The Invincible Iron Man Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
A Lone Warrior. A Suit of Armor. Our Only Hope. IRON MAN.
When billionaire inventor Tony Stark uses break-through technology to physically raise a forgotten city, he awakens an unspeakable evil, giving life to the most vile of all emperors - the Mandarin. Only one man can stop this newly re-emerged force of evil. One who will don a powerful suit of armour forged from iron and advanced technology. To take on the mystical underworld forces of ancient China, he must become The Invincible Iron Man.
| Marc Worden | Tony Stark/Iron Man |
| Gwendoline Yeo | Li Mei |
| Fred Tatasciore | The Mandarin, Additional Voices |
| Rodney Saulsberry | James 'Rhodey' Rhodes |
| Elisa Gabrielli | Virginia 'Pepper' Pots |
| John McCook | Howard Stark |
| Michael Yama | Additional Voices |
| Stephen Mendillo | Boyer |
| James Sie | Wong Chu |
| Patrick Archibald |
5.90 out of 10 (940 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Rethinking Iron Man
posted on 07 Aug 2009If you appreciate the updates to the Superman mythology made by Smallville producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, you'll appreciate this updated version of Iron Man's origin. It was great to see shellhead's aquatic armor, the original robot-like grey suit, and the classic red and gold. The animators used more CGI here than in the Avengers animated movies, but it meshes well with the cell animation. The lava animation in the underground battle scene is excellent. The pacing is fairly good and the changes made to both Iron Man's and the Mandarin's origins were clearly wise decisions. Changes are good as long as they make sense. The changes made here certainly do, especially in today's day and age where viewers tend to be more sophisticated. If the storytelling for the 2008 Iron Man motion picture is half as good as this animated movie, it should be one of the best super hero movies ever made! If you're looking for an intelligent update of a classic super hero along with strong storytelling and well above-average voiceover work, look no further than the Invincible Iron Man! This is definitely geared for an older audience though. I can't see children warming up to so much dialogue. I can't wait to see Doctor Strange! PLEASE MAKE MORE IRON MAN ANIMATED MOVIES LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (A stand alone Captain America animated movie would be a good idea too)
Above average comic book transplant
posted on 14 Jul 2009Wastrel billionaire playboy Tony Stark flies to China when his top employee and best friend is kidnapped by a group of modern day ninjas. The ninjas are trying to stop a Stark Enterprise-funded raising of an ancient Chinese city and, potentially, the re-animation of a fabled evil-doer named the Mandarin.
People are taking their comic book heroes very serious nowadays, and this shot-for-video includes a helpful "The Origins of Iron Man" featurette that more or less clears up the things I'd forgotten about ol' Shellhead. Just in time, too, since a big screen, live-action movie is planned for release in the summer of 2008 - a little over a year from when this review was written. Anyway, in the original origin story Tony Stark was injured while in Vietnam, shrapnel in or near his heart or something like that, and he needed an iron lung-type medical device to stay alive. In INVINCIBLE IRON MAN they drop Vietnam, keep Asia, the chest wound and the custom-cut iron suit. The other big change in the story, according to the featurette (and some less-than-happy blog postings I've read recently) is the Armor Room, hidden deep in Stark Enterprise's headquarter, which holds the Underwater suit, the Outer Space suit, etc. Apparently the suits changed slowly over time, and the Armor Room represents a type of heresy - Tony Stark did NOT create all those suits at once before he was even Iron Man! Which may be true, but the multitude of suits allow Iron Man more costume changes than a Follies chorus girl during a Saturday matinee, and if they aren't true to the comic book history they probably make the action figure manufacturers happy enough.
Fidelity to the source, in this case, doesn't matter that much to me. When they raise that Chinese city, with inflatable steel, no less, four Elementals are awakened. They, in turn, must locate five rings to awaken the big boss Mandarin. All that stands between them and that unimaginable horror is Iron Man. What does matter to me in an animated action comic book is plot and action. The plot, they have to find five rings in five distinct quests, would fit well in a video game (really, this feature is a marketer's dream) and otherwise does adequate, if not spectacular, service as a plot. The action - Iron Man battling the Elementals at each stage before squaring off against the big boss - were pretty well done. I didn't know they were mixing CGI with 2-D animation, but they do so here with middling results. The Elementals, representing Earth, Ice, etc. are your typical air-borne meanies with the special ability to control different elements. Some of the footage of the Elementals was computer generated, and it shows. I'm not the target audience for a movie like this, but as someone who remembers Iron Man from his 1960's and 1970's comic book incarnation, I am someone the film makers hoped to appeal to. If you fall in that category INVINCIBLE IRON MAN might not thrill you, but it won't disappoint you, either.
OK to watch when bored, but a let down nonetheless
posted on 08 Jul 2009With all of Marvel's superhero, the Ironman has always been very special because it's different, i.e., instead of super power, its power lies in technologies. That's why I was eager to give this a go.
After watching it, I felt it was a let down.
This movie has the feel of everyday, run of the mill, cartoon network type program, I mean why couldn't they use better animators, and have better designers for characters. The whole movie feels like it can't wait to finish, too much of a big rush to end it all.
For one the Jade's Dragon army looks like ancient Japanese then Chinese, one reason is the masks they are wearing.
And the Elementals as well, for example, the Earth Elemental is from Japanese mythology and not Chinese. Watching the interviews of the people that worked on this movie, I wonder how much passion they "really" put in making this movie.
All in all, very disappointing, nowadays, its all about using cheap tricks to make money, there is no passion in it at all. What a shame!
Worst Ever--Story and Animantion
posted on 10 Jun 2009The movie is horrible, does no justice to the character. The best animation you get is on the front cover and that's the only place you will see the Mandarin, he never shows in the movie. The story is awful and makes no sense; it's so bad that I barely made it to the end. No sure what Marvel was thinking when they real3eased it. Stay away from it at all costs.
disappointed
posted on 06 Jun 2009After watching the two Avengers animated movies this one fell flat. The Tony Stark in this movie did not have much personality, and the story was slow. I wish I could give it a better rating, because I love the fact that Marvel and Lions Gate are putting out these animated films, but I recommend saving your money.
Not even convincing... :(
posted on 03 Jun 2009I am obviously disappointed so I'll be brief and won't waste your time. First off, the plot was uninspired... at least. The animation was even worse, we're in 2008 for god's sake and it looked like a shinier version of G.I.Joe. I won't even bother characterizing the actors' performance and the dialogs. Or maybe I will 'cause I just saw that in order to post a comment over here you need 10 lines (?!??!?!). Where were we? Oh yeah the performance, well it was totally flat, lacking passion and talent if I am excused. Now as for the dialogs, just like the acting, no memorable quotes, nothing that someone wouldn't expect. Let's just hope the movie will be decent ...at least.
Impeccable timing
posted on 29 May 2009My 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.
Hey, I liked it...
posted on 27 May 2009I read many really bad reviews about this one, so I was prepared for the worst. I thought it was pretty darn good though. Yes, I prefer DC's animation over Marvel's, but this is quality animation. It is clearly its own style. I look forward to the next installment.
It's good stuff for the most part.
posted on 25 May 2009A little too radical of a reinvention of the IRON MAN mythology for my tastes, but other than that, I thought it worked well. The animation is also not the best for a project of this caliber. But all in all, I had a good time watching it even if at times, it can drag. If you're looking for a better Marvel animated film, check out either of the ULTIMATE AVENGERS films, especially the second one. IRON MAN is about a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
Thought it was great.
posted on 21 May 2009I thought this was a great movie. I actually thought that this was the better of all the recent animated features from marvel that I know own. The art was great and so was the storyline. I think the negative reviews that I have read from this movie are just that some people are never satisfied. Yes they did change some things about his origin but so what. It shows that Tony/Iron Man is just a very intelligent man in a suit. He is a knight for all this movies shows. I think marvel has a great thing goin with these animated series. I myself have found some of the movies a bit disappointing and with these features you get a better chance at nailing the animated series. Hey marvel I hope you guys work on some Xmen ones soon. You guys need to make up for Xmen 3. lol.
abysmal.
posted on 17 May 2009alot of valid points here already, but, in a nutshell....it's abysmal.
it works, neither as a childs, nor adults, movie.
if you were in any doubt up to this point, rest assured, use your time & money elsewhere.
im a reasonably well read comic book / graphic novel fan & have enjoyed SOME movies in the genre...this being somewhere right down near the bottom.
i lasted 41 minutes. enough said.
Quite entertaining.
posted on 09 May 2009Overall I have to say that this movie was very well done. It is certainly better than the two Ultimate Avengers cartoon movies. The animation was great, I do like how they used 3-D graphics for the armors. The redesign of the grey armor made it look threatening, definitely much cooler than the original grey armor.
I have a few critiques. I'm not sure I liked all the changes to Mandarin's storyline, and the very final battle with Mandarin was a little bit disappointing. All the fights leading up to it were great though. The movie had a good mix between action and plot, which I always appreciate. It's annoying to watch super hero movies that don't have enough action. Definitely a worthy buy for any Iron Man fan, and even people who aren't fans.
It was a decent effort.
posted on 08 May 2009Iron Man, let's face it, was awesome. His classic suit from the 70's is beautiful, and he's one of the most well-known superheroes ever. Kids will know him, and he hasn't even had a movie yet. So yeah, people like Iron Man, I like Iron Man, and so on. The thing is, Iron Man's animated movie, is not that great. The movie is action-packed, but it still feels as if there isn't much action at all. Iron Man looked very accurate, and there were many parts of accuracy with the comic book. The animation was not in CGI, to many peoples' dismay. I actually liked the animation. It was just like that of a normal cartoon. But the thing is, there were too many boring parts. It's a superhero CARTOON! They may be trying to make it a serious "Animated Film", but deep down inside, this is a cartoon. I mean, what made you like the 90's Spider-Man show? It was cheesy and fun to watch. The Invincible Iron Man tries too hard to be a REAL film. Ultimate Avengers is better, and it will leave you satisfied. Iron Man? Borrow it, or rent it.
Eventually, Iron Man...
posted on 09 Apr 2009*Sigh*
Origin stories are all well and good, but the title character doesn't even appear in the film until it's half over. The focus here is on the flawed Tony Stark, rather than his heroic alter ego. With a changed origin, this could have been an interesting film, but it was just so incredibly tedious. Yes, Tony Stark is a jet-setting playboy and yes, two of the three females presented in the film are naked (hidden by steam or fog), and yes, the Stark board of directors is filled with evil, money-grubbing lawyers. We get it. Move on.
The animation when *not* in the battle sequences is quite good. Unfortunately, the 4 evil elementals, the dragon, and Iron Man himself were rendered using an incredibly unrealistic CGI. The characters themselves look stiff and wooden - like they were rendered on a home system and not a professional unit. The characters actually bounce through the scenes, rarely having any meaningful relationship to their environment or actual gravity. They moved like a collection of characters from an old video game, rather than state of the art animation.
*Sigh*
At least, when Iron Man did *finally* make an appearance, we were treated to several versions of the armor. It was interesting to note just which version of the armor was the most powerful and durable.
So - if you love Iron Man more than life itself, or you are a completist who needs every bit of Marvel animation ever created, by all means buy this DVD. Otherwise, rent it. Or better yet, find someone else who already bought it and pick it up from them - cheap.
Technology vs. Magic
posted on 03 Apr 2009The Invincible Iron Man is the first out of the three recent Marvel animated releases that I think is the most solid. It uses what I call the "Spiderman Movie formula" where the story takes its time before putting a costume on our hero. The same can be said here where we get to learn all about the characters before a fateful situation causes Tony Stark to build the first Iron Man armor. The CGI used on the Elementals and all the Iron Man armors is cool. It really adds to the fight scenes. What I really found interesting was the whole technology vs. magic theme. It was always weird to me that The Mandarin, a mostly magic using villain, was Iron Man's nemesis in the comics. But I think this was Marvel's chance to show this kind of a story. For the Iron Man live action movie due out in 2008, director Jon Favreau has stated that his take on The Mandarin will be more tech than magic. So this animated movie is a good way to show the tech vs. magic theme that will be absent from the live action movie. For a character that I don't follow much, it was a well done animated film.
Iron Man is Awesome
posted on 18 Mar 2009I don't agree with some of the other revewers on this one. this movie rocked I can't wait to see the live action Iron Man movie coming out next year. So far most of the marvel movies stuck true to the comic books, Except the Hulk i can't understand why Stan Lee let Ang Lee screw that movie up big time, Ho well Mabey The Incedeble Hulk will be Better. All in All Iron Man rules!
Cranky Old Comic Fan From The 70's
posted on 15 Aug 2009I'm going to take the con side of this debate. Having not really read many comics in the past 20 years or so I really haven't followed any of the Ultimates stuff. I have had it explained to me by a co-worker that's a big comic buff. It seems to make sense to update some heros' origins. After all Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan would be in their ninties these days. I understand that they are also keeping the original origins in place which is fine. Having said that, I don't know if this is an Ultimate storyline or not but I didn't care for it at all.
Taken as a stand alone movie, if viewed by someone with no idea of who Iron Man is, this is really run of the mill. Tony Stark wasn't a very cohesive character. As far as alter-egos go this one is kind of a hypocritical milksap. He makes a big deal out of not building weapons but has an entire room full of indestructible power armor. If the suits are for research why the need for powerful lasers and missles? The writer's seem to face the same dilemma most of Hollywood finds itself in these days. It's politically incorrect to endorse violence but you still have to give the audience a good action packed fight scene. As a result you get unrealistic portrayals of altruistic millionaire industrialists and pacifists with more weapons than Dirty Harry. I may be reading a little too much into a cartoon but the level of some of the violence here (one person gets executed with a gunshot to the back of the head) suggests this is for a mature audience. If this is the case the writers should have given the actions and motivations more depth.
The biggest problem is the time it takes to actually get to Iron Man. Once there the fight scenes are few and far between. The film suffers from the same problem a lot of live action superhero movies suffer from, too much screen time for the alter-ego. The action sequences are lacking visual impact. I think that is partly due to the mediocre quality of the animation. The CG doesn't mix too badly with the hand drawn but it's all just servicable at best.
In the end the movie seemed overly long and convulted with the end being a less than satisfying resolution. Even if I weren't aware of Iron Man before this I don't think I would recommend it as anything more than a rental.