Iron Man was the biggest movie of 2008 until The Dark Knight came along and knocked it from its slot. Both flicks were adaptations of comic characters, whereas The Dark Knight was Batman’s sixth film in the past 20 years. This was the first film for “The Armored Avenger” we’ve seen him on the small screen in his own cartoon from the 90’s but the average movie-goer wouldn’t be familiar with Iron Man so we get an origin picture.
Director Jon Favreau was a fan of the comics so he wanted to get the movie right, and he absolutely succeeds. Iron Man was created in the height of the Cold War, so that was a bit outdated. The origin is nearly the same, but with a contemporary twist and it works very well while still keeping the integrity of the character. Tony Stark is a womanizing, hard drinking, playboy and when Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Tony Stark/Iron Man some people questioned that casting, while others myself included thought it was perfect. It turned out we were right; Downey is smooth, charming and smart just like the character.
The supporting cast is very good as well. You have Jeff Bridges as Stark’s business partner Obadiah Stane turned-villain Iron Monger, Stark’s military pal Col. James Rhodes is portrayed by Terrence Howard, and Gwyneth Paltrow is Stark’s assistant/possible love interest Pepper Potts. Iron Man isn’t just a comic book movie; it’s more of a science/technology movie that just happens to create a super hero and theoretically could happen.
For those not aware of it, go to the end of the credits for a great little scene following the aftermath of the press conference at the end of film between Iron Man and Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) that sets up the Avengers movie coming in 2010 and lets the viewer know that there will be other superheroes in this universe.
The extras are split between the two discs. The first disc contains 11 deleted/extended scenes. I can understand why the scenes were cut as they would have dragged certain scenes down, but it’s great to have the ability to watch them now. The scenes include more of Tony’s playboy lifestyle, Rhodes getting involved in the Iron Man/Iron Monger fight and fleshing out his character a bit more in his final moments.
There’s also a trailer for an Iron Man cartoon airing on Nickelodeon in 2009. I’m a bit iffy on the cartoon as they’ve made Tony a teenager, and readers of the book remember that horrible storyline in the mid-90’s, plus it didn’t work too well with X-Men: Evolution either.
Disc two is where the majority of the extras can be found. We start with "I Am Iron Man". This is a seven-part documentary which follows director Jon Favreau and company from pre-production all the way to its premiere. This is a pretty thorough look at what it took to make Iron Man and doesn’t just show the good parts. They cover the issues of making a special effects-heavy movie which makes it even more interesting.
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