...(*heavily-distorted mechanical-sounding voice:) "I AM IRON MAN!"

I'm pretty sure you can figure out what this is going to be about... unless you've never heard the Black Sabbath song... :lol:

My son and I just got back from seeing Iron Man... but first, a few things about the experience:

A new theatre opened up near us in Colonie Center, one of the oldest shopping malls in the area. A combination of internet sales and the opening of Crossgates just down the Northway forced them to do a total overhaul in the past year, and one of the additions was a 13-screen multi-screen theatre with stadium-styIe seating. The screens are high-definition projection screens, and the sound system state-of-the-art. Best of all, it only opened yesterday (none of that gooey stuff on the floor that makes you feel like you're walking on flypaper). What better place to go to see a new movie than in a new theatre? (Best of all, you got free popcorn and soda with the tickets... :D )

Now for the movie itself...

:shock: "Awesome" doesn't do it justice. It's the most perfect movie I've seen that doesn't have "Lord of the Rings" in the title.

Soundtrack: perfect. A techno-metal fusion that perfectly highlights the action in the movie. I need to buy it. Soon. (The last soundtrack I bought was for "Last Action Hero." Ordinarily, I avoid them because my musical taste doesn't mesh.)

Visuals: perfect. The suit didn't look like the comic book... it looked much more functional, like a high-tech war machine would look in the real world. The effects poeple even got the original suit right (the first one you see in the movie).

Sound: perfect. It's the first action movie that seemed to get the gunfire right. Thank you, "Saving Private Ryan," for teaching sound effects people the world over that guns sound more like firecrackers, and less like miniature dynamite going off.

Story: perfect... sort of. It could have used a few more minutes exploring the development of the v 3.0 suit, but otherwise, the pacing and action were spot-on.

Action sequences: perfect. I especially liked the first run of the v 3.0 suit in Afghanistan, and the pursuit afterwards... it mixed action and comedy in ways that are rarely seen in comic-book hero movies.

Acting: perfect. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark as a person who understands how the small things work (like cars, electronics, weapons... and people) but doesn't see the "big picture." When reality is forced upon him, Downey adeptly shows how the character of Stark struggles to adapt (in some ways, rather clumsily) to the world as he now sees it, growing in the process. If he doesn't at least receive an Oscar nod for his performance, I'll be the first (and loudest) to scream foul.

[spoiler] I also liked the choice of Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane: the role wasn't played with the usual "greasy businessman villain" stereotype typical of Hollywood movies. If I hadn't read the "Armor Wars" series, I'd have never known he was a bad guy until he showed his true colors towards the end. [/spoiler]

Support characters (Pepper Potts, Col. Rhodes) also made an impression as well, not merely as backdrops to Stark, but actually helping to deftly highlight the flaws in Stark's character.

My highest honors, though, go to Jon Favreau for his direction. I only know him as a comedy actor and director... but being able to take actors of the caliber he worked with, in an unfamiliar genre, and deliver the quality film he did is impressive.

Final score: ****. If you haven't seen it, don't wait. GO NOW.

Also, looking at the summer's slate of films ("Indiana Jones," "The Incredible Hulk," "The Happening," just for starters!) I'm looking at a season to rival 1986 (what I consider the last great summer for movies). Games? HAH! I can wait until fall... and yes, that might be gamer's heresy, but oh well... :lol: