The summer of comic book movies kicks off tonight at midnight with Iron Man!
Well, officially kicks off, anyway. Seems like Paramount and Marvel held a billion advanced screenings for this one.
I know that Ron is seeing it tonight and that Josh and I will be seeing it on Friday. I’m really, really looking forward to this one. The buzz has just been incredible and we need a strong movie to kick off the summer season.
Are you going to see it? Of course you are! So let’s talk about it!
You can look forward to an iFanboy Special Edition Podcast on Iron Man released this weekend in conjunction with the Pick of the Week Podcast.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet be forewarned — there be SPOILERS ahoy! So don’t scroll down any further if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.
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best comic book movie so far. also, biggest geek orgasm of all time. 15 stars out of 10. i loved it.
also, i really think this symbolizes how great the marvel line of movies will be. its very exciting.
Apparently, "midnight" screenings turned into "8 pm screenings" in a lot of places (probably because they realized at some point that the pre-existing fanbase for this film might not be strong enough to get people to give up sleep on a worknight, but could support a healthy crowd at a reasonable time on short notice). I walked into the screening at my theater and found the staff of my LCS handing out promotions for Free Comic Book Day. The show was full but not packed and it seemed like a pretty diverse group.
Anyway, the movie — fantastic. Absolutely everything I expected and hoped for, plus a few surprises and genuinely daring choices. Downey absolutely owned this character, and the writers did a terrific job of picking the best bits from 40+ years of stories and making a coherent whole out of them. It was also much funnier than I expected.
Totally there!
And I heard there’s one of those extra special scenes after the end credits.
Just got home form the theater and the movie was great it was everything i could hope for and more. Downey is great as Stark. and it was really funny at points. the armor look sick on the screan and look even better than the trailers. the story is good. this is a great film. i see it again tomorrow.
I’m taking my 14 year old niece tomorrow night. I was so excited when she said she wanted to see it. I’m going to turn her into a fangirl yet…
best marvel movie so far. i think 300 and batman begins, beats it but not by much
also… how about that fucking awesome was the ending after the credits?!
Loved this movie. Soo good. Stark was played with just the right level of indignation and reckless abandon. Reverent to the books but its own story. The armor rocks, the toys were unending and the cameo by Stan the Man was what he has always deserved.
Thanks Marvel, you got this one right.
Awesome movie!
It’s got everything a comic book fan would hope for.
Be sure to stay in the theater until the film credits end 😉 That was the best part of the movie for me.
I want to send Jon Faverau some flowers and thank him for this perfect superhero movie. This is the best and the next generation of superhero flix. Multiple viewing are a must and the after credits scene was spectacular.
this movie makes me want marvel studios to re-do daredevil, spiderman 3 and X3
Redo Daredevil for sure but I just want the Avengers movie to reference the other non Marvel movies and maybe when Fox and Sony’s deals lapse (ya right) they’ll go to Marvel Studio (which would make an awesome Xmen movie)
Words do not describe how AWESOME that movie was; I shall be there again this weekend! I honestly couldn’t have imagined it better and as if the movie wasn’t amazing enough, the scene after the credits…..Need I say more?
Also, Stan Lee’s cameo ROCKED 😀
I was shocked and amazed by how good that was and more than any other comic movie out there, I think this could be the movie that gets people to go visit a comic store or browse the section at Borders.
As more everyone thought, Downey was flawless as Tony Stark and really left me wanting more, I also think Jeff Bridges was amazing as Stane.
The extra scene was mostly for hardcore fanboys and I was shocked by the content of the conversation. I had all of my friends asking me who that was and what was he talking about and I was thrilled to tell them.
Make Mine Marvel!
I’m going on Saturday. Iron Man’s my favorite hero and I can’t wait to see what’s up.
yeeeeah, definitely the best stan lee cameo ever. its gonna be tough to top. but im wondering why he was credited as himself in the credits? tony very clearly said someone else’s name in that scene. i agree it may have been the perfect comic book movie. many of the flaws (katie holmes? really?!?) of other top contenders were avoided, and only one thing had me worried early on in the film (jarvis) but my uneasiness was quickly put to rest as the film went on. i hate bitching about accuracy and being "comic book guy" from the simpsons, and fortunately, i have no real opportunity to after this flick.
great job to everyone invloved with the film, mine was made marvel many moons ago, and i couldnt be happier.
also, ive been real impressed with the posters on this thread. even though conor warned of a spoiler, no one has really spoiled anything. especially that last bit at the end of the credits. just trust me when i say…
DO NOT LEAVE THE THEATER UNTIL YOU SEE THE BLUE SCREEN! IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE A PISS, I HOPE YOU FINISHED YOUR SODA, CUZ YOU’RE GONNA NEED THAT CUP!
word.
i think it would have been cool to exchange paltrow with the real jarvis.
Just got back from watching Iron Man. Great, no other way to put it. I have always been a DC guy so my knowledge of Iron Man has always been limited at best. I knew who Tony Strack was, I knew that he liked his booze and his bimbos and that was about it. This movie did what a lot of comic book movies fail to due, and that is it took it’s time to develop the character. You don’t really see Tony in the suit until the end of the movie. Loved Stan’s cameo, loved Jim Rhodes looking at the 2.0 suit, and the post credits scene is perhaps the best "F*&^ yeah" moment in any recent movie. Even better then the end of Batman Begins with the joker card. Can’t wait to see what Marvel does with this and other movies in the future. I hope Hulk is great, and with todays trailerm it looks like it might come through. Gonna be a great summer!
Guys, Guys Guys!
it was pretty average. Pretty, Pretty PRETTY average
In tone and impression the film reminded me of Daredevil. Entertaining upon first viewing but won’t standup to repeat viewings.
I really felt like the comedy in the film was bad sit-com standard. The action scenes with the taliban (or whoever) were extremely exciting but the Ironmen battle at the end just seemed like a video game with no reason behind any of the actions
I LOVED THIS MOVIE! I CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE robert downey jr and who ever they get to play the rest of the avengers because that will kill.
the one bad thing i can say is that the acting from the S.H.E.I.L.D. guy was a bit stale. That is the one bad thing i can say. The only bad thing. It’s easier to say the one bad thing than list the HUGE number of good things.
The few seconds of Samuel L. Jackson were awesome! Can’t wait for the next Iron Man movie, they’ve really done a good job of setting up the mandarin, so-so on his drinking, and really hit it home that War Machine is gunna be coming 😀
Tony in The Hulk movie should be interesting, hopefully Fury will play a larger role in it 😀
"Can’t wait for next Iron Man movie"???
I CAN’t WAIT FOR AN AVENGERS MOVIE.
Plus Thor, I’m looking forward to Thor.
WOW I think I want to have this movies babies. This movie for me was second only to Batman Begins. MAKE SURE YOU STAY AFTER THE CREDITS AND I MEAN ALL OF THEM!!!
The movie was awsome. I took my boyfriend to see it. He really liked it and he is not a comic book guy to say the least. The ending after the credits was awsome (I had no idea that the coolest amn alive was in it). I cannot wait for another one. I think that the one liners and little throw away lines were some of the best scripting I have ever seen/heard. I cannot wait to hear the iFanboys take on the movie.
So I’m guessing right about the time I was in the car telling my buddy, "We were supposed to see Samuel L somewhere in that," the smart ones who stayed were getting to see him kick it as Nick Fury?
I thought it was a great movie just by itself and as a comic book movie is was just short of a miracle. I don’t know much about Iron Man but the movie gave me everything I needed to know and by the end of the credits I was freaking out. I’d put this up there with X2 and Superman: The Movie.
I’m looking forward to seeing this because I have zero interest in Iron Man as a character in the comics (at least since Civil War when I started reading Marvel and DC), and am curious as to whether this will make me want to read any of the "classic" IM stories. It worked with the Spider-Man and X-Men movies, so I’m wondering if this will do the same. I want to see it for Downey’s performance more than anything else.
@paradiddle —
>whether this will make me want to read any of the "classic" IM stories.
Since this conversation is already starting, I’ll just throw out ‘Armor Wars.’ That’s the storyline that this movie reminded me most of, thematically. It takes place later in Tony’s life (he’s already quit drinking — twice, I believe) but that’s where his crisis of conscience about weapons plays out in the most interesting ways.
Toe-tally self-promoting. Can’t wait for the movie!
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/mwop/moviefile/2008/05/the-cool-nerds-guide-to-iron-m.php
Gulp. Woops. Let’s see if this is better <a href="http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/mwop/moviefile/2008/05/the-cool-nerds-guide-to-iron-m.php">TWOP nerd</a>
@parariddle-Check out the upcoming Invincible Iron Man series as well as the Iron Man Viva Las Vegas mini written by Jon Faverau and the Ifanboys pointed out Iron Man Demon in a Bottle TPB in a video show (i think) which also Jon Faverau stated that if a sequel is made that storyline would be the basis of it.
Ignorant question — is this the first one of the Marvel movies made by Marvel Studios outright? Not to get too bogged down in industry stuff, but I’m not totally clear on the distinction.
@actualbutt – tony calls him "hef", as in hugh hefner. because he mistook him for hugh hefner.
Well I loved it great, I just wished I didnt know what Nick Furry was gonna say before he said it anyway ya it was great.
On a side note there was a a Borders right by the movie house and I saw a ton of people by the comic book/manga section, im hoping theres a connection there.
@Guardedmarman – I assume you read spoilers? Stop doing that. 🙂
@Caroline, I believe what it is. Marvel Studios is producing the films (making the creative decisions and ponying up the budget, I believe) while Paramont takes it and advertises it and distributes it. It’s a bit like how Wildstorm produces its books creatively mostly but the DC guys distribute it… I think. I could be way off on that one. Heh.
@Ohcaroline- Ya this is the first Marvel Studios movie next is Incredible Hulk then Punisher War Zone
Spiderman/Ghost Rider=Sony & Xmen/F4/Daredevil/Elektra=Fox. I don’t know when the Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Elektra lincenses expire like Hulk and Punisher.
one word:
DORKGASM
‘Nuff said
Just finish seeing it and to be honest i thought bits and pieces were nice, i laughed more than i expected, but as a whole i thought it was average. It’s one of those movies i probably won’t be talking about a month or two from now.
The scenes between Tony and Pepper were sweet, at least the writers didn’t go for the cliche’ ending.
The action in some scenes were intense (tony v. fighter jets), but others were quite forgetable. I bet by the second movie (which i will see) Jon Favreau will make more epic scenes.
All in all the movie was simply ok.
I went into this movie prepared for massive disappointment. After all, as much as I tried to convince myself that “Hulk” was good and “X3: The Last Stand” was fun, those films were true pieces of cinematic garbage. Even the positive reviews by critics didn’t faze me, since they also raved about Ang Lee’s “Hulk”. (side note: “Wanted”, which is released later this summer, looks like a severely Hollywood-ized bastardization of the graphic novel) Thankfully, I was surprised with Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man”.
My biggest concern was that Marvel Studios was going to make the movie too comic-booky, meaning that there would be plenty of action and special effects, but only at the expense of good storytelling. In other words, the movie would be only good for kids as well as translating into a highly lucrative video game. In actuality the story, characters and script were as solid as any movie I’ve ever seen. We see about as much of Iron Man as we see The Hulk in “Hulk”, but the metal suit’s creation, launch and combat scenes are used as super-effective plot devices that drive the story forward the same as a good graphic novel. It is the interesting characters that truly make this movie enjoyable; so much so that you don’t miss the comic book super-heroics for a single moment (but when Iron Man finally shows up, he sure packs a wallop!).
The pacing and character interaction keep the story from dragging along, and the scriptwriters don’t insult our intelligence by trying to explain everything. For example, the use of the comic book character Jarvis as an artificial intelligence that helps Tony in his workshop is taken at face value, and the rest of the technology used throughout the movie isn’t bogged down with techie explanations. Let’s face it, in the real world, if someone actually created artificial intelligence it wouldn’t be consigned to a auto shop mechanic.
The team of Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges knocked this one out of the ballpark. As used as I am to seeing Downey on the big screen, I completely believed he was the real Tony Stark. I’ve never found Gwenyth Paltrow very attractive, but she was truly a foxy Pepper Potts. The only weak character was Terrance Howard’s James Rhodes, who really didn’t have much to do and wasn’t very convincing as Tony Stark’s best bud.
The special effects were amazing, the characters were spot-on, and all the pieces of this movie came together and worked whether you read comics or do not. I definitely plan on seeing this again before the summer is out, as well as buying the DVD. As a matter of fact, this movie is the excuse I may need to get a HD set and BlueRay player! As much as I’ve always loved The Incredible Hulk, I can’t see anything else, including the upcoming jade giant film, being better this summer.
Rick’s Rating – “Grand Slam” *****
Ok, so I have three kids (all under 6) so I’m not going to be seeing this until it’s out on DVD. So what exactly happens at the end with Fury?
I thought it was really, really good … and I think that I agree with what some of you have said: that this movie might just get some people into comic stores … kind of makes me wish that (as a fan and a retailer) that Invincible Iron Man #1 and Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas #1 had come out this Wednesday as opposed to next
http://comicdorkscast.blogspot.com
So Good. Unbelievable. It was everything I could have hoped for and more. Blew me away. It had everything; action, romance, comedy, robotic fire extinguishers. It had a great story and characters with depth and development for the layman, and it had so many subtle nods to the comics for the fanboys like us. It was one of the funniest movies I’ve scene in a long time, as well as one of the best looking. The movie never felt rushed, like some other comic book films, to get Tony in the Mark 3 armor – I checked my watch, it was almost 90 minutes in before he suited up in the red and gold. The pacing, dialouge, characters, everything made it feel like a real movie, not "just a comic book movie."
Just wow. I don’t even know what to say. I’m still recovering from my multiple dorkgasms. It’s hard to be objective while I’m still riding this high. Maybe something more concrete in the morning. Just a great film. . . dare I say, Invincible?
Three cheers for Nick Fury, too.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE. It was everything that was the comic with a modern style, the writing was great the characterization was great, the action was great. I don’t have a single negative thing about this film. After the credits rolled and you see the Jackson there and he says those sweet sweet words that every marvel fan boy has yearned to hear I think I as another post had said had a Dorkgasm.
GASP!
The movie was AWESOME!!!
MY GOD! How are they gonna pull off the Avengers?!?!?!? Ya think we are gonna see Cap, and Thor movies first? (I would think they would kind of have to.) They could always introduce Hank and Jan in the Avengers movie itself. But char’s as big as Cap and Thor… OMG my head is spinnin! Which lineup of Avengers? Vision would be cake to add in there if they trimmed his back story and just basically made him an android with a human personality. Frasier’s Beast could get stuck in there too if they wanted. (lol)
This movie blew away all the Spider-Man movies as well. Just thought I would throw that in there.
The only thing that I would have changed, is that I would have made Jarvis a person, and not a computer. Maybe the studio thought it would be too much like Alfred and Bruce if they did. It’s a nitpick but there it is.
Even my wife liked it. She is typically a rom-com fan. My kids (13,11) were uber-geeked up about it and loved it. I have been raising them right!!
One hell of a movie! One hell of a start to the summer movie season of comics inspired films!
Even my gf, that had no interest in seeing it, loved it.
@conor: if you don’t want people to read/listen to spoilers, then your listenership would go down.
@Kuhan – We don’t deal in movie spoilers unless the movie has already come out.
The movie definitely delivered, for all the reasons stated above. I was in the comic shop for FCBD, and not only was most everyone talking about having seen it, or going to see it, the owner was answering questions about which would be the best IM arcs to read. Certainly a fun comic book-y day from start to finish.
even with the spoilers I saw this was sweet.
Awesome! I wish i had read this before I went, I would have stayed for the end of the credits.
I think at this point, staying until the credits are over is a somewhat mandatory gamble for all comic book movies.
Frickin Awesome. Quite possibly my favorite Marvel adaptation. The effects were amazing and casting was perfect. Only 733 days until Iron Man 2!!!!
Iron Man should have fired up his flame throwers while he was still in the cave. He could have tenderized Tom Morello with his iron gauntlets, flamed on, and that murderous insurgent would have been cooked like one of those Whoppers Tony likes so much.
Saw it last night. Yep, it was pretty damn good. It didn’t surpass Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 in terms of my favorite superhero flicks, but is definitely one of the more solid Marvel adaptations. Downey was awesome, what else can be said? And indeed, it has inspired me to go back and read some classic Iron Man comics, since I haven’t read any yet. Will probably try Demon in a Bottle and/or Armor Wars, as suggested above (thanks for all the recs, BTW!).
My only complaint is that anytime Jeff Bridges talks I’ll forever hear The Dude speaking, and so I kept imagining Stane as a slacker pot head sitting in a bowling alley. I kept expecting him to shout "Damnit Walter" at Tony.
Everything else was awesome. Even the non-comics reading GF loved it. If it can avoid going down the route of other franchises by trying to jam too much into a single movie then this series should have some legs.
Industry analysts had predicted it would do in the $70 million range.
Marvel turns ‘Iron Man’ into gold with $100M-plus debut
LOS ANGELES – "Iron Man" was pure gold at the box office.
The Marvel Comics adaptation, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the guy in the metal suit, hauled in $100.7 million during its opening weekend and $104.2 million since debuting Thursday night, the second-best premiere ever for a nonsequel, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The film also scored overseas with $96.7 million in 57 countries where it began opening Wednesday, putting its worldwide total at $201 million.
The movie, distributed by Paramount, is the first release by Marvel Studios, which has begun financing its own productions after such studio-backed hits as the "Spider-Man," "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" flicks.
"We could not have hoped for a better way for Marvel Studios to blast off," said David Maisel, chairman of the unit, a division of Marvel Entertainment, which stands to pull in a greater share of box office receipts and merchandising money by financing movies itself.
@conor — Thanks for posting that. Great news — I don’t usually care about or follow box office receipts, but it is encouraging that Marvel seems to have made all the right moves, both creatively and promotionally, with this film, and it’s heartening to see it pay off.
At the risk of sounding like somebody’s mom, I was struck at one point by the realization that (correct me if I’m wrong) the entire movie had passed without a single character uttering any profanity. Like, I was waiting for a "dammit" that never came. That never happens.
I can’t think of any substantial way to improve this one. I’m no Iron Man expert (other than the fact that he seems to be in every book I buy now) but everything about this seemed pretty pitch-perfect to me.
This movie was superb. I’m the guy who, normally, can’t wait to see the hero but Robert Downey kept it real and never boring. No doubt it was hard to ignore Stane sounding like The Dude though.
Oh, and, is it really necessary to cast Samuel Jackson in every spunky black role in Hollywood?
Amazing…I have never liked or care about Iron Man but Robert Downey Jr made it happen. Great special effects (not too much obvious CGI), very funny and awesome ending after the credits. I can’t wait for Iron Man 2 already.
@FACE – Well when the ultimates version is based off of Samuel L Jackson I think it’s a given. I say it’s about time! Though my first choice will always be the Hoff…ok sorry, I threw up a little in my mouth when I said that.
@FACE – Well, since Sam Jackson *is* Nick Fury in the Ultimate Universe… yes.
well i have never been a big Iron man fan. i have maybe 5 of his comis. i just never found him that intresting… Until the movie. THE BEST!! and i’m sorry but i think it is the best super hero movie that has come out yet. i dont think i have ever geeked out that much ever. AWSOME, AWSOME, and AWSOME. i dont know if they plane on doing an iron man 2 or if they will go strait into the avengers movie. i also want to see marvel redo all of their movies if they all could rock as much as this one did. geuss i just have to wait and see if hulk does as good.
I’m a huge IM fan. I’ve been reading my run from issue 80 to 300ish that I bought on ebay a few years ago. I wanted to read them all before the movie opened. I’m only at around issue 175, which is where Rhodey takes over the armor. (I started picking up IM around #190 when they were coming out in the 80’s).
I saw the movie on Friday and it was excellent. I knew they had a great cast when they announced it. Robert Downey, Jr. was made to play Stark. I have a master’s degree in Acting (believe it or not) and in my opinion this is one of the strongest casts I’ve ever seen for a comic book related movie. Downey, Howard, Bridges & Paltrow are all very strong actors and it really makes this movie easy to get into.
I brought a bunch of people with me Saturday to see IM that don’t know anything about the character or read comics in general and the reception was amazing. A huge part of it IMO is Robert Downey Jr. in the film, he’s easy to understand and likeable. Go figure, a movie studio from the comic company that produces the character monthly getting it right. I never thought I’d be excited for a Captain America movie in my life but these folks can do it up.
@Conor/Ipitythefool – never read anything from the Ultimate Universe, but I assume that’s why they called it "Ultimate Avengers" now, and why i was so confused by colored Nick Fury in said movie.. fair enough, but still aren’t there any.. ahh, f*@K it
@FACE – I’m sure you didn’t mean to type what you did. Tell me I’m correct so I don’t have to delete your post.
type what?! i can’t write an edited f-bomb? if not. feel free to delete it. i’ve seen a number of people curse though. thought i was playing it safe.
@FACE – Not the cursing, the racial slur.
@FACE – "colored"? What the hell? Is this the fifties? Conor I don’t doubt he meant to type it, but maybe he’s totally clueless at how offensive and dated the term "colored" is. The actor who played as Nick Fury is Samuel L. Jackson, not some colored guy. Regardless of his racial background having Jackson in the role of Nick Fury isn’t all that confusing and more cool than anything. Michael Clarke Duncan fit in the role of the Kingpin in the Daredevil film quite naturally without any confusion at least from my view point even though his race was different from the character in the comics.
@droracle – thanx for the insult to my intelligence (now who’s the ignorant one?). maybe i am totally clueless to the idea of the term color being placed in the same category as an n-bomb. but i get it now and god forbid i should ever let it happen again. sometimes i like to forget that racism even exists because i have no interest in it. fortunately you have reminded me how important it is. by the way, were you alive in the fifties? really, me neither. so don’t hold me accountable for sins of the past.
most importantly you’ve made a mistake in taking me out of context. never was i expressing discontent that Nick Fury was black (<– is this alright, because i’ve heard it can be wrong as well). my complaint was that samuel jackson had been given the role and i feel he’s been given too many roles. it’s difficult for me to see him as anything other than Jules or Mace Windu. i also mentioned that i was bothered that Stane sounded an awful lot like The Dude and not because he was caucasian.
but you wouldn’t know this because all you wanted to do was stand up on a soap-box and pretend that someone had given you an opportunity to make the black nick fury argument, which must be something you need help in dealing with. obviously you’re the one who has an issue with it. not me
@anyone offended by my comments – please accept my apologies for an honest mistake.
please note that i was also referring to the animated Ultimate Avengers movie and not Samuel Jackson in Iron Man. not that it makes much difference, but if people were improperly condemning you you’d seek defense too
@FACE – You can’t get mad at someone for being offended when you use a racial slur, even if you didn’t know you were using it. No one got is accusing you of making "the black Nick Fury" argument.
Apology accepted.
Apology accepted. And honestly I wasn’t that offended. I just have a lot of corked up anger on average so I guess it always comes through in my postings. Today’s another day, no harm, no foul.
Jeff Bridges has such a distinctive voice all I could think about was The Dude throughout that movie. It was a funny distraction. I’ll probably have the same feeling toward Sam Jackson as Fury, but that’s not a bad thing. Its one of things that makes movies fun.