Iron Man (2-Disc Ultimate Edition) (2008)

"The gadgetry is absolutely dazzling...and the whole enormous enterprise, spawned by Marvel comics, throbs with dramatic energy...  Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"A dark delight that combines pop-culture wit and genuine emotional depth.  Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide
"As big-budget comic book adaptations go, this one's a gratifying freak--the right kind of conflicted, as well as quick-witted. It's a lot of fun.  Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"An action sci-fi blockbuster extravaganza that provides cartoon thrills for thinking people.  Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"All praise to acting dynamo Robert Downey Jr., who brings so much creative juice to the party that Iron Man achieves instant liftoff.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...Favreau is a born storyteller who engages the audience's imagination rather than crushing it in a tsunami of digital noise.  Scott Foundas, The Village Voice
"...[Favreau] maintains a brisk but not frantic pace, and...has made an unusually elegant looking film for the genre.  Todd McCarthy, Variety

Editor's Note For both comic book fans and those who can't tell the Green Lantern from the Green Arrow, IRON MAN is the type of summer blockbuster whose appeal lasts far beyond the season. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and genius who puts as much effort into chasing skirts as he puts into chasing his next big idea. A trip to Afghanistan to sell weapons quickly devolves into chaos, and Stark finds himself at the mercy of a warlord who wants him to build a missile. Instead, Stark creates a powerful suit of armor, turning him into Iron Man and allowing him to escape. When he returns to America, his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), friend Rhodey (Terrence Howard), and right-hand man Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) all marvel at the change in the man they knew. IRON MAN is the first film to be self-financed by Marvel Studios, and they should be proud of their freshman effort. They didn't take any obvious routes with choosing the cast or crew, and it pays off. Director Jon Favreau, who also has a small role in the film, is best known for directing ELF, but his first action-driven effort is nearly flawless. Casting Downey was gutsy but inspired: this is his first big action picture as well, but the wit he displays in films such as the cult hit KISS KISS, BANG BANG works perfectly for the character of Stark. IRON MAN features nods to its beloved source material, as well as to the classic animated series of the 1960s. But even for the uninitiated, this film provides an interesting entry into the Marvel superhero's universe. Audiences who keep watching after the credits have rolled will be rewarded with a bonus scene.

	Jeff Bridges
	Shaun Toub
	Robert Downey Jr.
	Terrence Howard
	Leslie Bibb
	Faran Tahir
	Gwyneth Paltrow
	Clark Gregg
	Art Marcum - Screenwriter
	Louis D'Esposito - Executive Producer
	Hawk Ostby - Screenwriter
	John Nelson - Special Effects Supervisor
	Jon Favreau - Executive Producer
	David Maisel - Executive Producer
	Dan Lebental - Editor
	Peter Billingsley - Executive Producer
	Stan Lee - Executive Producer
	Avi Arad - Producer
	Matthew Holloway - Screenwriter
	Mark Fergus - Screenwriter
	Ramin Djawadi - Composer
	Matthew Labatique - Director of Photography
	Industrial Light and Magic - Special Effects
	Kevin Feige - Producer
	Jon Favreau - Director

USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "In IRON MAN, Downey's likably snide playboy character is cut from the same anti-hero cloth as Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow..." 05/01/2008

Los Angeles Times
"[I]t's got an energetic, engaging performance by Robert Downey Jr....This part has been nicely tailored to Downey's talents and is a great deal of fun as a result." 05/01/2008

Chicago Sun-Times
"The well-crafted IRON MAN is one of the smartest superhero films to come down the pike in some time....Robert Downey Jr. again reveal why he is one of the best actors of his generation..." 05/01/2008

New York Times
"[A]n unusually good superhero picture....The film benefits from a script that generally chooses clever dialogue over manufactured catchphrases...and also from a crackerjack cast that accepts the filmmakers's invitation to do some real acting..." 05/02/2008

Entertainment Weekly
"[Favreau] draws on his humanistic gifts to make IRON MAN a compellingly down-to-earth superhero fantasy..." -- Grade: B 05/09/2008 p.42-43

Empire
"There's winning comedy in Stark's suit-making misadventures, involving a dash of Wile E. Coyote slapstick and some terrific deadpanning from Downey Jr.. And the acting-powerhouse cast doesn't disappoint." 07/01/2008 p.54

Sight and Sound
"It has Downey's spirited turn going for it, as well as rousing sequences of various models of Iron Man armour in action....It makes a lot of clever decisions..." 07/01/2008 p.61-62

Premiere
3 stars out of 4 -- "Seeing Downey and Bridges duel is one of the film's primary delights..." 04/29/2008

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "A cad-to-crusader origin story, it's funny, smart, charming -- all the attributes of its star." 11/01/2008 p.132

ReelViews 9 of 10
Iron Man is a different breed of superhero movie - a film that remembers it's possible to be outside the target demographic and still enjoy a tale set in this genre. What makes Iron Man interesting isn't the storyline which, except for a few wrinkles, is pretty much a standard issue superhero origin plot, but the way in which filmmaker Jon Favreau presents the narrative. Iron Man is mature in its perspective and the way it views its lead character, while at the same time tapping into the inner kid during some expertly executed action sequences. It uses CGI to advance the story rather than to populate the screen with pretty images. And, perhaps most importantly, the humor is restrained enough to avoid pushing the film over the line into camp or self-parody. Over the years, there have been only a handful of exceptional superhero movies, and Iron Man is among them...When it comes to tone, Iron Man achieves something at which many of even its most celebrated predecessors have failed: it doesn't feel like a superhero movie. Instead, it's bigger and more inclusive. The superhero elements are present, so devotees will not feel slighted or duped, but Iron Man wants to be more than just a summer genre picture or an appetizer before the next exploit of a better-known icon. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Downey's performance is intriguing, and unexpected. He doesn't behave like most superheroes: he lacks the psychic weight and gravitas. Tony Stark is created from the persona Downey has fashioned through many movies: irreverent, quirky, self-deprecating, wise-cracking. The fact that Downey is allowed to think and talk the way he does while wearing all that hardware represents a bold decision by the director, Jon Favreau. If he hadn't desired that, he probably wouldn't have hired Downey. So comfortable is Downey with Tony Stark's dialogue, so familiar does it sound coming from him, that the screenplay seems almost to have been dictated by Downey's persona...It's prudent, I think, that Favreau positions the rest of the characters in a more serious vein. The supporting cast wisely does not try to one-up him...At the end of the day it 's Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies. You hire an actor for his strengths, and Downey would not be strong as a one-dimensional mighty-man. He is strong because he is smart, quick and funny, and because we sense his public persona masks deep private wounds. By building on that, Favreau found his movie, and it's a good one. - Roger Ebert