Thursday, August 21, 2008

Iron Man


As most of you imagine I finally watched this movie with no information (except that Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow perform) and knowing almost nothing about the Iron Man comic, even when now I realize that perhaps when I was a child I saw at least one of the comics, but remember zip.

My first impression is that is a good entertainment movie that does not look or feel like a common comics-to-movie film, because (thank you director and scriptwriter) takes all the necessary time to introduce the character when you are not familiar with it and does it with very good character development that of course Robert Downey Jr. totally brings to life.

Yeah, I enjoyed the movie as in my opinion has a few action scenes (thank you director and scriptwriter) and more drama with some sharp/darkish comical moments where both Downey Jr. and Paltrow shine. Also have to say that the special effects are flawlessly integrated and do not interrupt whatever is happening in the storytelling; that’s it with the exception of the explosions that kill no one, as the characters reappear like if nothing happened; but I found it funny and after two times I knew they were going to be alive later.

Robert Downey Jr. not only is perfect for the role but also I feel is one of his best performances as Tony Stark is not a character that you like at the beginning and as the character transforms Downey also transforms in front of your eyes and does it without loosing his peculiar performing style that yes, I do like and is the reason why I will always watch all his movies, no matter how strange some could be.

But some things changed when I started to read about the movie. After reading some positive viewers reviews that find that the movie is faithful to the comics story, I got interested in learning about the story. So I was able to find summaries since the comics started in the 60's up to today and I devoured what I read, as I found it fascinating. Some are very interesting stories!

Yes, even do the script has a contemporary setting with the Afghanistan situation, totally fits the original story and more with the “political” storylines that the comics have been doing throughout the decades. And if in the two more Iron Man movies that will come continue the story as they did in this movie, you will have me going to see them at the premiere, as I’ll not wait for later. That’s how good the stories could be, as -for example- the Stark character goes into his alcoholism stage that could be an amazing storyline for a super hero and one that now I definitively relate to that Hancock movie.

Anyway, if you have not seen the movie and are not familiar with the Iron Man comics storylines I suggest you read the summaries before watching the movie, as I believe that definitively will facilitate you to see the movie story in a different way. And if you have the movie in the skip list, I strongly suggest you take it out of it and give it a try, this is seriously good entertainment with an outstanding Robert Downey Jr. performance in a well directed, well written and with excellent tech specs film.

I’m going to share with you that I have never liked Jon Favreau performances, TV shows or other movies he has directed. But with this movie my perception has changed and I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hopefully his directing in the following two sequels will be as good as this one.

There is not much I could add about the movie and if you want to learn more I suggest you read the appalling amount of positive comments from critics and viewers from all over the world. There are some so-so and negative comments too, but if I count them they are a real minority and most refer that this is American propaganda… come on everyone knows that most comics super heroes are that and more, so what’s new?

I tend to believe that this is not a teenager movie, this is more a film for adults that could enjoy the drama that this movie tells and do not watch a movie looking forward to see the special effects, action, thrills, etc. that are present here but are not the essence of the movie or the story and this is truly unusual for a comics-to-movie film.

Enjoy!!!

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