Iron Man

What He said:

I remember when early pictures leaked to the internet and I totally geeked-out at the sight of the Ironman armor. Then a saw a few pictures of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Things were looking good. Then when the trailer finally came out I all but lost it. Aside from Nolan's Batman movies, it looked like it could be one of the best comic book movies ever made.

Well I saw it and it delivered on all fronts. Action, humor, chemistry, you name it. Not only was it all there, it was done well. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. He simply perfected the role. He didn't do a damn thing wrong with it. He is funny, but arrogant. Charming, but annoying. He really captures the character in all its glory. His interactions with Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are very indicative of Stark's relationship with Pepper Potts and Jim Rhoades respectively. Jeff Bridges is also very well cast.

If you don't know anything about who or what the character is, let me lay a little groundwork for you. Tony Stark is a weapons dealer. He is a very patriotic man, but also loves making money (and getting attention). Sometimes you want to strangle him, because he seems like he's all about the money, but Downey's performance shows you the character really does care deep down.

If you are in to comic book-based movies, I highly recommend this one.

Rating: Thumbs up.

This movie review was written for your reading pleasure on October 17, 2010.

What She said:

I remember the first time I saw this movie in the theater. I wasn't really that excited. I was kind of burnt out on superhero movies, and just didn't think it would interest me. I was dead wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this flick, and it made me a fan of Robert Downey, Jr. again. He truly shines as Tony Stark, the egocentric narcissistic genius billionaire superhero. Downey seems like such a natural for the role, it's a little creepy.

The basic storyline is that Stark is following in the footsteps of his father, and leading Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer. He sells primarily to the government, but there are worries that his products are ending up in the wrong hands. Stark, while on a visit to the Middle East, is taken hostage by terrorists and forced to create weapons for them. Instead, he creates a kick-butt robot-style suit that blows the crap out of things and turns him into a superhero.

Once he makes it back to the U.S., Stark, influenced by his makeshift prototype, creates a new and improved suit, fights some bad guys, makes some good jokes, saves the day. The has some deeper themes regarding weapons production, but is also fun and relatively light overall. Truly a blockbuster film, and a recommended watch.

Diagnosis: Thumbs up.