The official Advanced Iron review of the Iron Man movie

Written by John B. Comerford (aka "Iron Man John")

I just arrived at home from attending the Chicago pre-screening at the AMC downtown near Navy Pier. It was an appropriate venue for the screening, and the sound guy/projectionist deserves a thumbs up for some great equalization during this screening as they really made use of AMC’s great, bassy sound system. AMCs tech did a great job keeping up with the Stark Tech shown on the screen. Beyond the technology though, the characters themselves are where this movie really hits a home run.

This movie is Iron Man at his best, and the fact remains that the swagger and power we see on screen is a good depiction of how formidable Tony Stark is supposed to be when he’s in that armor. He’s hit by a tank shell while in mid flight? No problem, you just got Iron Man’s attention. The U.S. airforce is after Shellhead in full burn? Iron Man turns things up a notch and they can’t keep up. This movie has some very satisfying action scenes, but again I have to remind everyone that the characters are where this movie is at.

There are key beats throughout the movie that might be easily missed, but speak volumes about each character. For example, there is a scene where Jeff Bridges as Stane is speaking with a Stark Industries scientist who is trying to miniaturize the arc reactor (the movie armor’s power supply). Stane exclaims that “Tony Stark was able to do this in a cave, by himself!" and the scientist succinctly replies "I’m not Tony Stark!” It’s exchanges like this that really get at what these characters are about, and really hit home that Favreau and crew tapped into the heart of this comic book icon.

In an exchange with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Stark clearly shows his conviction to make things right no matter what the personal expense. We get a glimpse at his tendency for obsession when he snaps at the red headed Pepper, shouting that the only thing that matters is his mission at hand.

In one of the movies most satisfying action sequences, Stark makes the decision to take matters into his own hands and return to the region of his captivity to remove his weapons from their battlefield. Without dialogue, Downey as Stark armors up in a scene that makes Christian Bale’s angry Batman look like a wet, whiny hamster. When he arrives in the Middle East, the action unfolds exactly how it should with this character. Iron Man comes in hot and doesn’t slow down, landing so hard that everyone in the city’s battle zone stops as he asserts himself as the new force in town. There were many elements in this sequence that were crowd pleasers in the theater... wait until you see how he deals with the final set of dirt bags who take hostages as the Mark III armor systematically takes out the insurgents. If the audience doesn’t erupt in cheers during these scenes, then you are indeed spiraling into the Twilight Zone and better start looking for a way home.

When you see this movie, you’ll see a Stark in captivity develop a relationship with a very convincingly bright and good Yinsen. You’ll see a Pepper Potts who truly struggles with the relationship she has (and doesn’t have) with Tony Stark, but remains strong and true. You’ll see a Tony Stark that can run the math in his head, and uses his armor’s operating system as a tool to get the job done rather than a crutch. Bridges does a fantastic job as Stane as well. The key moments to look out for there are his first interaction with Stark after announcing that S.I. will no longer build weapons, as well as the moment after the press conference where Stane lines up his shots for a reveal during a photo opportunity (the timing there says volumes about who this guy is). Bridges speaks and acts with a cadence that is really great to watch, and really makes you wait for the payoff fight between the Iron Monger and the Mark III at the end of the movie. And oh man, wait until you hear him speak in the Iron Monger armor....

Terrence Howard plays a good supporting role, and there is a crowd pleaser nod to his suiting up near the end. The scenes with Howard are generally cut and edited very well, which serve to make his supporting role more effective. For example, the drinking scene in Stark’s jet is hysterical, there’s a scene regarding a training mission that is cut very well, and Howard plays these scenes as seriously as he can which make the juxtaposition of the serious Airforce soldier with the funny content that much more effective. And the great thing is that you really get the impression that he and Stark are indeed best friends, which I loved. Howard is straight faced enough in his dialogue, and convicted enough in his character that it creates a real situation where he’s a guy that loves Stark like a brother, but he just doesn’t want to show it to him on the fly.

The Iron Man movie reaches back to a period where Stark’s character was polarizing and captivating. Tony Stark has a history of taking the reigns of a morally ambiguous situation, and tugging on them with a moral authority that shocks his friends and sends his enemies reeling. The stories that depict that kind of Stark are usually the best Iron Man stories, and this movie taps on those key character elements without stopping. Robert Downey Jr. hits every note needed to sing Tony Stark’s song in perfect tone and time in this movie. Even the scenes without armor are captivating, and I swear as a lifelong Iron Man fan, every character in this movie hits the core of each comic book personality. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t deviations, but in all honesty, the core of every character is present and accounted for.