From the DVD cover:Past and present collide in this epic adventure that reveals the origin of Iron Man. While raising the ruins of a long buried Chinese kingdom, billionaire inventor Tony Stark digs up far more than he bargained for. He unleashes an age-old prophecy that foretells the resurrection of the Mandarin, the emperor of China's darkest and most violent dynasty. In order to confront the destructive force, Tony creates an armored suit infused with high-tech weaponry. To stop the evil that he himself has raised from the earth, Tony must become his greatest invention ever-Iron Man! The newly born champion must travel to the four corners of the earth to battle the Mandarin's henchmen, the Elementals-four magical warriors who harness the power of the elements-earth, water, wind, and fire- with the deadly chemistry. But is the Iron Knight, as he is known in the prophecy, strong enough to defy fate and turn back the malevolent forces hell-bent on earth's destruction?
My first impression from the opening scene was amazement. I found myself gawking at the beautiful attention to detail. This is the best looking animated film I've seen in a long time. It keeps it traditional, without getting to far into the Pixar look. I was a virgin to the Iron Man series and this movie is great for anybody who hasn't read an Iron Man comic, or seen any other Iron Man production. It explains the origins of Iron Man, but keeps it short and to the point.
The plot kept me guessing, which is a welcome change from some more recent films in the genre. Apposed to getting board after the first half of the movie I was enthralled in every scene, watching every detail to make sure I didn't miss something pertinent to the plot. Like I said before if you're new to Iron Man this movie is for you, but if you're an Iron Man Fanboy (or girl) this movie will be especially enjoyable for you, as it has many elements that are a carbon copy of the comic book.
The characters quickly fall into place, but seem to move quite frequently. From the nice guy, to the bad guy, back to the nice guy again. This lends itself to the twisting plot; good character conflict creates a good plot. Our hero has two personas, one rich inventor, and the other heroic robot controller. The difference between him and say Super Man is he is a hero by choice, not by chance. Tony's interaction with the other characters has a good ebb and flow and never seems to lack emotion.
The special features make the DVD worth a buy, simply because they are so in-depth. You can watch an alternate opening sequence that is generally the same as the original, but in a different style. Also the two best special features on here (especially for us newbs) are the origin of Iron Man- Featurette, which shows the back story to Iron Man. Followed by The Hall of Iron Man armor, which is extremely interesting, and lends it self well to the Iron Man saga. Sadly there is a lack of any commentary from anybody! I hate that, my favorite part of any DVD is the commentary, and when one is missing, I feel like the DVD is missing that special director's/producer's touch. I was surprised to see none of Stan Lee's personal touches anywhere, especially considering the amount of effort he put into the Mosaic DVD. All in all the lack of a commentary is a small mark against a great movie. Go forth and buy this DVD!
9 out of 10
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
