Variety liked it:

Finally, someone’s found a sure-fire way to make money with a modern Middle East war movie: Just send a Marvel superhero into the fray to kick some insurgent butt. The powerhouse comicbook-inspired actioner “Iron Man” isn’t principally about this fantasy, but it won’t hurt at least American audiences’ enjoyment of this expansively entertaining special effects extravaganza. Having an actor as supercharged as Robert Downey Jr. at the center of such a tech-oriented enterprise reps a huge plus, and Paramount should reap big B.O. rewards by getting out ahead of the summer tentpole pack with such a classy refitting of an overworked format.

It’s refreshing, for a start, that the character suddenly endowed with superpowers isn’t a dweeby teen, but rather a pushing-middle-age genius who is himself entirely responsible for the advanced means he acquires to combat his adversaries; even more than the latest incarnation of Batman, he’s a self-made superman. And while we’ve seen plenty of masks and gravity-resistant heroes before, the outfit sported by the main man here, which looks as though it was made by a top ski boot manufacturer, is striking and capable of great things.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Nah, it’s a really fun film. Iron Man suit as supercar, whedonesque dialogue and Robert overacting with huge glee. Oh and Stan Lee playing Hugh Hefner. What’s not to love?

  2. “What’s not to love?”

    The Whedonesque dialogue part. But I still care more about this than Dark Knight and Indy IV combined.

  3. The icing on the cake would be to have Black Sabbath’s Iron-Man on the soundtrack, but it seems void of the group. It’s too bad. Does it mean it is not in the movie? Most likely. Iron-Man is becoming one of my favorite characters as of late. In the past few years Marvel has shaped him to be one the most powerful characters with authority.

  4. The lack of a rock soundtrack seems to be the only big mistake Marvel has made on this film. It is common practice on popular movies to release two CDs: the score and the popular music. The soundtrack listing for the Marvel soundtrack does not feature any of the music heard in the trailers, and most likely will not be in the movie. (Check the final credits for official use.)

    Marvel could have easily released a CD of thematic pop music for Iron Man (“Heavy Metal”?), perhaps with some new music commisioned for the CD.

  5. “…and Paramount should reap big B.O. rewards by getting out ahead of the summer tentpole pack with such a classy refitting of an overworked format.”

    Didn’t realize they meant “box office” at first. My first thought was, “body odor rewards?” Insert fanboy/girl joke here.

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