2008 Woodie Awards
Iron Man slams the competition to a grinding halt
Movie Review
Johnny Ngo
Issue date: 5/22/08 Section: Entertainment
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The movie starts off in Afghanistan where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has finished showing a demonstration to the Army about his latest arms weapon, the Jericho missile. He makes conversation with some soldiers in their humvee making their way back to the base and next thing you know, their vehicle and backup have been ambushed.
A series of flashbacks follows, showing us a glimpse of who and what Stark does for a living. He's a womanizer, he loves booze and he's one of the smartest people you'll ever see. We are then introduced to some of the closest people surrounding his life. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is the secretary that does everything he asks. His best friend Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) works for the military that purchases Stark's weapons. Last is Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), the second-in-command at Stark Industries, who also worked for Stark's dad when he owned the company.
The story comes back with Stark in a cave held captive. Barring injuries, he now must wear an electromagnet on his chest because of shrapnel stuck in his body. Without the electromagnet, the shrapnel will seek out his heart and kill him.
The terrorist leader Raza (Faran Tahir) demands Stark to build him a Jericho missile or he will be killed. With the help of another captive, Yinsen (Shaun Toub) and Stark use the material given to them and builds a bulletproof suit filled with fire torches, missiles and a launching mechanism. Iron Man is born.
Favreau has added some different elements to update the comic book version, particularly how Iron Man's origins are rooted to Afghanistan, and not Vietnam, as in the comics. He follows the same path as Christopher Nolan did in "Batman Begins." He doesn't assume that you know who Iron Man is and builds the superhero from scratch. Favreau creates the mystique and doesn't rely on the audience to know of it.
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Losing Weight
posted 6/28/08 @ 8:42 PM PST
I liked the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer movie but I was already a big fan of them so I loved seeing them in a movie. But I agree with this article. (Continued…)
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