Film Gecko

"Iron Man" Review

by Jane Boursaw on May 3rd, 2008

Movie: Iron Man * Trailer	In Theaters:	May 2, 2008
Runtime: 126 minutes	Directed by:	Jon Favreau
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.	Gecko Rating:

When a movie begins with AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” you know that no matter what happens, it’s got that going for it.

But when a movie gets as much hype as Iron Man, you really hope it lives up to your expectations. This one comes close, but didn’t wow me as much as I hoped. The action is good, the heavy metal soundtrack is AWESOME (yes, that’s in all caps on purpose), and I love Robert Downey, Jr. as ladies’ man Tony Stark.

Still, the movie dragged a bit for me. I took my 13-year-old son and his friend, and all three of us felt the movie took too long building to where Tony builds the main suit of armor and gets into the “saving the world” part.

More after the jump…

The story begins with industrialist billionaire Tony Stark in a war zone to introduce his new high-tech weaponry to the military. But things go awry when Tony’s Humvee is hit by fire and he ends up in a cave being tortured by the enemy. They force him to build some weaponry for them, but instead, he builds his first crude “iron man” suit of armor, busts out of there, and makes his way back home, thanks to his military-friend Jim Rhodes. (Terrence Howard).

At home, Tony re-connects with his able assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). In fact, the two nearly share a kiss at a party (the chemistry between these two is steamy-hot). Also on the scene is Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, pictured below, who gets the award for most unrecognizable actor in a role), who was the right-hand man of Tony’s dad before he took over the company.

Back in his own high-tech shop — complete with lots of hydraulics and a robot that seems more like a puppy — Stark builds a new ultra-powered incarnation of the exoskeleton that made his escape from the cave possible. With a few amusing hits and misses, he creates “Iron Man,” a superhero that can battle both terrorists abroad and criminals closer to home.

And yowza, when Iron Man takes on the terrorists, you’ll be wishing we had a real-life Iron Man to go over there and kick some terrorist butt.

Also playing into things is a metal “can” (for lack of a better way to say it) that was implanted into Tony’s chest during his stay in the cave. Seems he took some mortar during the Humvee raid, and the only thing keeping the mortar from entering his heart is this metal can in his chest. Of course, he creates a newer upgrade for that, as well. 

I really did like this movie, but as mentioned, it didn’t wow me. Robert Downey, Jr. can do just about anything and I’ll like it. He has great chemistry with Paltrow, and you can tell he was having fun playing the beloved comic book character. However, if I was in charge of the movie (not to diss director Jon Favreau, who did a great job), I would have sped the first part along and had Iron Man take out a few more terrorists. You can tell the audience really loved that part.

Note to Parents: There’s a ton of action, weaponry, and explosions, and some peril with a few characters, not the least of which is Tony Stark in the cave. Also some sexual innuendoes involving Tony’s women — he’s quite the ladies’ man. Still, this movie is fine for kids 13 and older.

Images: Iron Man, Paramount Pictures, 2008

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