Iron Man

I am a lifelong, self professed comic book nut. Comics have been a hobby (or obsession) of mine since childhood. At the age of ten I was given a refrigerator box full of comics, and I was immediately hooked. I spent a good deal of my leisure time fighting the hordes with Conan, battling the Red Skull with Captain America, and swinging across Manhattan with Spider Man.

The last few years of comic book movies have been fantastic. Box office winners like X-Men and Spider Man have helped blot out memories of stinkers like the 1970’s version of Spider man, the Dolph Lundgren version of The Punisher, and the dreadful Nick Fury, Agent of Shield that David Hasselhoff wishes never happened.

When I heard the announcement that Marvel Comics had greenlighted Iron Man, I was actually a bit nervous. This would be an easy one to completely ruin. Iron Man has always been every bit the flawed hero… he has no genetic super powers… he relies on his brains and an armoured battle suit to fight crime and mete out justice. Tony Stark is not your standard Clark Kent, all American boy alter ego… he was modeled on Howard Hughes, and was portrayed as a hard drinking billionaire playboy.

My fears, it seems, were not warranted. Robert Downey junior was casting brilliance. Who better to play a womanizing lush than him! The writing, with all the possibilities for being hackneyed and over the top, was brilliant! They updated the Iron Man story line, and the dialogue was fresh and humorous. The film was everything I could have hoped for and more… action scenes were fast paced, dramatic scenes were well paced and engrossing, and the armour… wow.

All in all… movie magic. I only give it two thumbs up because I lack more thumbs. I highly recommend that you go see it, and when you do, stay to the end of the credits. At all costs. I don’t care if the place is on fire… it’s worth it.

- Sam