Alternate Takes 01.21.12: Iron Man
Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 01.21.2012
Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau began a new age in the Marvel era in 2008! 411's Shawn Lealos begins his look at the films leading up to this May's The Avengers with Iron Man!
Welcome to Week 188 of Alternate Takes, my name is Shawn S. Lealos and you have entered my world.
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When Marvel Films set out to start making their own movies, they took a chance on a character that few people outside of comic book fans knew much about. While characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men are figures popularized in movies, they were produced by major studios. Both Fox and New Line at one time owned the rights to Iron Man and neither could figure out how to make anything out of it. Marvel got the rights back and chose the character to try to kick-start their franchise with.
It was risky but it was a perfect choice.
The first thing Marvel Films did was secure some solid talent for the movie. They hired Jon Favreau, someone with a love for the comics, to direct the film. They hired Robert Downey Jr., one of the most popular actors working today to play the lead role. They grabbed Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and former Oscar nominees Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges to add to the cast. Before the script was finalized, Marvel Films had roundtables with comic writers such as Joe Quesada and Mark Millar. Finally, when it came to designing the uniform, they went to Iron Man artist Adi Granov, who worked with Stan Winston, to give the hero his look.
All that is good, and it helped the movie tremendously in the long run, but it did not ensure that the movie would be a hit. It was a fantastic script and Robert Downey Jr. himself that made this movie as great as it was.
The opening of the movie follows the same basic plotline from the very first appearance of Iron Man in Tales of Suspense #39. In the comic, released in 1963, Anthony Stark was a genius weapon's developer for the United States government. He went on a mission with the troops to South Vietnam to make sure his newest weapon works properly. While it served its purpose, Stark walks through a tripwire and sets off a booby trap, killing the soldiers with him and leaving him with shrapnel in his chest, heading towards his heart.
Iron Man, the movie, follows the same basic storyline. Instead of the Vietnam War, the movie updated the storyline to the more recent conflicts in the Middle East with Tony Stark heading out to demonstrate how his new weapon works. It also changed the fact that Stark accidentally tripped the booby trap and instead made it an ambush. However, the end result was the same. An evil terrorist demands that Stark build him a weapon to bring America to its knees and Stark instead creates a suit of armor and busts free.
This is easily one of the best parts of the movie and one of the most original origin stories to watch unfold on the big screen. Stark never puts on the armor until almost an hour into the movie and the story never once feels boring on the way there. Even if you only came to watch Iron Man fight bad guys, the lead in to him putting on the armor is so well told that you never mind for a minute that there is no superhero action in the entire first half of the movie.
The movie then introduces us to Iron Man's surrounding cast of characters. Two of the characters from the very first Iron Man stories are here in Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, who both appeared for the first time in Tales of Suspense #45 as Stark's assistant and former boxer/new chauffer. Also introduced is James Rhodes, who in the comics does not appear until 1979, 16 years after Iron Man was created, but works perfectly here in his role.
The next part of the movie is as enjoyable as the opening, but for a completely different reason. While the beginning was a tense thriller with Stark trying to escape from the terrorists and save his life, the second part shows Stark creating his armor and figuring out how to use it. One of the original templates for Iron Man, and one that Favreau embraced, was the comparison between Tony Stark and Howard Hughes. That included learning to fly.
"We've all dreamt of flying and how exciting is one of those dreams?" Favreau asked. "It's never boring. I think just the feeling of flying for the first time and moving like this, if you handle it right, should give you chills. Just seeing him fly, really feeling like your flying with him, if you cover it the right way and shoot it the right way, present it to the audience in the right way, should be an emotional experience."
One of the big highlights in the movie is Downey Jr. trying to fly, trying to use his repulsors, almost like someone learning how to walk for the first time.
The biggest complaint about the movie is the end, where Iron Man has to battle the Iron Monger, an armored villain that at one time was Stark's business partner Obadiah Stane. I agree that the final battle was a huge letdown after what came before it, almost like Marvel knew the mainstream audience wanted Iron Man to battle a super villain because, what good is having super powers, if you only use them on ordinary mortals.
I didn't mind the use of Stane as the first bad guy. Someone like Mandarin, while the perfect foil in the comics, is not someone you throw out early in a movie franchise. He is not a recognizable character like The Joker or Lex Luthor, so the best bet is to use someone that Stark is close to, someone who betrays him. In the comics, Stane did a hostile takeover, leaving Stark broke, on the streets, and a drunk. The movie skipped most of that storyline, since there was only a small portion of the running time left, and had Stane simply take over the company and use it to create his own armor to battle Iron Man.
The final battle was nothing more than an uninteresting Smackdown, thanks to the fact that two iron clad beings battling is pretty boring, all things considered. However, when that is the only down point of the movie, you can't complain too much about including a scene that makes the kids happy.
At the end of the day, Marvel Films succeeded in bringing their first superhero movie to the big screen. It was a risk to use a relatively unknown character like Iron Man (there was the cartoon in the ‘90s), but it allowed them to dig deeper and bring more lesser known characters to the big screen, such as Thor and Captain America, two heroes that mainstream non-comic book reading America knew little about as well.
Cheers: I loved the way the movie spent a full hour on Tony Stark as a prisoner of war, help captive by terrorists. People wanted to see a superhero but instead got a full hour of great acting and a wonderful setup and premise, so when Iron Man finally appeared, it meant even more.
Jeers: That final battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger just felt out of place in this movie. When I see a superhero and supervillain fighting, I want to see them punishing each other. With the armor on, it just didn't do anything for me and was one of the most boring superhero Smackdown fights I have seen in a movie.
Reviews: "With many superhero movies, all you get is the surface of the illusion. With "Iron Man," you get a glimpse into the depths." – Roger Ebert (4-out-of-4)
Pivotal Scene: Tony Stark has been held for three months in a hidden cave, forced to work on a missile for a group of terrorists. Instead, he builds a suit of armor and plans to bust out. Yinson, another captive who saved Stark's life, aids him in his plans, and when it is time to break out, risks his own life for Stark. As Yinson lies dying, he tells Stark, "My family is dead, Stark... and I'm going to see them now. It's okay, I want this... I want this." When Stark thanks him, he looks up and says one final line: "Don't waste it... don't waste your life, Stark." That is the moment that Tony Stark becomes a hero.
Comic Book Grade:A - The movie is very loyal when following the comic books. The origin story is extremely close, only transporting the action to present day. The stuff with James Rhodes and Obadiah Stane does not come until many years later but it is better than any of Iron Man's original enemies from his first year, outside of Crimson Dynamo and the Mandarin.
Best Lines:
Tony Stark to Jarvis – "If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."
Tony Stark to reporters – "I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I had more to offer this world than just making things that blow up."
Tony Stark to reporters – "I am Iron Man."
Hey, isn't that…: At the beginning of the movie, Tony Stark heads to a gala and ends up getting an in-his-face interview from a female journalist who accuses him of being a warmonger. The interview ends up with the two of them in bed together, followed by Pepper Potts showing up the next morning to "take out the trash." The journalist, Christine Everhart, is played by Leslie Bibb, Will Ferrell's wife in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Casting Call: Terrance Howard was cast to play Stark's best friend Rhodey. At one point in the movie, he looks at a second suit of armor and makes the comment: "Next time." That is in reference to Rhodey becoming War Machine in the comics. That did happen in the next movie but Howard was replaced in the cast by Don Cheadle. It was due to a salary dispute, when Howard said "Marvel made a choice, and it was a very, very bad choice. They didn't keep their word. They didn't honor my contract."
Easter Eggs: In the Avengers comic books, the group operates out of one of Tony Stark's mansions, which is soon rechristened the Avengers Mansion. Working for the team is a butler named Jarvis, someone who is as great a character as almost anyone on the team and is right up there with Alfred Pennyworth as a great comic book supporting character. In Iron Man, the character of Jarvis is not a human but a computer with increased AI, able to aid Stark whenever it can and with the human ability to throw out insults on occasion as well. Jarvis was voiced in the movie by Paul Bettany (Priest, Legion).
And, of course, the biggest Easter Egg came after the closing credits when Nick Fury showed up in Stark's home and asked if he had heard of the "Avengers Initiative."
Upcoming Releases
February 17, 2012 - Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
February 28, 2012 - Justice League: Doom
April 13, 2012 - Bullet to the Head - Bullet to the Head is an upcoming 2012 action film, directed by Walter Hill based upon Alexis Nolent's French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tete. The film will star Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang. Christian Slater, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Kevin King Templeton are producing the film.
May 4, 2012 - The Avengers
May 25, 2012 - Men in Black III
July 03, 2012 - The Amazing Spider-Man
July 20, 2012 - The Dark Knight Rises
September 21, 2012 - Dredd - Dredd is directed by Pete Travis with a script by Alex Garland. The cast currently consists of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd and Olivia Thirlby as Judge Anderson. Dredd is due to be released on September 21, 2012 in 3-D.
May 3, 2013 - Iron Man 3
June 14, 2013 - Superman: Man of Steel
June 28, 2013 - R.I.P.D. - R.I.P.D. is an upcoming action-comedy crime film set to be directed by Robert Schwentke, based on the comic book Rest In Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov. The film will star Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as Nick Walker and Bo, respectively.
Great movie by all means, I think the final battle was somehow dissapointing also, but overall it does a good job introducing a complex character. About the supervillain when the movie was anounced I was afraid they would choose a classic villain like the mandarin because the average audience would find it hard to digest somehow. In my opinion it is perhaps the best superhero movie to date.
Posted By: n00b (Guest) on January 21, 2012 at 11:57 AM
I think the thing that pissed me off about the final battle was comparing it to how Stane died in the comics. In the comics he is bitter, beaten, revealed. Iron Man is about to take him in, and he's sitting on the ground with his helmet (beaten) off.
He lifts his own hand to his head and kills himself.
I think there was so much room for an emotional moment, with a ultra-confident CEO being revealed as a villain.
Posted By: Guest#1247 (Guest) on January 21, 2012 at 08:31 PM
Downey owned all. Almost a perfect comic movie.
Posted By: Guest#3670 (Guest) on January 21, 2012 at 10:02 PM
Whoa, the average non comic reader didn't know who Captain America is? Sorry but I find that kinda hard to believe.
Posted By: Guest#0328 (Guest) on January 21, 2012 at 10:42 PM
Pretty decent review...but when thinking about this movie, I think it is important to also give it credit for something that you glossed over. Before this movie Robert Downey Jr had faded away, it was this movie that gave his career a kickstart, and led to him becoming "one of the most popular actors working today," not the other way around. Goes to show what a great job they did, and I'm happy that thus far Downey has managed to keep away from falling back to the old habits that knocked his career out, especially in light of the fact that Charlie Sheen can't seem to do the same.
Posted By: Devin (Guest) on January 22, 2012 at 12:50 AM
Whoa, the average non comic reader didn't know who Captain America is? Sorry but I find that kinda hard to believe.
Posted By: Guest#0328 (Guest) on January 21, 2012 at 10:42 PM
Myself, nor most of my friends had really heard much about Captain America, he is a superhero that you may have heard of, but dont know anything about his character. Hell, when I first heard about Iron Man, I thought it was the same character as the Iron Giant. Lol.
Posted By: Sparky (Guest) on January 22, 2012 at 01:11 AM
Easily the best Marvel movie made so far.
Posted By: Ryan Haseldine (Guest) on January 22, 2012 at 08:41 AM
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When Marvel Films set out to start making their own movies, they took a chance on a character that few people outside of comic book fans knew much about. While characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men are figures popularized in movies, they were produced by major studios. Both Fox and New Line at one time owned the rights to Iron Man and neither could figure out how to make anything out of it. Marvel got the rights back and chose the character to try to kick-start their franchise with.
The movie then introduces us to Iron Man's surrounding cast of characters. Two of the characters from the very first Iron Man stories are here in Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan, who both appeared for the first time in Tales of Suspense #45 as Stark's assistant and former boxer/new chauffer. Also introduced is James Rhodes, who in the comics does not appear until 1979, 16 years after Iron Man was created, but works perfectly here in his role.
Hey, isn't that…: At the beginning of the movie, Tony Stark heads to a gala and ends up getting an in-his-face interview from a female journalist who accuses him of being a warmonger. The interview ends up with the two of them in bed together, followed by Pepper Potts showing up the next morning to "take out the trash." The journalist, Christine Everhart, is played by Leslie Bibb, Will Ferrell's wife in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
