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219 of 230 people found the following review helpful.
The 2-Disc Ultimate Edition Delivers!
By Cubist
The original disc features 11 deleted and extended scenes. There’s more of the opening ambush with Tony Stark being more proactive. We also see more footage of Rhodes and it quickly becomes apparent that he was the reputation with the most scenes cut from the film. We also see Tony and Pepper Potts attend another party.
The second disc starts off with the impressive “I Am Iron Man,” a 108 minute making of documentary that may be viewed in seven segments or altogether, taking us through respective distinct elements of the production. For example, we are taken step-by-step through the construction of the Iron Man armor with Robert Downey Jr. cracking jokes while being fitted for it. It’s amazing how much of the suit is practical and looks genuinely good in person. This is due in big share to the talent of the late-great Stan Winston and his company. Also included is a great deal of soundstage footage of scenes being filmed.
“The Invincible Iron Man” is a six-part documentary on the comic book, tracing the history of the character. Stan Lee says that he modeled Stark after Howard Hughes, for the most part. He likewise mentions that he was never entirely satisfied with the look of the armor – accordingly it is a good deal of changes over the years. This doc also covers respective key characters and storylines in splendid detail with various people who worked on the title over the years talking with regards to their contribution to the mythos. This is a very well done overview of the comic book.
“Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man” examines the CGI work that went into realizing Iron Man’s powers, like flying, his repulsors, and so on. Director Jon Favreau says that he likes to use practical effects whenever possible, which is wondrously freshening to hear, and in this film he mixed the practical with CGI.
“Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test.” Incredibly, the actor had to do a screen test because the studio deemed him a hazardous proposition and this footage shows that he had a handle on the reputation very early on.
“The Actor’s Process” features arousing and attention holding footage of Jeff Bridges and Downey rehearsing a scene with Favreau. It’s great to see these guys at work and offers clear or deep perception into how they put together a scene from the film from an acting point-of-view.
“The Onion’s Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full-Length Film” is a funny satire where a newscaster “breaks” a story of how the Iron Man trailer will be made into a film that pokes fun at the rabid nature of the hardcore fanbase of the character.
Finally, there are “Galleries,” featuring conception art, technology stills, behind-the-scenes photographs, and poster art.
37 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Handles like a Dream
By Douglas Len
This is a outstanding superhero film that the whole family may enjoy.
If you are marveling what the special features on the 2-disc DVD are, here they are:
The IRON MAN Ultimate Edition two-DVD set is staged in widescreen intensified for 16:9 televisions with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround with English, French and Spanish subtitles. Total runtime is 125 minutes. Bonus features include:
Disc 1:
Feature film
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Disc 2:
I Am Iron Man
– The Journey Begins
– The Suit that makes the Iron Man
– The Walk of Destruction
– Grounded In Reality
– Beneath the Armor
– It’s All in the Details
– A Good Story, Well Told
The Invincible Iron Man
– Origins
– Friends & Foes
– The Definitive Iron Man
– Demon in a Bottle
– Extremis and Beyond
– Ultimate Iron Man
Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test
The Actor’s Process (scene rehearsal with cast)
The Onion “Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film”
Image Galleries
70 of 80 persons found the following review helpful.
Iron man fires on all thrusters; and does NOT disappoint
By Justin Heath
There was a huge question mark looming over the theatrical adaptation of Marvel’s Iron Man property. It was in the guise of conductor Jon Favreau. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the Favs, but when I heard he was helming a big budget comic book flick…let’s just say I was a little worried. Once his cast was set and the fanboys started humming throughout the internet I started to ease into the decision with high anticipation. Thankfully, after in the end seeing the finished product, I was not disappointed in the least. With a outstanding mix of the professionalism and stakes seen in both Spider-Man and X-Men and the comic wit and sheer fun of Fantastic Four, Iron Man shows how a comic may be brought to the screen with great success without all the added drama and weight. We ultimately have a film with the essence of what makes these picture books so popular, the action and mythology along with a sense of adventure and humor. Favreau never bogs us down with overwrought emotions nor speaks down to us with gags and poorly written jokes. Instead he delivers on his promises and gives us a solid initiation into what could be a great trilogy or more.
Favreau seems to have had an idea to get an origin story out while not boring us with long drawn out back story. His capacity to give us dual data at once is nicely orchestrated, showing Tony Stark in his basement creating while the TV in the background explains what is happening in the outside world of the Middle East and inside his own company. We as an audience are permitted to put the pieces together among the witty banter of Stark and the terrifi special effects. By the end of the film it is rather astounding how much data you will realize you now know, all culminating in a decent final battle, but more significantly a segue into the inevitable sequel. We are permitted entrance into the reputation evolution of Stark as he goes from war profiteer to man of action and cause, all while seeing the engineering improve and advance before our eyes. Much like Batman, we have a hero here that needs support in fighting crime. He has no superhuman abilities besides his brain and being competent to see his thoughts go from paper to reality is a feat of magic. Every stage is shown, each failure and success. It’s rather the ride in and of itself, but when you add onto it the threat of global war and destruction, it may only get better.
The real success here is in the bold move of casting an actor over-40 to be a superhero. This takes guts, because no matter how suitable it is, most studios would have said, “no, change the story and make him younger so we may churn out as a heap of of these babies as we can.” I don’t recognise how he did it, but Favreau got Marvel to get Robert Downey Jr. to play Stark, a sarcastic Lothario with the brain capacity of Einstein. I genuinely can’t think of anybody better suitable to the role and he proves it by nailing each single scene. I’m sure there was some ad-libbing, but even if not, his comic deliverance and capacity to switch on a dime to a sincere seriousness at will shows his masterful craft.
As for the rest of the cast, they all do well. Jeff Bridges plays the bombastic creature of villainy over-the-top, but appropriately so; Terrence Howard is nice as the friend and military liaison, not given much to do, but unquestionably sowing seeds for the future; and Gwyneth Paltrow is good as the sweet assistant Pepper Potts who at times seems a little underwritten and more female prop than anything else, but comes through with numerous nice moments in a very comic sort of way. I also genuinely liked Shaun Toub as Yinsen, Stark’s savior, and Clark Gregg as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Good to see Favreau giving another actor turned conductor props, (Gregg’s directorial debut comes out later this year in the form of Chuck Palahniuk’s Choke). I just wish he would have shied away from putting himself in the film. It’s one thing to be seen split-second, (like Stan Lee), but it is another to give yourself a thankless role with multiple scenes, just adding fuel to the fire on people’s views of egotism stemming from the drinking game formulated off of the TV show “Dinner for Five” and how a great deal of references to Swingers was made each episode. I’ll forgive, though, because, once again, I’m a huge fan.
One can’t forget that this is an action film above all else, so we can’t just praise the actors; each effect is also rather brilliant. Those scenes of Iron Man flying amid fighter jets in the trailer seemed genuinely lame, but when in context they deliver. The suit itself is aweinspiring as well, through each mach stage right to the end. My main highlight, however, was with the computer schemes that Stark utilizes. The multiple screens, instant holographic reproductions, and capacity to genuinely interact with those 3D representations is stunning. We may invent them in fantasy, but it’s just too bad we can’t yet in real life.
Now Iron Man is not a perfective film, nor even a perfective comic book adaptation. What it is, though, is a fun, comic actioner that ought to light up the box office. The final showdown is a bit of a whimper in comparison to the back story and machine creation; a primary factor is saved from destruction in the one contrived bit of screen writing, (not rather used in the way I thought, even though still for the same means); and galore moments seem a tad campy rather than witty, but other than as supposed or expected this is a good deal of topnotch cinema that must unquestionably be seen on the big screen. I can’t wait to see how the story progresses in a couple years.
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