Movie Review: Ironman

Ironman was not unique in the comic books, but he was not your standard fare. Most superheroes had amazing powers because they had been born different, or something had happened to them to change them, either by accident or intentional scientific work. Ironman was a superhero by virtue of the devices that were part of his suit and the physical training of his own human body. In this way, he was similar to Batman, and a very few others, and it was this that captured my attention. The thought that a normal human could become something more than human, without losing his humanity, was very appealing. It fired the imagination and let in the possibility that I could be more than what I was.

So, how did the movie compare to the image I've carried for forty years? In short, it played very well against this backdrop. I was not disappointed and I wasn't constantly caught up in how much had been changed from what I remembered. I think they did a good job on this one. Granted, the science portrayed was more in the realm of science-fiction, but that goes along with the comic books anyway, and today's sci-fi is often tomorrow's reality.

I was a little apprehensive when I heard that Robert Downey, Jr. had been cast in the lead. I have seen many of his films, and I agree that he's a good actor, but I just couldn't see him as Tony Stark. I have to say though, that he did very well. I like it when I'm pleasantly surprised like that. Just in case he sees this, I want to say, "Welcome back, Robert. A lot of us have missed you." The other characters played well against him and the image that goes with being Tony, the international playboy. I even picked up on SHEILD the first time I heard the guy say that he was from this agency with the mile-long title. If there is anything for me to pick at here it's just that I remember Nick Fury, Agent of SHEILD, and this guy wasn't him. That might be just my own problem, because it didn't take anything away from the story or the entertainment value of the movie.

If there's a down side that should be pointed out, it's to the parents of young children. I might not have noticed if I hadn't been seated next to a father and his two very young children. They were maybe ages three and five, just at a guess, and they were very alarmed at the noise of explosions in the early part of the movie. When Tony got hurt and there was a few minutes of somewhat bloody footage, they both cried and he had to take them out for a while. Compared to much of what comes out of Hollywood it wasn't all that bad, but if you know that your kids are sensitive to this you might want to see it without them first and decide for yourself whether or not it will be a problem.

To me, it was good enough that I may go see it again while it's still in the theaters,and I'll definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD.