Iron Man (2008)

Back to our regular scheduled viewing. Oh Iron Man, I adore thee.

In 2008 when this film made it to the big screen, my mates will remember my one track mind for this movie. It was the year of Iron Man vs. Batman as The Dark Knight (2008) was released as well. Forget Team Edward and Team Jacob this was Team Stark or Team Wayne. Blogs and Web Comics were a twitter with comparisons and spoofs, which made for much hilarity. I was most certainly on Tony Stark's team.

Now all you Batman fans, don't go crazy. I loved The Dark Knight too but Iron Man had a few things going for it that specifically catered to me personally. For starters, Robert Downey Jr. is my faaaaavorite actor (I'm counting the days until Sherlock Holmes (2009)). He is a god of his craft and it was so great to see him come back from his pit of drug induced despair and make good again.

Secondly, I have a thing for the intelligent. I even married a smart guy. Tony Stark aka Iron Man is hyper intelligent and like Bruce Wayne, he hasn't fallen into some Toxic Waste and come out with Super Powers. Stark's just an extremely smart guy who can get stuff done. I know Bruce Wayne is super smart too, but frankly he just never gave off that geeky vibe. It always seemed more like his money talking than his brains. Please don't lynch me, its just my opinion.

Then there is the relationship between Tony Stark and his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gywenth Paltrow). Oh the banter and the love tension. I'm a sucker for it.

Anyway, back to the film itself. Its the story of how Iron Man came into being, and for once that's not explained in a ten minute montage in the beginning of the film. A few movie goers found this disappointing. It meant less battles and more story, and I for one was thankful for it. I love explosions as much as the next person, and I'm sure Iron Man 2 (2010) will be full of them, but I think in this generation of movie franchises, we can afford to take some time and tell the story of how our friendly super hero came to life. They usually suffer through something quite horrific to get to the super point, lets give the story the justice it deserves.

Director Jon Favreau along with Marvel Comics steered this picture to success. Its a visually pleasing and fun adventure ride for everyone. I can't wait for the sequel. I'll be the super fan walking into the cinema with my Iron Man Plushie Doll.