The Invincible Iron Man (2007)

Not great for kids

I bought this movie with the anticiaption of getting my kid into Iron Man with the new movie out on the big screen. I was disappointed with the cartoon due to 90% of the movie is build up and only the last 10% is Iron Man fighting and action that a young kid could follow. This movie appears to appeal to an older generation or maybe even some older kids into comic books, not good for little kids. June 11, 2008

Great cartoon

Don't get confused, this is an anamated cartoon and not the new movie. If you read and liked the paper comic, this movie has much of the same feel and flavor of the comic book. The story does not match the comic book story line, and if you can take the new story as it comes, then it is a great time. I also recoment the Dr. Strange movie that Marvel put out in the same time frame. May 9, 2008

It's pretty good, but I hope and expect the live-action film will be MUCH better.

Billionaire playboy Tony Stark is critically injured and taken prisoner by a Chinese cult determined to reverse his unearthing of an ancient city prophesied to bring about the return of the dreaded Mandarin. With the help of his best friend, Rhodey, his damaged heart is made functional again, so to speak, and he creates a suit of armor that is a technological wonder. Later, pursued by the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for selling weapons to the Chinese radicals, he secretly becomes the superhero Iron Man in order to stop the rise of Mandarin by destroying his four elemental demons before they can retrieve the five rings that will make him whole again. But Tony is also fighting to help a confused young woman named Li Mei who is caught up in the struggle.

From Marvel Comics and Lionsgate, "The Invincible Iron Man" is another direct-to-DVD film in Marvel's new line of animated features, this one conveniently preceding a new live-action film starring Robert Downey, Jr. which comes out tomorrow (as I write this review). Both Marvel and DC have gotten into the direct-to-video animated features arena, and for many fans of their classic characters this is a great thing. Of course, modernizing these beloved characters and stories and recreating them a bit for a new, wider audience doesn't sit too well with some of the diehard comic fans (who should really watch Mark Hamill's "Comic Book: The Movie" if they haven't already) that are set in their ways about how they feel these characters must be portrayed. To a certain degree, this is understandable, but then you have the folks who gripe about every little change and update. Anyway, another problem had, particularly with animated features here in the States, is this desire to cater to a more adult audience, but at the same time, the notion that animated features must be targeted to kids too (Fact is, here in the States there are still a lot of dummies who think that if it's animated or comic book related, it should be totally aimed at kids and adults should have no interest in it). There is a difficulty in figuring out how to make something that is in that middle area for action and violence oriented subject matter, largely because kid material nowadays is expected to be so unthreatening and cheeseball. And this film, like so many other American animated features meant to be edgy the way so much Anime is, suffers from that problem a bit. Though the plot has some adult angles to it (which sometimes feel rather forced), the whole "get the rings before the bad guys do" has a sort of kiddie Anime feel to it (even though I admit they do that sort of thing on Smallville all the time), and the lack of explanation of Tony Stark's anti-gun attitude gives the impression that he just feels that way because he's a "good guy", and good guys have to be anti-gun. It's also a bit convenient that Tony has been developing his Iron Man project for years before the real "origin" in this film. Elements like this do make one feel they are watching a film aimed at kids. But then you have implied sex and a hostage being shot in the head in the same film, so it's all rather unbalanced. It seems the filmmakers wanted this movie to be for young adults, so I just wish they'd worked on the story and writing a bit more to be more consistent with that idea. I also was bothered that a lot of this film's take on Stark gives me various Batman flashbacks, including boardroom scenes that feel they are right out of "Batman Begins" (my favorite superhero movie, by the way). Still, overall, this is a decent superhero film. I don't think folks who are new to the story of Iron Man will have much to complain about except that maybe it drags a bit. In other words, there could/should be a lot more Iron Man action. It's a bit slow to get going and the characters could be a bit less wooden. To me, DC still holds the crown when it comes to animation, and they have since the fantastic Batman the Animated Series of the '90's. As for the animation of "The Invincible Iron Man," it has good moments and bad moments, but the integration of CGI is excellent and used on just the right things (I've long wanted to see some Star Wars animated films with a 2D/CGI mix along these lines, and we sorta got that with the Clone Wars, though I was more interested in post-Jedi stuff, but now they are going to go entirely with goofy looking CGI). I thought the music here was pretty good most of the time, as was the voice acting, but the characters could have been more likable and the plot a bit more involving and less condescending. It was pretty good nevertheless, but I have a feeling the bigscreen, live-action film is going to be much better. This is one worth owning if you are an animation, superhero, or Iron Man fanatic, but it's not likely to blow you away, and clearly many comic fans had a problem with the villain, Mandarin, only appearing for the final battle and only in a spirit form inhabiting one of the characters.

The DVD is decent in the extras department, by the way. It gives us the Origin of Iron Man featurette (which is a making-of program), a great informational gallery of Iron Man's various suits of armor, a concept art show, and a pretty cool alternate opening sequence. There is also quite a lengthy look at the opening of the new "Doctor Strange" animated feature. If you like this one, you'll surely want to pick up Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2, plus that new Doctor Strange flick, which I haven't seen but looks to have even better visuals than the previous titles. I also highly recommend Superman: Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier, not to mention the upcoming Batman: Gotham Knight (though be forewarned, that one is real Anime).


May 1, 2008

Impeccable timing

My brother summed it up best when he said, "it's a "streamline" origin story."

And he was right.

Coupled with the fact that the release of this animated film (1-23-07) can only help the upcoming feature-length film Iron Man (set to be released on May 30, 2008), This animated Invincible Iron Man DVD release is sure to get new fans interested and educated as to the origins of Tony Stark and his Iron Man alter ego.

However, longtime "shell head" fans may not be open to this interpretation of their tin hero and would most likely be abhorrently disappointed with the incorporation of James "Rhodey" Rhodes (voiced superbly by Rodney Saulsberry) into Tony Stark's figurative transformation into Iron Man (voiced by Marc Worden who is no stranger to the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man with 2006's Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers II under his belt.), The Mandarin's power rings (or lack of), and the disgusting convenience and progression of the Mark01 armor as well as Tony's other proverbial "toys for the big boys."

Overall, it was entertaining--despite the potential gaff in interpreting the Chinese "demon elementals" as Western elements (air, earth, fire, and water instead of earth, fire, metal, water, and wood), I have nothing but praise for the voice actors as I believe Gwendoline Yeo (voiced Li Mei), Fred Tatasciore (The Mandarin), John McCook (Howard Stark), Elisa Gabrielli (Virginia 'Pepper' Pots) and the aforementioned Saulsberry and Worde played their roles to the hilt. April 26, 2008

Scrap Metal!

Who wrote this piece of trash?! They've got a ton of source material to work with but all they could come up with was THIS...???!!! I'm speechless! January 1, 2008

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