Balek's Movie Review™ - Iron Man

Looking outside lately, its hard to believe that spring has supposedly arrived. It hasn’t been overly warm, rain has come and gone sporadically, and all the activities you would associate with spring aren’t grabbing me (outdoor work, getting out on the bike, fishing, baseball). However, I think I might have found the problem – spring just never came, and we’ve jumped straight into summer. Why would I say that? Easy. Because the first summer blockbuster has hit the theaters, and it’s called Iron Man!

Let me first set the stage for this reviewer. While I grew up watching the same cartoons everyone else in here did, and certainly enjoy the superhero genre (even played the MMO City of Heroes/Villains for several years), I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of comics. I never collected comic books growing up, never waited for the next edition to hit to find out what happens in this graphical pre-pubescent soap opera. My view on the superhero genre is this – they tend to be spectacular action movies, and that’s more than enough to keep me happy.

So, how does Iron Man fare? How does exceptionally well sound? First let’s start with the cast. Star studded, with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Jim Rhodes (oh…and Samuel L. Jackson too ), it’s hard to go wrong. Downey Jr. did a nigh perfect Tony Stark, full of a mix of brilliance and ego that constantly clash until that moment when he realizes what he’s been doing, and what he should be doing. Paltrow was spot on for Pepper Potts, and stood beside Downey Jr. without stealing the stage at any point.

Visuals and sound of the movie were solid as well. Not as much ‘special effects’ as we’ve seen in previous movies – but that’s not a bad thing as when they do go for the punch, it lands square and hard. The first flight scene of Iron Man was simply awesome, full of both the thrill of the success with more than a hint of dread that Stark didn’t quite know what he was doing yet. The movie never dragged, in fact, I was surprised when it was over. That’s the sign of a good movie; solid pacing and content so that when the end comes, I wasn’t waiting for it.

All in all, and as others have said, Iron Man could easily rank in the top 3 superhero movies to date. It is easily on par with Batman Begins - a notch higher in my book, as I found at times, BB dragged just a smidge. While it’s not the next coming for the genre as a whole, the movie did set a very, VERY solid starting point for what will hopefully be more in the same line (which is all-but-confirmed if ya’ stay for the credits ).

Two very enthusiastic for Iron Man!