See What Show

Ironman 2 maybe… Avengers most likely…

Read the ultimates & the ultimates 2…

They actually joked who would be acting the individual characters…

Here’s my review of Iron Man:

IRON MAN
2008

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios

You know the summer movie season has arrived when a man in red-and-gold armour takes to the air and goes mano-a-mano against two F-22 raptor fighter planes. And who’s complaining? We’ve waited long enough, and it’s time to sit back, break out the popcorn and watch director Jon Favreau kick off the season with a film that transcends all expectations and leaves the comic book movies of yore eating its dust.

As most Marvel Comics fans would know, Tony Stark (a caustic but likeable Robert Downey Jr.) is a multi-billionaire genius inventor and playboy, owner of the weapons manufacture conglomerate Stark Industries. However, things go awry when Stark travels to Afghanistan to demonstrate his company’s latest masterpiece, the deadly Jericho missile. Stark is captured by an extremist warlord who orders him to build a Jericho missile for his personal use. Never one to give in, Stark, aided by fellow kidnapped scientist Yinsen (Shaun Toub), forges a suit of armour instead to facilitate his escape.

Stark is welcomed home by his long-time friend and confidante Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Howard) and Obadiah Stane (Bridges), business partner to Stark and his late father before him. Disillusioned by the destruction he has seen his inventions cause, Stark announces that his company will no longer make weapons. Everyone is bewildered, from the media to Rhodes to even Stark’s faithful personal assistant/Girl Friday Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Paltrow).

Meanwhile, with the help of his personal virtual butler Jarvis (voiced by Paul Bettany in full prim Brit mode), Stark busies himself with refining his armour and building upon the prototype. The finished result is the sleek yet robust armour Iron Man fans have grown to know and love. Stark takes it upon himself to stop the terrorists who use his weapons to wreak havoc on innocents in a Middle Eastern town, but inadvertently becomes a mistaken target of the US Air Force. An exciting and dynamic, if rather brief, battle between the Golden Avenger and twin fighter planes occurs. Stark narrowly saves the day for one of the pilots and clears up the misunderstanding.

On his home turf, a malicious turn of events takes place when Obadiah Stane’s true intentions are revealed, all leading up to a climatic final battle between Stark and Stane, the latter donning the formidable Iron Monger suit.

Iron Man breaks the mold when it comes to summer comic book-inspired action-adventure yarns, performing a masterful balancing act of not taking itself too seriously yet straying far from the silliness that has haunted such films as Batman and Robin and The Fantastic Four. At the same time, it has plenty to offer to today’s action-hungry movie-goers and takes a fresh spin on the “inner conflict” theme that almost all superhero films overuse.

Iron Man’s shirking of conventions in a way reflects the rebellious but fun personality of its titular character. Director of family fare Jon Favreau, Serious thespian Robert Downey Jr. and indeed Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow are not the names that immediately come to mind when a superhero film is the subject of discussion. However, it is exactly because of this that Iron Man manages to differentiate itself from other pictures of the genre. In a way, Downey Jr.’s own traits mirror that of Tony Stark: both are charismatic and roguishly charming and both have dealt with substance abuse (though that story element was intentionally set aside from the first film). In his own words, the talented actor set out to portray Stark as a “likeable asshole”, and indeed that’s how he comes across in the film. All in all, Downey Jr. is undoubtedly the film’s strongest point. He deftly inflects Tony Stark with humour and subtle emotion, remaining true to the source material at all times. Unlike some actors who have portrayed superheroes before, Downey Jr. never lets the suit inhibit his acting, and even during relatively mundane moments such as drawing up electronic schematics or building parts of the armour manages to get a laugh or two out of the audience.

Besides the strength of the story, the film’s special effects are captivating yet not distracting, realistic yet noticeable. The punchy action sequences and scenes where we get to see the Iron Man suit in action placate the audience but leave them hungry for more at the same time. The supporting cast backs up the leading man serviceably as well. Terrence Howard is believable and not over-the-top as Lt Col Rhodes, Jeff Bridges superbly understated as the villainous Stane and Gwyneth Paltrow doing a way better job than we’ve seen the ladies of previous superhero blockbusters do (Katie Holmes, anyone?) as the smart, level-headed and subtly sexy Pepper Potts.

The story has also been updated yet true to its roots: the North Vietnamese warlord of the comic’s origin story is replaced with an Afghan extremist, and the film is infused with an anti-war commentary that is far from subtle but still a commendable effort. Shaun Toub manages to give personality and compassion to the character of Yinsen (now Middle-Eastern instead of Vietnamese). The images of terrorists wreaking havoc in Afghan towns and tearing families apart are realistic yet heart-wrenching as well.

Unfortunately, there are chinks in this armour yet. The clash of the titans that serves as the film’s finale is disappointingly bland and quite a letdown compared to the endings of such movies as Batman Begins and Spider-Man 3. There is far too much going on, it is quite too dark to clearly make out the action and the sense of peril is not as high as in some of the earlier parts of the show.

Over at reviews aggregating website RottenTomatoes.com, Iron Man has claimed the title of the best-reviewed movie of 2008 so far. And what can this reviewer say? This film has more than proved its metal mettle, and almost everybody who has experienced this extravaganza are holding their breaths for Iron Man 2 – and getting back into the cinema line to watch it again.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

I didn’t like Iron Man as much as you guys. I guess after a whole string of movies about selfless heroes like Superman and Spiderman, it was kinda disconcerting to have a hero put himself first before others. I thought Paltrow gave a pretty decent performance despite the fact, as you guys said, that Downey Jr. clearly dominated the screen every time he was on. Was it just me or did Terence Howard come off as an effeminate military guy?