Why Iron Man Works For Me

I'm a little bit concerned as far as comic book-to-movie adaptations go. I've read my fair share of comics when I was a kid, and even know enough to make me a borderline comic book geek.

While it's great to see my favorite comic book heroes get a big-screen treatment, it usually ends up disappointing for me to some extent, because the movie studios almost never get it completely right.

For example: in the X-Men trilogy- weren't Iceman and Angel supposed to be part of the original team, and therefore, shouldn't be kids but rather contemporaries of Cyclops, Jean Grey and The Beast? Wasn't Gwen Stacey supposed to be killed off in Spider-man? With the earlier Batman movies: why was Bane a mere henchman for Poison Ivy while he's a criminal mastermind in his own right (who broke Batman's back, btw), or why was the Bat-Jet equipped with guns? Don't get me started with Superman Returns.

So you can understand me when I tell you that while watching Iron Man, I was waiting for a disappointment to happen. I was genuinely surprised that I wasn't disappointed at all. In fact, Iron Man is probably one of the best-made superhero movies in a long while. I'll tell you why.

1. Iron Man stuck to the original comic book origins. Sure it was made contemporary (versus the Vietnam setting in the 60's), but the modern-day treatment totally worked, and is therefore easy to swallow. It's the concept that remains intact: inventor/industrialist Tony Stark gets caught up in a war, gets kidnapped, forced to make weapons but builds the Mark I Iron Man armor to escape. I'm glad they didn't screw that one up.

2. Robert Downey, Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark. You just gotta give props for Robert Downey, Jr.- the man is a fine actor, and he definitely did a good job bringing Tony Stark to life. True to comic character: arrogant, spoiled, just the right amount of smarminess and snark, but also intelligent and in control. The result: a truly entertaining portrayal, probably making Tony Stark more likeable than, say, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne.

To think I've moderately enjoyed Batman Begins. Robert Downey, Jr. totally raised the bar, as far as superhero alter-egos are concerned.

Does anybody remember the rumors several years ago that Tom Cruise was slated to play Tony Stark? Now, you can't even imagine him being played by anyone else. Bravo, Robert Downey, Jr. Bravo.

3. Well-paced Iron Man action. When you watch a movie about a superhero, you definitely want to see a lot of your title character, and how he totally kicks ass.

Wasn't the formula fairly simple? Give the audience some action every 20 minutes, or lose 'em. That was the problem of movies like Ang Lee's Incredible Hulk, or that Ghost Rider movie with Nicholas Cage in it.

Here, you see a good serving of Iron Man: how Tony Stark uses him to break free from his captors, and how we see the Mark III armor go vigilante over the Middle East. Even the whole process of Stark designing and testing the armor was a real treat.

And it's pretty clear too. You have a clear picture of what weapons he's using, or how he's beating up (or getting creamed by) Stane's Iron Monger. No shaky, unnecessary fast-paced editing needed here. That's some good action captured on screen.

4. No forced romance angle. This is usually where Hollywood movies fail miserably: writing in the romance elements. The X-Men Trilogy came up short with the Scott Summers-Jean Grey-Wolverine love triangle. Katie Holmes was totally unnecessary as Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins. As for the Fantastic Four, was there ever a Sue Storm-Doctor Doom relationship to begin with?

You don't have that forced romance written in the Iron Man script. Gwyneth Paltrow makes an amazing Pepper Potts. Heck, I never gave Ms. Potts a second glance until the movie. Just like Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow had taken the character to a completely different level.

In fact, I was cringing when there were signs of the whole romance element setting in, midway into the movie. And then, it all plays out alright- no cheesy dialogs, no terrible after-taste, and most importantly, everybody sticks to their roles in the end.

For that, you have to give the writers credit. The execution of a well-written script totally shows in Iron Man.

5. Great Supporting Actors. Specifically for me? A bald, bearded Jeff Bridges- he makes an amazing Obadiah Stane. I love the way he's father-like yet schmoozy when it comes to the Stark-Stane dynamic. Sure, he was more ruthless and menacing in the comic book, but Stane was re-written well to suit the movie's plot: he comes at you with smiles and pats on the back, when he's actually pursuing his own agenda- now that's menacing of a different sort.

I'm sure we'll see Terence Howard's character as Rhodey shine some more in the next Iron Man movie. And then you have a surprise appearance by Samuel L. Jackson? Something's cooking, and you know it's gonna be good.

6. Easter Eggs for all the Fanboys. I love it when these movie adaptations intentionally hide little messages and hints. Particularly when they hint at something in coming sequels, or make reference to odd bits of trivia and information.

Iron Movie has a good amount of it: use of the theme from the old 60's cartoon, a cameo by Stan Lee- like he usually does in every Marvel movie, and a hint of what the next Iron Man movie holds for us.

The Bottom Line:

Iron Man has accomplished what no superhero movie has done in a while: set the standards for a truly entertaining piece of film. All the elements have come together so well: plot, storyline, characters, actors- everything was brilliant and memorable. Jon Favreau did an excellent job running the show.

I can only hope that Marvel keeps this up: the re-imagined Incredible Hulk will be out in a few months, and Wolverine will be out next summer. Can The Dark Knight outdo itself this time, and at least come up to par with Iron Man? I truly hope so.

Photos from ScreenRant.com and Wikipedia. Read "Everything You Need To Know About Iron Man", a special feature also on Renzie on Movies. You can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

Cheers, everyone.