I saw this trailer during some obscure show on TV last night. It's looks cool, just like every big budget comic book movie. Whether it is actually good or not, we'll see.

The animated movie DVD was a let-down... I suspect this one will be too.

I'm not sure I would have chosen Robert Downey Jr. as the lead......
He seem very.... sleazy.... to me..... Does that fit the character? I don't follow Ironman that much....

Fans are saying he's the perfect Tony Stark.

Go to apple.com/trailers to see a clean HD version of the trailer.

It's not as good as the one shown at Comic Con, but does reveal somethings the comic con version didn't.

He makes a poor Tony Stark, but I'm sure he'll be glib and funny, to say the least. And certainly RD Jr. understands alcoholism, which is one of the major themes in eighties Iron Man lore. Unfortunately, the high-drama of addiction might not be something that'll show up in the kid-friendly screen treatment. That's something that fans should be disturbed by - because Iron Man is not light hearted, nor does Iron Man crack a lot of one-liners.

Certianly, RD Jr. is great at comedy. As a young, brilliant, playboy-billionaire, however, he may fail. Though, it's doubtful that Iron Man the movie will be thematically faithful to the source material.

Judging from the trailer, it appears that Iron Man is aiming to borrow the light-heartedness of Raimi's Spiderman. That's not a great choice for a series that has consistently dealt with ambiguously gray moral issues.

Jon Faverough spoke at the Con and he's trying to keep the movie as close to the source material as possible. One can only hope. I keep going to see these super hero movies with utter reluctance. I crave for an Incredibles 2 or a Dark Knight that kills his victims. I'm tired of the same old crap. It's getting very old. We need a new Blade dammit!

Iron Man?





I was possibly one of 17 people worldwide that was an Iron Man fan when I was growing up. A movie like this...vindicates me.

Screw all of you, and your X-Men, Spiderman, Batman...whatever. This movie, it'll make them all look like Aquaman.

No! Green Lantern, God damn it!

I'm #2 of 17. My first comic book was an Iron Man issue. He's a little bit of a "Batman" that's more believable. He has fantasy technology and super armor, which requires less suspension of disbelief than a guy who's "just that good" without superpowers.

You guys must have not seen Batman Begins. Anyways, this looks to be one of the dopest super hero adaptations ever created. I hope the do three and bring closure in the third. Not try to milk it like Spiderman which was essentially 3 of the same films, even though I still enjoyed them.

LOL shows how little I check this forum.

Begins showed how Batman's "powers" are actually all technologically based. He is good, he is very good, but he is also extremely well-equipped. All that money actually goes to some use.

I liked the Kingdom Come version of Batman, where he's pushed his body so hard for so many years he has to wear an Iron-Man-like exoskeleton to move around - he's virtually paralyzed without it.

I always liked Ironman, he was a geek who went superpowered - how can other geeks not like that concept?

But yeah people (understandably) jump on the latest bandwagon and rape you childhood memories, but i dont think it matters if you're an old fan or a new one, just if you enjoy it. What does distress me is when the IP gets hacked up to be more consumer-friendly, but destroys what old fans liked about it. The only comics i really read alot when growing up were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the old B&W bloody ones) and Silver Surfer, and neither has been treated well once gone commercial. Oh, i did read Donald Duck too, when i was sub-teen... i liked Scrooge, but i couldnt work out why he didnt buy pants? He had cash, why no pants?

When you have that much money, you can go around town without pants and no one will care.

Are we talking about Iron Man or Scrooge now

I saw the new trailer that aired Thursday night. It wasn't nearly as awesome as the first I had seen..... Mostly because of the parts that involved showing him in the suit and without the helmet on. The graphics may be pretty good, but their integration of those graphics with actual footage looked pretty horrible. What I don't get is..... why not spring the cash for a semi-believable suit the actor would actually wear in those scenes? I would think that it would be more difficult for people to pick out the differences between actual footage and CGI when they are kept separate from each other.

I like the new trailer. I'm wishing I had a computer geared more towards media, so I could really pick apart the special effects (which will make or break the film for so many), but I'm liking what they show so far.

Right there. That scene that started at 2:02. Where he's hanging and talking to Gwen...... It doesn't look as bad on that youtube video, but trust me.... it was MUCH worse. Especially when he was looking over his shoulder.

There's been a lot of discussion on the special effects in the Iron Man Movie group on MySpace (Jon Favreau has been giving the impression of actually paying attention to discussions in the group), and I'm guessing that there is still a great deal of work going into the CG scenes, none of which are "final" yet. The scene with the Tank, for example, was very badly done when it was first shown during the Superbowl, but seems much cleaner now.

(Yes, I'm in the Iron Man Movie group on MySpace.)

(Yes, that means I'm on MySpace.)

(Yes, that means I'm a sexual predator...I'm from Raven's Haven, what did you expect?)

Would you like to have a seat, Adamantrue?

The reason trailers sometimes use scenes not in the movie, old or incomplete footage or screw up the story in a magnificent manner is precisely this: the trailer producers != the film producers, and they're merely handed a rough sketch and told to make it look good with a big ol' batch of film. This is why trailers for some movies give away all the good moments, because the trailer people were sent those and told to make something of it, and they chose the good clips, not the crappy ones. The result: the movie looks like it's overselling on its material or in some cases, looks a lot worse than it really is.

I work at a movie theatre, I see a lot of trailers.

I'd have preferred a young Tom Selleck, but RD Jr. will just have to do

I'm not seeing another movie until Iron Man comes out. Unless TDK comes out before this one. I'm highly anticipating this one, and I think RD Jr. isn't a bad pick. Who else would you have chosen for the role? I can't think of any of the top of my head.

I'm with you mal. I've tried to think of a better current-day alternative, and really I can't think of anyone that can pull off the successful, suave tycoon role, whilst being a believable drinker, sometimes arrogant prick, and pull off the Stark goatee.

Getting paid to go to an advance screening of this. Isn't life awesome?

I hate you. I want to get paid for watching movies.

HA HA Dan...

I work at a movie theatre.

Intel's footing the bill. I don't care.

/\ Definately the best part of this movie. The actual movie? Pretty Good. Thumbs up. Great Start to this summer season.


What I really liked:

Sam Jackson as Nick Fury inviting Tony to join the Avengers after the credits

Tom Morello played an Afghani terrorist and also did the guitars for the movie score. Ghostface killah was going to have a cameo but that ended up getting cut and replaced with 30 seconds of some new material of his.

So if you haven't seen it, stop reading.


It was all right, but just. I was honestly pretty disappointed with it. I guess I had hoped that whoever did the screenwrite for this one would finally be that one guy who took the scripting and dialog just a bit more seriously, gave them a bit more believability and weight. Instead you've got pre-wounds Stark as an out-of-control lush who's almost as humorously over-the-top as Tchéky Karyo's character in Kiss of the Dragon, then he suddenly "comes to Jesus" and is this crusading white knight. RDJ actually did really well with what they gave him, but what they gave him was ass in too many scenes. Fortunately Gwyn Paltrow is still shockingly beautiful (to me, anyway) even when she's more emaciated than usual. Her character and Stark have this "talking during each other's sentences" thing that's sort of funny most of the time. Actually Stark just sort of seems to do that a lot, to Rhodes too.

Plenty of stuff was just too hard to swallow, too campy, too typical-Marvel-movie. But the stuff you pay your $10.50 for (matinée don't ya know), the stuff you came to see, that they did right. The CGI on the suits is pretty awesome (it doesn't look like CGI), and the suit scenes are a little like porn for AC fans. There's not enough of it, but that's sort of to be expected for a first movie I guess.

Overall it wasn't bad, but I really should have waited for Blu-Ray.

But out of all the Marvel movies, you'd have to admit this was the best one. Fuck Emo Parker. Fuck Fantastic Orgy 4. And all the rest. This one was brilliant, IMO. I liked how the romance wasn't too heavy and the humor was light.

RE: Ky's post.

Well, I agree with you on one thing: It is very Marvel-movie. Then again, if you don't want that then you're going to have to wait until it has had its commercial success as a comic book port, then wait for Christopher Nolan to take it down a deeper path. It's a superhero character making his maiden blockbuster appearance: It's going to be every bit as dramatised (flamboyance, switches in persona - all overly dramatic) as the pages in a comic.


I personally liked it. It didn't catch me in the same way as Spiderman (1) did, but I dare say nothing of its type ever will (not even Transformers did - that's massive coming from me). I have to say, RDJ was the highlight for me. Seeing him in the role really made me glad that they chose him. The other highlight was the ladies. Oh boy.

I love, as a fan of the comics, the subtle hints they give away as to what's likely to be in the next movie. I typically go into the Marvel films with a little mental checklist of what I expect they will deliver in this regard

WARNING: PARTIAL SPOILER (not plot related).

My biggest gripe with the film is the lack of action with him fully suited up. Or, more to the point, the lack of unseen footage of him in action. The trailers pretty much covered 50% of the action highlights, which sucked considering there was relatively little in this area. Spiderman had like 2 or 3 main villain encounters throughout it, whereas this had one. I just wanted to see more action, or at least leave in the comfort of knowing that a sequel would be released very soon afterwards (which I clearly didn't).

Final thoughts:
First part of the ending credits was awesome. I loved how that looked. I knew about the post-credit thing, but never stayed around to watch it (I was illegally parked...). The final 5 seconds of the actual movie sucked for me haha.

Having seen this twice now (one ticket was free), and coming at it as someone only familiar with Marvel's properties through wikitrawling, I think it's their best movie to date. Basically, Drakol is right. SPOILERS BE HERE, THOU HATH BEEN WARNED!

---

I can kind of see where you're coming from, Ky, but Tony's transformation was somewhat more gradual and frankly more nuanced than your typical Marvel fare. The reason it seems abrupt is because you can't easily capture three months in captivity too well in a thirty minute action sequence. Stark had plenty of time to undergo a pretty sharp turn in mentality, and then you tack on the up to a month he had upon arriving back in the States before completing the Mark II, and you're looking a good, long block of introspection. His cancellation of the Weapons Division can be seen as a combination of decisive action one would expect of a CEO and PTSD while he was working out what he was going to do.

Short way around: it's nowhere near as hokey as Emo Parker's constant invocation of Uncle Ben's Rice as a plot device.

I agree with Vivirtruvian as regards a relative lack of action, and on the spiffiness of the credits. I'd also chip in that the movie was well contained within itself other than its hints at sequels (eg: War Machine, the Avengers) and it's already well-established that it's the first in a trilogy anyway. The movie actually has a couple of moments where it's just a genuine thrill to watch Tony tool around in the Mk. II and Mk. III, and has some well-done and light physical comedy that doesn't come off like it's trying too hard. One of the most interesting things is how spatially consistent the movie is. Either Tony or Yinsen has to hold his battery (Yinsen does it while Tony is directing the Ten Rings where to set up his tools). The hole Tony punches in his own roof stays there and he uses it, and even moves the car out of the way. Most movies would just have him fly out of the garage again. It had a very nice consistency about it.

Probably the weirdest thing was how Rhodes of all people was constantly trotted out to cover things up.

I also give the intro sequence (post-convoy) props along with the outro credits. Some of the images are pretty hilarious and the best "cameo" has to be the image of young Tony building a circuit board that's actually a picture of Bill Gates. I see what you did there, Marvel.

Definitely wasn't enough in-suit asskicking.

Two funniest scenes in the movie for me (and I'm sure most people):

"Mr Stark retains me for a number of duties, including - occasionally - taking out the trash."

"All right, first test. We're going to try 10% thrust. In three... two... one...." WALL

This makes me want to fish out the Genesis and play "Captain America and the Avengers" again....

/\ You're too Picky Jon. Waaaaaayyyyy too picky.

Ahahahahaha! Oh man, you gave me cardiac arrest.

The only inconsistency I spotted was perhaps something of a white lie, when he has the burger king he tells Stane that this is the last one. Until he had the arc reactor implanted he kept his battery with him at all times, his vehicles did not mysteriously resurrect themselves, he consistently drove and was accompanied by the same car, etc. There were no scenes that I could tell something that was gone was suddenly resurrected, and problems early on that seemed like minor trials & tribulations (dealing with the power output of the suit) became more meaningful later on.

It was a much, much better comic book hero movie than any of the others that have come out recently, with exception of Batman Begins.

I am looking forward to The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk, however, as so far they appear to be Hollywood's attempt to dispel the myth that they can only make crap superhero movies. (Certainly with titles like Catwoman and Daredevil haunting their past and their investors and their revenues, they have a lot to gain from a strong showing this summer.)

Actually I agree.

The sequel is already green-lit. Downey's personal trainer says he'll have him ready to put on the suit again in about 8 months, expect the move to release summer 2010 =P

Yeah, I noticed that too; he finishes the first burger on the way to the press conference and then he pulls another one out of his suit jacket once they've all sat down. Pretty sure he was just lying given the latter pizza interaction. On that note, they were actually a bit subtle with their product placement, which was a nice change of pace from say, Fantastic Four.

Saw it, loved it. Very fun movie, and like others said with all the latest super hero movies sucking (save Batman, Superman, and Spiderman)... this one was pretty good for me. I would actually pay to watch it again.

Is this part of the Judge Dread syndrome, where the actor "needs" his face to be seen? Or just lots of out of suit story stuff?

@Hollywood; if a guy is in a suit, then he is in a suit. Leave it the fuck alone! I fully expect a Mysterio film to leave his helmet off all movie, and you can see say Jim Carey gurning the entire length

The most significant product placement was the Audi car (fucking sweet car, btw) and SUV, not overdone like The Transformers.



Image from wikipedia of an Audi R8

I loved taking out the trash line ;]

I reviewed the movie elsewhere, and somehow forgot to post here.

I'm getting out of practice, not remembering my roots.

'true's View: Iron Man

If you think I'm not going to spoil the movie, or be both biased and overly critical...

Well, you prolly know better.  I was one of maybe 7 Iron Man fans worldwide growing up 20 years ago.  Though the character is much more recognized, and popular, in the current communities, die hards (like me and the other 6 guys) have been waiting for this for a very long time...

The movie opens with a scene in Afghanistan, setting the stage and tone of the movie and attempting to hook you in, before going into the backstory as a flashback sequence.

This bugged me personally, but it is a good device to draw the audience in.

You get to know Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.  The character is a Howard  Hughes-like millionaire genius, completely undisciplined and catered to in too many areas, and a real ladies man to boot.  Combine it with a sense of humor, and you get a strange likeable asshole that only the likes of RDJ could have played well.

Following the comic book material, Stark gets a fatal injury, but is saved by technology, this time around in exchange for having to build a high-tech missile for a terrorist group (or are they insurgents, or rebels....what is the proper term anyways), working alongside another captive, Yinsen, the man that helped saved Stark's life, in more ways than one.

But, being the clever man he is, Stark instead builds them a means to escape.  Deceptively advanced tech, despite the clumsy, "clunky" look, we are all waiting to see the Iron Man mark 1 in action...

I hate using the term deus ex machina for what is a classic tale in the history of the character in the comic, but what should have been a touching moment left me with a slight hollow feeling.  Yinsen sacrifices himself to give Stark the time he needs to save himself, but he seemed awfully...careless, eager, unintelligent, as he did so.

Fake.

The consolation prize is in the way Stark, and the first suit, took care of business.  Iron Man is the heavy metal hero...

*

The way these scenes in the states flow, the depth and realism, and a Stark with a conscience returns to the states and begins reshaping his world, speak volumes of the cast, the writers, and the director.  A weapons manufacturer that saw his products in action, feels the weight of his contribution to so much suffering, and being enough of a spoiled asshole (but likeable) to simply expect to get things his way, the story weaves together the elements of his dealings with the outside world with the working of the genius within, as he isolates and tinkers to refine the suit.

There are many scenes I could reflect .. we see the final Red & Gold Iron Man, that are clever or comedic, handled very well to stay sincere.

But one scene truly stands out, has me torn.  When Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) helps Tony replace the miniature Arc Reactor (a fictional energy generating device that is central to the story) he built in captivity to power his life-supporting tech, with a more stable and refined version.

The scene is cute and clever, revealing the nature of their interaction with each other as employer and employee, yet intimate and comfortable in a strange way.  The dynamic, the way their personalities play off of each other, and the absurd, awkward nature of the scenario as she reaches inside his chest to do a quick fix, completely out of her element...

In some ways, this scene is necessary, as it really builds the backbone of their non-romantic relationship, their almost friendship, and how strange their personal boundries are when it comes to each other.  And it sets the stage for other moments in the film, which are pivotal.

In other ways, its completely ludicrous.  A man that has a thousand robots laying around the place, designed for fine work when it comes to manufacture, has his business assistant deal with the device that is his life support?  If it was like changing a battery, I can understand, but this obviously wasn't.  It was hard, to suspend disbelief.

But we get rewarded for doing so.  The scenes prior to, and after, serve so many elements of the film so well.  And then, there is the appearance of the Golden Avenger, the Iron Man mark 3, which is just looks so damn badass...

*

Superman, Wolverine...their fuckin' pussies.  Iron Man is a real man's kinda super hero.

Everything else about this movie is perfect.  The way the action scenes are handled, elegant and brutal all at once, and paced out well.  Plot twists that are sneaky takes on cannon material from the comics, set up to entertain the uninformed casual spectator and the obsessed comic geek.  Characters that react, and then instead act, in a very genuine sort of way, staying true even to their failings to the very end.  And then the little things, be they in-jokes as a fan service, or subtle humor that seems anything but out of place.

The final verdict?

My 15 year old daughter is not a fan of Iron Man, despite (or maybe because) her father was a major fan since he was her age.  And if she thought it fuckin' rocked, even if I have to overhear her saying it to her friends instead of admitting it to me, that should tell you something about the quality of this movie.

As for me?

No one is going to believe me anyways, knowing that I'm biased.

Have fun.

You're all right, 'True. You're good people.

You think I don't know this, Jon?

Shoot me a PM, we should catch up sometime.

(That goes for all you other old-heads that pop-in, too)

Have fun.

Referring to "canon"... didn't he get the heart machine thing in the '90s... not back when Iron Man first started way back when?

Yeah that R8 was amazing.

Loved it so much I went to see it again. I once thought giving the part to RDJ was a mistake too, but in action he actually makes a perfect Tony Stark. I just really hope they lessen the amount of sappy, Messianic dialogue in the sequel (possible, since he's gotten it out of his system already and will be back to banging chicks while saving the world). Also, a more difficult villain to pose a problem for him - Iron Monger was defeated rather easily, I thought; although Jeff Bridges was great as a conniving backstabber. And uh, less tracks already popularized by Guitar Hero lol.

The first flight test of the complete Mk. II was fucking amazing. I can't get that scene out of my head.