Just got back from this and I think this is one of the best super hero movies around, but it's not for the super hero element, it's cause of the character of Tony Stark.  He is one of the cooliest characters in comics.  This is a guy who likes fast cars, get trashed and bang a different hot chick every night, quite simply he is God  

The movie starts out in Afghanistan where Tony is kidnapped by a group of Muslims who want him to make a bomb for them, but instead he makes an Iron Man suite and kicks their asses in his escape.

Once he gets back home he decides not to make weapons any more.  this does not sit well with his partner Obadiah Stane played by Jeff Bridges.

With the help from his assistant Pepper Potts(Gwyneth Paltrow) he makes an improved Iron Man suite and goes back to Afghanistan to help the people he put in danger with his weapons, but back home Obadiah gets his hands on the blue prints of the suit and creates the Iron Monger.  Now it's Mano-a-Mano between Iron Man and Iron Monger.

the supporting cast is great.  Terrence Howard is always reliable as Tony's buddy Jim Rhodes, Jeff Bridges brings menace to Obadiah, and Gwyneth Paltrow is very like able like always.

The movie is slick and fast paced, but it's not the action scenes that are cool, it's Robert Downy Jr who makes the movie, hell, they could have thrown out all the Iron Man stuff and just be about Tony and it would still be a killer movie.

Now Iron Man is cool, but Tony Stark is cooler.

Tony Stark is the Elvis of superheroes, he is rock and roll.

Hey,

Yeah, I agree. One of the best superhero movies I've seen. A lot of stuff worked really well, especially Downey Jr. and Paltrow.

It also turned out to be really, really funny although it kind of peripherally touches on a lot of dark issues.

I only really have one complaint. I disagree with you about cutting out all the Iron man stuff and just having Tony Stark. In fact, I thought there wasn't enough Iron Man. That was my problem. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Stark and the action scenes they had were good, but I wanted more. Especially the last confrontation which dragged for me.

But overall, really good. In terms of pure entertainment value I think it beats out all other superhero movies. It has a lot of fun with the genre. The only reason I might rate other movies higher then it is that frankly I have biases for other heroes-- I mean I am able to better identify with other heroes, have stronger emotional responses.

Also, did you stay till after the credits? There's another scene with contains dangerously high levels of badassery. I had a smile plastered on my face for the next 20 mins...

sheepwalker  

Oh, there wasn't enough Mandarin either.

Thanks for the tip, guys...I live under a rock and didn't know about the extra scene...Fired up to see this one...

Downey Jnr. is the real reason to see this movie. The womanizing, drunken domeanor of Tony Stark could've gone off in a lot of horrible directions with another actor, making him a real sleazabag and basically an unlikable character. That would've absolutely killed this movie. But Downey Jnr. finds exactly the right note for Stark, making his crassness enjoyable instead of mean-spirited. It's a pretty excellent performance, really.

And of course the effects are top-notch and the action sequences are a lot of fun, as expected. What surprised me the most was how engaging the story was. These comic book adaptations aren't generally known for the plots, but Iron Man had a good one and I was totally absobed in it. The supporting cast was great, especially Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper. She and Downey Jnr. have great chesmistry and their scenes together are very witty and enjoyable. I think the script would've benefited from some extra time spent establishing the final villain, maybe making him a little more menacing. But that's a minor quibble in what is otherwise a funny, good-natured, entertaining ride.

Bring on Iron Man 2!


Matt.

Just got back from seeing the film.

I enjoyed it a lot because it is rather faithful and doesn't try to be what it is not. It is a superhero movie and that's what it should be.

Trying not to add any spoilers here but if you have seen the Animated Iron Man film released in 2007 it pretty much follows the basic origins from that and adds something more believable to a "real time" version, I guess.

I left before that final scene but watched it online. That makes for an interesting sequel.

Saw it last night and LOVED IT! Easily the best super hero movie I've ever seen. Downey JR was brilliant and the movie really fed off of him. And the action scenes were spectacular!

The new Hulk movie has it's work cut out for it.

~Zack~

Just saw it with my friends.

Originally, I was expecting to be disappointed because I worried it would go Fantastic Four where it's just a testing period and the last bit is them fighting. After seeing Iron Man, all I can say is that it's the best SuperHero Movie Marvel has produced so far.

Yes, more so than Spiderman, X-Men and Punisher.

Story was incredibly deep, outside of Ironman's life, it overlooks the message behind war being a never ending cycle in which good and evil aren't so far apart.

The jokes were hilarious. Robert Downey Jr. was the PERFECT fit for Stark, the absolute best.  His off screen personality really brought Stark to life as a drinking, gambling womanizer.

There was more action than I expected, and that was awesome.  The movie keeps you interested all throughout, the special effects are breath taking, the casting was perfect, Terrence Howard, Jeff Briggs, all of them, perfect perfect PERFECT fits for every character.

To anyone who has ANY doubts about seeing this movie, get over them and see it with your friends, because you're gonna be talking about how awesome it was all the way from your walk to the car to your drive back home.

I'm not the biggest fan of superhero flicks but I've heard nothing but good things about this one so I'll be sure to check it out. A lotta solid talent involved in this one and a great character as well. It seems appropriate that Tony Stark would be played by a guy who got high as a kite, broke into a stranger's house, and passed out in a child's bedroom, haha.

It's cool to see that everyone seems to enjoy this movie.  I think the funniest scene for me was when Tony is first testing out his boosters and does a back flip and smacks into the wall.  The audience I was with was still laughing over that for like a minute afterwards.

Quoted from The boy who could fly It's cool to see that everyone seems to enjoy this movie.  I think the funniest scene for me was when Tony is first testing out his boosters and does a back flip and smacks into the wall.  The audience I was with was still laughing over that for like a minute afterwards.

Good God I was DYING when that happened, I swear to God.

Quoted from Kamran Nikhad Good God I was DYING when that happened, I swear to God.

I thought I was the only one. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

~Zack~

Quoted from Zack I thought I was the only one. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! ~Zack~

No no no, the ENTIRE audience was laughing like no other when that happened I swear to you.  It was absolutely priceless.

Hey,

That was actually one of the few things that I didn't laugh at. Actually, concern for his well being flashed through my mind, which is odd.

But yeah, most of the theater had doubled over at that one.

sheepwalker

Okay I finally saw the film and the only good thing I can say about it was the final suit looked cool. I didn't care about the characters at all, the story bored me and most of the movie's dialog was just another one liner, followed by another.

I couldn't even stay to see that extra scene after the end credits because when they started rolling I couldn't wait to get out of there.

2 out of 10 (and it only gets two because of the suit)

I watched it yesterday and thought it was pretty good.

Downey jnr was really good and both suits were class. The one liners let it down a little bit and I thought Paltrow's character was pretty poor, although I don't really like her myself so I might be biased.

Still think it'll get blown away by Dark Knight.

Enjoyed the movie quite a lot, more than I had expected. It was fun, some very funny lines, Downey was pretty damn good. Funny they've already slated the sequel for May 2010 so they'd better start shooting....Monday maybe lol.  The generic score was lazy and uninspired, the hard rock edge was an pretty idiotic move, the movie really needed a big orchestral push to sell it.  But I'd highly recommend the movie to anyone. Lots of fun.

I actually really liked the edgy rock music. I thought it fit the movie very well.

~Zack~

Quoted from Zack I actually really liked the edgy rock music. I thought it fit the movie very well. ~Zack~

I'm just obsessive about film scores LOL, that's my geek thing, so it bothered me more than it would most. The movie was still lots of fun though.