Forget that this might be the most socially relevant comic book superhero movie ever released.
This movie is just flat out fun. From the opening song by AC/DC to the ending blast by Black Sabbath this movie is a easily the best superhero action movie evah.
The Casting Director deserves a star and cookie for an absolutely brilliant cast. Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of millionaire playboy, with drink constantly in hand, is spot on. And Gwyneth Paltrow is more than just gorgeous as Pepper Potts, she gives a believable performance.
Thank God Tom Cruise didn’t get the role. How silly would a five foot man in an iron suit look?
The story is well-written, if a little time-worn. I won’t go into details because I hate people who reveal spoilers. Besides, there are plenty of sites that provide that information. Suffice to say, if you go to Rotten Tomatoes dotcom you’ll see that Iron Man is the best reviewed movie of the year.
In other words, fantastic! CGI is great. Acting is great. And if you see it in a quality theater, the sound, the BASS, is great. The Iron Man suit is simply cool looking, as good as any the comics produces over the years. Good humor, good action, well worth the price of admission.
And so because you can read more about it elsewhere, I think I’ll delve into things I think about when I watch movies like this.
I understand it’s a comic book, I understand suspension of belief, and believe me, I am very willing to suspend belief. But there are still times that I watch a movie and there’s a little voice that says, “Hey, that can’t happen!”
One of those moments is when one of the Afphgani rebels is hiding behind a wall, and Iron Man smashes his arm through the brick wall, grabs the guy by the chest and heaves him through the wall. He then throws the rebel to the ground, amidst the villagers he was killing, and says something like, “He’s all yours.”
In real life, I’m thinking, if Iron Man did try to pull a man through a wall, wouldn’t he just sort of rip the man to pieces? His arm crushing the man’s chest against the wall long before he would be able to pull that man through the wall.
Would a millionaire actually go through a drive-thru and eat a Burger King burger – holding the bag in such a way that everyone knows it’s Burger King?
Would a millionaire only own Audi? Granted he did crush a mock Cobra, but still. Product placement at it’s finest.
A man in an iron suit with one inch or larger holes in the face mask would have been struck by any number of the thousands of rounds shot at him.
A man in an iron suit flying high enough into the atmosphere for the suit to ice would pass out from lack of oxygen? No? Maybe the suit had oxygen and I missed that part.
I’m thinking, no matter how thick that titanium alloy would be, it would be chewed to pieces by the 20mm ammo fired by the jets.
Am I a fanboy? Yeah, OK, I’m an Iron Man geek, but still, go see it. It’s good popcorn fun and you won’t be disappointed.
Addendum: And don’t be a dufus like me and leave before the credits are finished or you’ll miss the surprise.
-30-
Upon Reflection 