Black Sabbath's rockin' 'Iron Man' will be blazing on my iTunes for some time now. Marvel's been on a not-so-hot-streak with their major movie franchises as of late. In fact, Spider-Man 2 four years ago was the last true top-notch (and in my opinion, best) comic book movie from the House of Ideas. The X-Men and Spidey franchises suffered from the dreaded curse of dropping the ball on the third film. Fantastic Four, Punisher, and Ghost Rider all absolutely sucked. Period. Competition from the successful Batman and the good but flawed Superman reboots, and all of a sudden, Marvel wasn't the bigshot it once was. Good thing Ole' Shellhead just happens to be one of the most popular characters in comics right now and he's definitely carried over this hotstreak to kick off the summer blockbusters with a big bang. He adds some much needed credibility back to Marvel's ailing film properties, and hopefully this trend will continue throughout the year with the upcoming Hulk and Punisher projects, as well as the 'Captain America', 'Thor', and already-in-production 'Wolverine' movies in the works. SPOILERS from this point on, so be sure to watch if first before going on.

the Right:
Robert Downey Jr: Perfect casting. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part. The moment they announced him playing Tony Stark a couple of years ago I knew this movie would be on track to greatness. Downey IS Stark. It's practically effortless playing a billionaire playboy for the supremely talented Downey. Whereas Bruce Wayne is truly a big brooding emo at heart and the flamboyant rich persona just a facade, Tony Stark is the complete opposite. Downey did a great job making us care about the growth of the hero inside all the flashy armor. Speaking of which...



The Armor(s): Dear Gawd this was just FREAKING AWESOME. The moment the Mark I was revealed I wanted to shout in geekfull bliss. As with the Mark II and III. This is just some of the most epically cool mech designs since last year's Transformers. Iron Man as a character is simply MADE for Hollywood. No way could they have screwed up such a killer costume translation to film (*cough* Daredevil *cough*). Even the way he dons and removes his armor looks gorgeously complicated. Every tiny little part is alive and is an awesome treatment to this classic and iconic 'costume'.

The Eye Candy: Industrial Light and Magic deserve major props for the effects on this film. Practically seamless CGI work here. Dear goodness, I could watch the whole "Iron Man invades Afghanistan and kicks MAJOR ASS" sequence forever. Geek bliss again right there. I never knew he'd look so badass in broad daylight. This is probably gunna be one of the prettiest effects-laden movies the whole year, which will probably only be rivaled by Hulk and Narnia.



The Supporting Cast: Again, perfect casting. Gwyneth Paltrow adds so much to a small role just by being Gwyneth Freaking Paltrow. Gwen and Downey have captivatingly cute chemistry together. Terrence Howard played Rhodey exactly like he's always been portrayed in the comics and cartoon, the best bud who tries to keep Tony grounded only to end up giving in himself. Face it, you marked out at the scene near the final battle where they teased Rhodes donning the Mark II armor (WAR MACHINE!!!) only to say to himself "Maybe next time" (SEQUEL~!). Also, Jeff Bridges was deliciously evil as Obadiah Stane.

Easter Eggs: From the 10 Rings Terrorist group (MANDARIN~!). The S.H.I.E.L.D teases (end credits baby! yeah!). To the downplay of Stark's alchoholism (his first shot had him holding a drink and constant references of him being drunk at parties). The War Machine tease. It was fun finding all the little things real fans would appreciate. On a side-note, comic fans all know Tony's alcoholism being a major 'humanizing' trait of his in the comics, but methinks Marvel didn't want millions of kids watching a superhero drunkard on the big screen... but it's cool, at least it's still subtly there.



Last Scene After the Credits: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!!! Gawd that tease was awesome. The prospect of all franchises in one movie is the ultimate geek nirvana. All we need are Thor and Captain America solo flicks, probably a second Iron Man flick, and we're all set. Go Marvel! THIS is how you build your universe for a team-up movie (*cough* Justice League *cough*).

The wRong:
Soundtrack: ARGH!!! Again we're shafted from a true Superhero theme! Damn, I wish John Williams can just score every freaking hero flick. Challenge... go, hum the orchestral Iron Man theme from the movie! Go on, it's there, I swear! I heard it during the action parts and credits roll... then forgot it completely after 5 seconds. And NO, the Black Sabbath song doesn't count as a theme!

Iron Monger: Yeah, he was big and pretty awesome. But the moment they fought on the streets I couldn't help but recall Robocop fighting that big ass mech enemy of his (the ED-209, pictured in one of my replies below). Then I wished Tony was kicking ass in Afghanistan again instead. I dunno, I guess after Robocop and Transformers last year, I was expecting a lot more scale to their final showdown... but a very minor quibble nonetheless cuz' what was there was pretty cool anyway. Poor Monger also bit the dust pretty lame in the end too. On a whimper sadly, but hey, I guess they had to give Pepper some sort of semi-important action role.



Straightforward: If there's anything the movie lacked was a 'pleasant surprise'. In fact, there isn't really an actual 'story' but more of a 'series of events'. You could smell Obi dealing weapons to the terrorists from a mile away. So was the part of Tony getting to his spare 'heart'. Nothing will really surprise you in this movie. I say this cuz' the recent Iron Man Animated movie had a great twist in the end sequence. It also threw us for a loop cuz' he used the freaking Mark I armor in the final battle. THE MARK I ARMOR IN THE FINAL BATTLE. I guess this live action flick lacked that sort of drama and unexpectedness which the animated movie actually had (surprisingly too! watch it, Iron Man Animated: Rise of the Mandarin. pretty awesome in it's own right.) Hopefully, as with the first Spider-Man, once this introduction to the Iron Man universe and origin story is out of the way, the sequel will cut loose and kick even more arse.



The veRdict:
Aside from the minor flaws above, Iron Man definitely delivers the goods we all look for in a major summer blockbuster. Sprinkled with humor and big on jaw-dropping action and effects, coupled with splendid a cast and solid direction from Jon Favereau, it's hard not to bang your head to the rockin' beat of Iron Man. This gives Marvel a much needed boost in the movie franchise market, as they have been desperately seeking X-Men/Spidey caliber superstardom for Shellhead as opposed to Ghost Rider/Punisher/Fantastic Four horridness. Now, I still predict The Dark Knight will be the best comic movie of the year (Joker is gunna steal the show... possibly Harvey Dent too)... but Iron Man's very strong showing will definitely put that title in contention by year's end. Whatever the case, us fans all win! Keep crankin' quality comic-book movies Hollywood!

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ACTUAL RATING: