The first real blockbuster superhero movie for this summer opens this weekend: Iron Man. This could be the start of another franchise to equal Spider-Man, X-Men, Batman, and Superman franchises. In our store, the iron crusader seems to have lost a bit of steam in sales, most likely due to fallout from his role in Civil War last year. But, with this movie coming out, Marvel is betting on a resurgence in popularity for the red and gold suited hero, and a new ongoing Iron Man title plus a couple of limited series are being released.
Robert Downey, Jr plays the role of Tony Stark, billionaire weapons maker (I've heard that the character of Stark was loosely based on the one and only Howard Hughes). Stark is shot down in Afganistan by a group of terrorists called the "10 rings" (anybody wanna bet there'll be a link to a sequel with the Mandarin?), using his own weapon technology. Stark is imprisoned and tasked with creating missles for this terrorist group, but instead builds himself a suit of armor to break free of the prison. If you know Robert Downey, Jr's history, and the background of Tony Stark, this could be called inspired casting.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts for the female lead, and Jeff Bridges plays a baddie. Add in Terence Howard as James Rhodes (maybe a War Machine sequel?) for a pretty good cast.
This film is definitely on the must see list. Unfortunately, timing is an issue for us. It comes out the day before Free Comic Book Day! So much for seeing it opening night. However, I will rate this as a film for viewing on Opening Weekend. Probably Sunday, as my family and I try to recover from the activities around FCBD.
If you see it, let us know what you think.
BTW - Check out the Iron Man toys at Burger King. The 3-D Iron Man puzzle is really, really cool! We have one hanging in the store now.
