting super-hero to-be, the opposition was uninspiring. And for the finale, if one Iron Man is good, the writers must have thought, then two is movie magic! Meh.

It had its merits. The action sequences were well done. The rock-and-roll riffs were crunchy and high energy. The characters were well cast -- romantic chemistry notwistanding. It wasn't a bad movie.

But it wasn't a good movie.