Early word on "Iron Man"

[coopasonic]

I thought I was going to get skewered for coming back here and seeing it was better than Batman Begins, glad to see I'm not alone.

Loved it. The scene after the credits didn't really make up for how long the damn credits were, but it does get me a bit excited.

[rshetts2]

I am so looking forward to seeing this flick glad to see that so many of you are raving about it.  BTW anyone who thinks Downey has lost his acting chops, check out Zodiac.

[Mookee]

Wait. Wait. I'm probably late to the party on this, but I just looked at the IMDB page for the crappy looking new Hulk movie and Downey Jr. is cast as Tony Stark. Anyone know if he's a big part of the movie or is it just a cameo thing?

[rickfc]

Wait. Wait. I'm probably late to the party on this, but I just looked at the IMDB page for the crappy looking new Hulk movie and Downey Jr. is cast as Tony Stark. Anyone know if he's a big part of the movie or is it just a cameo thing?

Cameo

[Mookee]

Thanks.

meh

[farley2k]

Wonderful, wonderful movie.  Loved every minute of it.  It was my favorite "origin" superhero movie so far.  I really loved Batman Begins but this had enough lightness and humor that I think I will find it more re-watchable. 

[th'FOOL]

FanTASTIC!  Loved it!  Especially loved Stark's last line before the credits!

Definitely the new bar for superhero movies.  It was as good as I hoped it would be :D:D:D:D:D

[Shinjin]

Fan-freaking-tastic!

[Turtle]

Loved the ending.  Loved the after credits sequence.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Looks like Marvel is starting to unite the Marvel movie world as well, could prove interesting if they pursue it bit more beyond just cameos.  Especially since Downey Jr. is making a cameo in the Hulk what with the recent turmoil in the comic universe between Stark and Banner (Hulk).

I don't want to see a giant ensemble cast movie, as it wouldn't do each character justice.  But I envision a series of movies coming out one after a another that has all these marvel movie characters involved in some larger plot.

For those comparing batman and Iron man, don't bother.  They're both great movies and trying to classify one over the other is pointless and completely opinion based.  They're also two movies with dramatically different, well, dramatic styles.  Both movies do very well on their own regardless of their comic book origins.

Bring on The Dark Knight and Iron Man 2!

[Thin_J]

Oh the things I would do to Gwyneth Paltrow. Hawt. Even hotter as a redhead.

Also: the movie is awesome. I'd rate it as a tie with Batman Begins for my favorite superhero movie ever, which is saying something since I was never a fan of the Iron Man comics. I own a few, but the character never really grabbed me. The movie is borderline perfect though as far as just nailing Tony Stark's character and it makes the movie. Rock on Robert Downey Jr.

[Harkonis]

Saw it, loved it.

Stayed after the credits, loved it.

[QP]

Yeah the after the credits part is good for geeking out

Great movie, even my wife really enjoyed it.  Better than Batman Begins?  Possibly!

[Blackjack]

BB for me was for me in a different way satisfying because of what it was trying to undo (years of horrific Batman Movies). I do think Iron Man has a bit more potential to appeal to a wider spectrum just because it's a little funnier and snappier though still gritty at times.

For those who obsess about box office figures (they don't reflect whether a film's good or not, but I certainly want to see IM recoup its fairly high production costs (I've read estimates ranging from $150 million to $190 million, and the scary thing is that's not even considered all that huge in today's world), the Friday estimates were about $35 million and the Thursday advance screenings (what I attended) pulled in about $5.2  million.
http://news.fantasymoguls.com/originalcontent/2008/05/iron-man-with-3.html

And it's pulled in about $22.4 million internationally so far, with a lot more openings still left:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=ironman.htm

Here's hoping for a $100m opening weekend. In fact, I'll try to see it again this afternoon and do my part. This time for less than $11.50. 

PVP's Kurtz loved it too, fwiw:

Find a way to go see Iron Man today. We saw it last night at Midnight. It is without a doubt the best Super-Hero movie I have seen to date. It’s better than Spidey 2. It’s just…the perfect comic book nerd movie.

Like I said though, I don't think you *need* to be a comic book nerd to enjoy it. It seems to have more widespread appeal beyond, but certainly including, that. 

[CeeKay]

aw man, the theater I'm going to see it at tomorrow also has Zombie Strippers....  I'm thinking double feature 

[warning]

Just echoing the consensus here - Iron Man was flat-out great.   RDJ was excellent and Gwyneth Paltrow was/is smoking hot.

[leo8877]

Great movie, I loved it.  Downey JR is perfectly cast.  I've never thought Gweneth was good looking, but damn she looked good in this.

[Blackjack]

I saw it again, just got back from a 3:15 p.m. show. It was the same multiplex but a much smaller screen -- however, the theater was packed and really enthusiastic and into it; and the digital sound was great, so it worked out. 

I took my retired 73 year old mom to see it, and she... LOVED it.  She finds it harder and harder to follow stories with multiple plot lines so in a way this was perfect. It was interesting, without being hard to follow (aside from maybe the one flashback sequence early on), and she loved the performances and got caught up in the story and characters. Sometimes I take her to action films and she all but falls asleep, but I could hear quietly saying "oh no!" and "ah, so that's who's behind it" etc.

We often don't find much to talk about, but over burgers afterwards she and I talked about the movie and the director (Favreau) and all sorts of other things about it. Iron Man, bring generations together. Who would've thunk it? 

One thing she said to me stuck out. It was something like "Oh I thought from the poster there wouldn't be anyone human in it, but it was full of great characters and all my favorite actors were so good in it." I know the 70+ set is not something the marketers seek out, but it must be a good sign of its very broad appeal. 

There was much applause and cheers (unlike the half filled Thursday 8 p.m. show I saw), and I think I enjoyed it even more the second time because of that. I also got some neat things I missed the first time around. And a decent number of us stuck around for the "easter egg" after the credits. It's cool, though I don't think non comic book fans will understand the "reference" in it.

Oh, here's a Gaming Trend sighting in Iron Man... 

[Blackjack]

I hoped I would get less geekier as I got older, but truly the opposite is happening. 

I truly must have this official Iron Man Movie: Iron Man Fine Art Statue  , available for pre-order (due in December 2008) for a mere $147.48 (about $32 off):

http://www.statuetoys.com/iron-man-movie-iron-man-fine-art-statue.html

Now Kotobukiya can make not only the goods from all Marvel Studios produced films but also all goods from vast library of Marvel Comic Book characters. This IRON MAN FINE ART STATUE is the first character to be released from Marvel series. It stands about 12 4/5" tall and a serial number will be given in each item. This is the must item to buy if you are Marvel fan!

However, I don't think it has working repulsors. Sigh. 
==============
Oh and the City of Heroes/Villains devs (NCSoft North Cal now) had a field trip to see Iron Man and came back in love. 
http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=comics&Number=10716588&bodyprev=#Post10716588

[Hrothgar]

My wife and I went yesterday and enjoyed it a great deal.  It was fun, funny and captured the spirit of the comics.  I wasn't a huge IM fan.  I read a few Avengers.   Mostly I loved the idea that if you gave me the suit, I could be a super hero.  That stuck with me.  It also help lead me into mechwarrior stories and eventually the game series.  So I probably have a soft spot IM.  My wife, on the other hand, hadn't even heard of Iron Man.  It didn't affect her enjoyment in the least.

It got me wondering if I had any information on Iron Man in my old Marvel Super Heroes RPG stuff.  I had copies of the old Dragon Magazine Marvel-Phile articles on "Shell-Head."  I was going to scan them in but remembered that this is the internet.  Sure enough someone had beat me to it.

Pumping Iron pt. 1
Pumping Iron pt. 2

[disarm]

just got back from the theater...awesome movie

and the final scene is definitely worth sticking around if you're a fan of the comics

[Chaz]

Can I tell you how much I hate the trend of "stick some cool scene after the credits"?  I usually stick around through the credits, just in case, and usually wind up with nothing.  However, this time, we were on the outer edge of a row, and there were four of us, three of whom weren't going to want to wait for probably no payoff, plus there were people who wanted to get out.  Of course, I find out that there was some kind of awesome scene this time, and I don't get to see it until the movie comes out on DVD.

Pixar has figured out how to do this right.  They'll put interesting things about 1/4 of the way through the credits, and then just run the credits after that.  That way, you don't have to sit through ten minutes of credits to maybe see something.

I know the "after credits easter egg" is supposed to be a little extra for the faithful.  I'm just really annoyed that I missed it when I usually stick around in case of such things, and that at least half a dozed people have mentioned how awesome it was.

Other than that, I liked the movie fine.

[Arclight]

Really, really enjoyed this movie. My wife and I have a deal...I'll go to movies like, 27 dresses with her...and every now and then she'll come to movies like Iron Man with me...
It was great to see her enjoying one of these "sacrificial" movie goings for a change.

The acting was smart and funny. I loved the opening scene with him the humm-V with the grunts. Robert Downey Jr. at his best.
Gwyneth Paltrow looked stunning. Having babies has certainly agreed with her.

It didn't hurt that Iron Man has always been one of my favorite Super Heroes since I was a youngun.

My wife had read up on Rotten Tomatoes about the end bit after the credit-roll. She even wanted to stay for that.

And Bridges was great as a villain. I really enjoy his acting.

I give this movies 5 sloppy Hotdogs with Nacho's out of 5!!!

[Blackjack]

Pssttt, there's some talk The Incredible Hulk later this summer has yet another Easter Egg after the credits (though I read differing things about whether the footage filmed will go in like that or not).

I've had a hard time tracking down Stan Winston interviews specifically about his effects studio's work on the Iron Man armors, but I finally found some fun comments from him in this IESB interview last year about the vampire move Skin Walkers (maybe the last 1/4 or so of this video interview is about working on Iron Man -- he loved working on it, and pretty much everyone he worked with on it so I'm sure he's up to doing more on it if they do sequels; he also recently signed up to work on Terminator 4, the one with Christian Bale as Sarah Connor's grown son).

The Iron Man portion starts at about the 4 min. 25 sec. mark, if you're impatient. 

Stan Winston on Skinwalkers (and on Iron Man, later in the interview)
http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_xevidmegafx&Itemid=139&func=detail&id=1185

Much of the interview is lamenting an over-reliance on 100% digital effects rather than a mixture of effects that let a human actor still come to the fore. When asked about Iron Man though he's all smiles, and it's like his face lights up. 

[Toe]

Me and the wife saw it yesterday, mainly because there wasn't much else playing. We thought it was ok. If I had to do it all over again I would have been just as happy renting it later. Never been a big fan of Downey, but he did a passable job in this one.

[CeeKay]

Pssttt, there's some talk The Incredible Hulk later this summer has yet another Easter Egg after the credits (though I read differing things about whether the footage filmed will go in like that or not).

The egg got leaked out onto the net awhile back but I can't find it anymore.  About the only place I can see it working is at the end.

[JohnathanStrange]

Enjoyed the movie too. I thought the first half of it was awesome and the second half a bit less. Overall: worth seeing AND worth going to see.

[Rumpy]

That was awesome. I came in there with no expectations at all and walked away very impressed. I thought everything about the movie was well thought out, like they had thought of every single detail, every down to the little touches that made me smile. The acting was really good and the story was probably one of the best I've seen in a recent superhero movie.

While half of the people in the theatre left before the credits were over, a bunch of us stayed til the very end.

[hepcat]

domestic box office for iron man as of today:  $104,250,000.  foreign box office:  $96.7 million.    

there will most definitely be an iron man 2.

loved it, by the way.  saw it saturday afternoon with an audience that had just as much fun with it as i.  they were laughing and cheering the whole time.  truly a great cinema experience.

i'd also like to go on record as saying that my secret shame is still adam sandler.  i laughed...yes laughed...at the zohan trailer.  it's like kryptonite to me, i swear to god.

[leo8877]

Glad to see it's doing do well.

[rickfc]

HOLY EFFING CRAP!!!!  My wife and I saw it this morning at a theater that's down the street from our house.  Unbeknownst to us, it's also one of the few DLP theaters in the Houston area!  This movie was one drawn out WOW moment from beginning to end.  I had serious doubts about some people's remarks that it outdid not only Spider-Man but Batman Begins as well.  All I have to say is, Spider-Who?  Batman is a completely different kind of movie, so I'll hold Iron Man and it on equal likability pedestals IMHO.

I seriously cannot say enough for this movie's credit.  It was the perfect mix of humor, action and drama.  The audience laughed at all the right places, and otherwise you could hear a pin drop aside from the movie itself.

 

I'll be buying the super-mega DVD box set for this movie, for sure!   

[Grifman]

Good question from a friend who I watched this with last night.  Plot Spoiler.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Plot line question.  Why was the terrorist going through all the trouble to have Stark piece together the new missile when he was buying from Stark Industries in the first place?  I realize he didn’t originally know it was Stark he was supposed to kill, but it just seems like a lot of trouble for what would probably be an inferior product (being pieced together in a cave and all).  Is there a good explanation, or did they just need a reason for Stark to make a suit?

So they wouldn't need to be dependent upon that particular supplier.

[rickfc]

Good question from a friend who I watched this with last night.  Plot Spoiler.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Plot line question.  Why was the terrorist going through all the trouble to have Stark piece together the new missile when he was buying from Stark Industries in the first place?  I realize he didn’t originally know it was Stark he was supposed to kill, but it just seems like a lot of trouble for what would probably be an inferior product (being pieced together in a cave and all).  Is there a good explanation, or did they just need a reason for Stark to make a suit?

Spoiler for Hiden:

They didn't know that Stark was going to build a suit, however, the only reason that I can think of as to why they would have him build it instead of purchasing it would be to save money not having to buy it...?   

BTW, the cameo by Tom Morello was awesome.  For anyone that missed it, he was the first terrorist to go in the cave after Tony Stark donned the Mark I suit.  Great stuff... 

[Turtle]

One of the few movies I'd pay to see in theaters again.

[Destructor]

Good question from a friend who I watched this with last night.  Plot Spoiler.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Plot line question.  Why was the terrorist going through all the trouble to have Stark piece together the new missile when he was buying from Stark Industries in the first place?  I realize he didn’t originally know it was Stark he was supposed to kill, but it just seems like a lot of trouble for what would probably be an inferior product (being pieced together in a cave and all).  Is there a good explanation, or did they just need a reason for Stark to make a suit?

Spoiler for Hiden:

They didn't know that Stark was going to build a suit, however, the only reason that I can think of as to why they would have him build it instead of purchasing it would be to save money not having to buy it...?   

Spoiler for Hiden:

My guess is this - since Stark just tested the weapon a day prior, it wasn't available yet on the market. That's why they wanted him to make one.

Absolutely fantastic movie BTW.

[CeeKay]

Iron Man 2 -  May 2010.  Too bad my stomach was feeling poorly today and I couldn't see it.  stupid Mexican food covered in fresh jalapeños....

[Blackjack]

fwiw, it topped the $100 million mark during the weekend. I say fwiw, because a lot of lousy sequels make a zillion dollars and then do a fast fade so it's hard to read too much into numbers (esp. with movies showing in 4,000 theaters at roughly $8.50-$10.50 per ticket). I'm hoping it does steadier business given the good reviews and good will  , and a nice "slow burn" even with Speed Racer, Indy et al due in the coming weeks.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/04/boxoffice.ap/index.html

I think it's something like the 2nd biggest debut for a "non sequel" movie (behind Spidey in 2002). Marvel's in kind of an interesting position though with Universal handling Hulk, and Paramount having distribution rights to Avengers or Nick Fury (SHIELD) movies if they do them.

[CSL]

Perfect, perfect goddamn movie. Absolutely amazingly fucking awesome.

Just the best blend of action, humor, and good characters. Special effects were magnificent, just superb. Robert Downey Jr. was exquisite as Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow was radiant.

My only very, very small nitpick is that Obidiah Stone/Iron Monger wasn't exactly the greatest villain and the Afghan connection could have been better done - still the Nick Fury cameo at the end was just fantastic.

A+

About half the theatre stayed for the final Nick Fury scene too which was pretty cool. There were some folks making cracks during the movie - but interesting they only did it two or three times and only when there was nothing going on, and only very loud during the Hulk trailer. ("He couldn't possibly take on all of those men!"  )

[Turtle]

Spoiler for Hiden:

My guess is this - since Stark just tested the weapon a day prior, it wasn't available yet on the market. That's why they wanted him to make one.

Absolutely fantastic movie BTW.

Spoiler for Hiden:

My line of thought is that they couldn't really afford advanced weapons from Stark Industries.  The stuff they got in the beginning, while substantial, was basically payment for killing Stark (but obviously not enough).  As soon as they realized it was Stark in the convoy, they set him to the task of making those missiles.

The missiles they have later on are in trade for the Mk1 suit technology and plans that they had gotten from Stark's escape.

[Jarrodhk]

This movie.  Yes.  Will see again.

Also... can't wait for Indy and Dark Knight... such a good summer for movies.

[Harkonis]

Good question from a friend who I watched this with last night.  Plot Spoiler.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Plot line question.  Why was the terrorist going through all the trouble to have Stark piece together the new missile when he was buying from Stark Industries in the first place?  I realize he didn’t originally know it was Stark he was supposed to kill, but it just seems like a lot of trouble for what would probably be an inferior product (being pieced together in a cave and all).  Is there a good explanation, or did they just need a reason for Stark to make a suit?

Spoiler for Hiden:

They didn't know that Stark was going to build a suit, however, the only reason that I can think of as to why they would have him build it instead of purchasing it would be to save money not having to buy it...?   

BTW, the cameo by Tom Morello was awesome.  For anyone that missed it, he was the first terrorist to go in the cave after Tony Stark donned the Mark I suit.  Great stuff... 

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm not sure the weapons were part of the deal originally.  Maybe he was just paying them cash to kill Stark.  When they found out who it was they were to kill, they tried to get weapons out of it on both ends.