Rating of
3.5/4
You won't be bored with this ironing
kcvidkid - wrote on 05/09/08
Watching "Iron Man" made me feel really old. I found myself halfway through acknowledging the fact that I should have been enjoying it more than I was.
However, after the fact, I still rated it nearly perfect. Technically, it's one of the best superhero movies that has been made, but while I can't say it doesn't have heart, it just did not affect me emotionally.
What I liked most about "Iron Man" was that while it did not stray from the standard superhero origin formula, it DID stray from the standard superVILLAIN formula. In fact, at the point I thought things were winding down, I wondered if there was even going to BE a villain.
Which leads me to the other thing I liked about "Iron Man". With the exception of M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable", "Iron Man" is perhaps the superhero movie most grounded in reality. Short of a man building a flying metal suit, the events seem like they could really happen.
Particularly effective is the irony that it was Tony Stark's own weaponry that nearly killed him. And I guess that's why the movie has to have a villain. It would be lame to have Iron Man's only quest be to disarm the globe as an act of revenge.
In the comics, Tony Stark heads S.H.I.E.L.D. and many of the storylines are about its mysterious and overreaching dealings (as well as the corporate intrigue of Stark Industries). For me, that's much more interesting than a "supervillain of the week", and I hope the filmmakers focus on those aspects in the inevitable sequels.
Skin Rating = 1 (out of 4). A couple shots of Robert Downey, Jr. shirtless; however, he sports an electromagnetic device in the middle of his chest which keeps shrapnel from entering his heart.
