Taffy Likes...Iron Man

Being the comic book geek that I am, I checked out Marvel Studios first ever film release, Iron Man, last Thursday with my twin sister, Ms Scrappy and boy! We were surprised and relived that not only did the movie not suck, it was pretty awesome! Congratulations to Marvel for getting into to the movie production business to keep creative control over their properties and limiting the Hollywood studio tampering that devalues beloved characters and audiences.

I’m not going to rehash the plot (that’s a reviewer’s job, not mine) but I'm going to offer my observations as to what made Iron Man superior to so many of the recent super hero films:

Casting: Tony Stark couldn’t have been more perfectly cast with the choice of Robert Downey Jr., a terrific actor who more recently has been playing second fiddle in films like Good Night and Good Luck, Zodiac, Lucky You and unfortunately, The Shaggy Dog. Downey at times seems better known for his substance abuse problems than for his talents but it’s those problems that make him a natural choice for Iron Man as the Tony Stark character has dealt with the same problems in the comic. And it's in my own opinion that in this movie, I kinda think Downey’s kinda hot...

"Yo! Back That Ass UP!!!"

Keeping the Villains to a Minimum: This too many cooks approach was a huge problem with Spiderman 3. It couldn’t support the weight of Harry Osborne/The Goblin, Eddie Brock/Venom, and the Sandman without collapsing its heavy handedness. In Iron Man, Tony Stark only has to deal with Afghan terrorists and Obadiah Stone.

Picking His Fights Carefully: Audiences are thankfully spared from watching Iron Man rescue young ladies from muggers, foiling midnight bank break ins and cute kittens from trees. There are no would be convenience store robbers flying into freezers full of soft drinks with store clerks babbling their thanks to their super power savior. Nope, that’s Superman’s job. Iron Man has bigger global fish to fry with terrorists and corporate greed. Kicking ass, taking names! W Bush be damned!

Whether or not Marvel Studio can keep up their momentum with The Incredible Hulk remains to be seen but I’m hoping that they won’t jump the gun with their successes and green light movies for characters like Ant Man (Come on!) and take a look at other long lasting characters like Doctor Strange or even take a chance with female characters like Black Widow. With great power comes great responsibility, so let’s hope Marvel Studios chooses their next project wisely.