Re-View: Iron Man

Iron Man came to theaters in May of 2008, mixed in the wake of all of the other “comic book/graphic novel” genre movies that had come before it. While some of the superhero flicks had rocked, others had flopped, and what we really needed was a no-nonsense, cocky, charismatic, powerful, and smart weapons manufacturer to make us remember just how good a superhero movie could be. Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau, was a smash hit earning over $300 million and easily spurred the making of a sequel simply titled Iron Man 2 which is now coming to theaters.

After rewatching the original Iron Man in preparation for the sequel there is no doubt that Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark is still top notch. Full of quick wit and self confidence, the character of Tony Stark is a good match for Pepper Potts, the quiet yet efficient assistant Stark keeps at arm’s length.

By setting the premise of the story of Iron Man to be a struggle for peace through military means the character of Stark is challenged in his own game, literally seeing his own name on the weapons aimed at him. As Stark is determined to turn his family’s company into something more positive and meaningful, Obadiah Stane, played by Jeff Bridges, feels the company is in a prime position to become more deadly.

With each action sequence from Stark’s capture and imprisonment in Afghanistan to the first testing of his official equipment the movie is absolutely believable and crystal clear visually. Right down to the major final fight scene between Iron Man and War Monger on a major highway the imagery is impressive and stunning.

Finally, true to character at the end of the film when Tony Stark is to throw the media world off his back, he reveals he is Iron Man to suck up the attention he gloriously craves. So, as we look ahead to Iron Man 2 there is no doubt this is a highly anticipated film which will hopefully be successful in carrying the weight the first film held up so effortlessly.

-Margaret Williams