"The Invincible Iron Man" Feature Talkback (Spoilers)

Rate and Comment on "The Invincible Iron Man"


  • Total voters
    59

Tempest

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
754
Location
Atlantis
I much preferred both ULTIMATE AVENGERS 1 and 2 if we're to compare. I liked INVINCIBLE IRON MAN I guess but it's no IRON MAN TAS season 2 to say the least. The second season of the mid 90's IRON MAN animated series collectively has this DVD/movie over a Stark Enterprises barrell and the in my book the film couldn't possibly live up to it.

Another poster above hit on one big drawback for me. The DVD bills The Mandarin as the featured movie super villian on the cover. The producers butter this roll as well in the interviews we've seen and it couldn't be further from the truth. And what do we get what.... 5 minutes of Mandarin screen time in the entire film, inexcusable???

The action scenes were sparse and the gold and red classic armor wasn't utilized nearly enough so I gave the movie a 2 1/2 star rating. Too too many annoyances for me to go any higher.
 

Mr. Manager

Active Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2005
Messages
4,424
Location
Cottage Cheese Cottage
The CGI looked really ugly. I wish they made the CGI less like Justice League Unlimited or Duck Dodgers, and more like 'toons where the CGI blends in a lot better, like Futurama and Star Wars: Clone Wars.

That being said, the movie was okay. The designs were well-done, and the story was good. However, the ending could have been better.

Overall, the movie was just okay, and I didn't enjoy it as much as the Ultimate Avengers films.
 

Jack Frenzy

Monkey-King-in-Training
Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
1,248
Wait, so this group of rebels managed to kidnap Tony Stark, and he was able to build an iron suit WHILE he was imprisoned? These guys have to be the most incompetent kidnappers ever.

Trust me, this is an improvement over the original story, where they were actual Vietcong soldiers. (Iron Man's early years were basically one long allegory of American industrial might versus the Communists.)

Although I thought the "business world" side of things was handled well, having Iron Man fight mystic opponents has always been an odd fit. The Mandarin -- what little we saw of him -- would have worked better as some sort of Asian Lex Luthorish businessman/arms dealer/crime lord.

And why were the elementals earth, air, fire and water? Aren't the Asian elements earth, fire, water, metal and wood?
 

FightingDreamer

Mutant on the Rise
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
3,092
Location
Tennessee
Although I thought the "business world" side of things was handled well, having Iron Man fight mystic opponents has always been an odd fit. The Mandarin -- what little we saw of him -- would have worked better as some sort of Asian Lex Luthorish businessman/arms dealer/crime lord.

And why were the elementals earth, air, fire and water? Aren't the Asian elements earth, fire, water, metal and wood?

1. You hit the nail on the head. I definitely thought the "mystic" side of the movie could have used more work. Example: Why would Li Mei, since she hated her "vessel" status, go through with summoning the Mandarin in the first place? Wasn't that the whole point of her character, that she didn't like it? I liked the movie a lot, but the script could've used more tightening in this area.
2. As Michael Caine likes to say, "A lot of people don't know that."
 

Kagetsu

Hooligan
Joined
May 9, 2004
Messages
6,947
Location
Ausländer
While I thought the base theme of resurrecting evil was very reminiscent of HellBoy and the sword, the story was put together well, minus a few holes and the animation was very good. Not something I'm likely to watch over again.
 

Tempest

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
754
Location
Atlantis
Not something I'm likely to watch over again.

Yeah, that's the thing usually with almost all the super hero animation projects I can't wait to watch the DVD or the episode over again (if not several times). With like Justice League Unlimited or the Ultimate Avengers DVDs, X-Men (90's series), X-Men Evolution last two seasons (and select few from the others), or even this current season of The Batman, I can watch them over and over again. The true barometer in my book of the enjoyment factor of a project is how much repeatability the thing has. And unfortunately with INVINCIBLE IRON MAN once was more than enough (And I actually bought the DVD) and I have no desire for a FULL second viewing (very rare for me). For lack of a better word I was sort of bored by it.

I'll say it again I think what really watered down alot of this film was just how fricken tight and rockin the second season of the mid 90's IRON MAN series was (gleefully seen the entire season dozens of times) and how well it still holds up verse IIM. I couldn't get it out of my mind when I watched IIM. The film couldn't compare and had no chance. It would seem Greg Johnson was his own worst enemy (own personal Mandarin) here because he spearheaded BOTH Iron Man projects. When you do an update of your own work you'd think you'd want to UP the ante not LOWER the stakes crutching on fancy CGI.

P.S. Another sidenote, take a look at the number of talkbacks ULTIMATE AVENGERS had vs INVINCIBLE IRON MAN it has to be 8 to 1 in favor of UA. DR. STRANGE will get even less responses I guarantee it (hell he could probably predict that himself). I just don't see myself buying DR. STRANGE. I think it's a terrible choice of a feature this early out of the Lionsgate, too slow and arcane for the general comic book animation public. If I was sort of bored by INVINCIBLE IRON MAN I think DR. STRANGE would give me a libotomy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

KuwabaraTheMan

Active Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2004
Messages
23,800
Location
In your hearts
Hm, odd. I had the exact opposite opinion. I felt like once wasn't enough, and I look forward to purchasing the DVD and viewing it for a second time.

I think this was one of the best animated Marvel properties I've seen.
 

Duke

Truer Words Were Never Spoken
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
51,014
Location
Baltimore, MD
Unlike some other people, my opinion has nothing to do with the mid-90's Iron Man series, as I only watched about 2 episodes of that and I don't even remember them.

But the movie was merely average for me. I wish they didn't focus so much on the Elementals since, as Chris Wood said, they were freaking boring. The only interesting one was the Earth Elemental, but that was mainly because he had Super Saiyan hair.

Lee Mei was OK in the beginning, but as the movie kept going, she got more annoying, until her character finally collapsed in the finale. The finale wasn't helped by the writers having Mei naked, either, since that created some very awkward shots of the Mandarin's clock covering her body. It would've been better if Mandarin had used his magic to put a copy of his clothes onto her (since she's his vessel and all). 'Course, if this was anime, they would've ditched the cloak and just given Lee Mei Barbie-doll anatomy.

As for the animation, I felt it was rather weak. The 2D animation was OK, but several of the compositing shots (especially when we see characters walk) seemed very non-organic and stiff. And maybe Production I.G. has spoiled me thanks to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and IGPX's utterly fantastic animation, but the CGI here just couldn't hold up. It felt like a Mainframe production.

Overall, the film was OK, but I prefer Ultimate Avengers I.
 

Kyuss

Active Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
4,988
Location
Beyond the Pale
Duke,

While I do site a number of your complaints (I do agree also while the CGI animation was above par, compared to such studio works as IGPX and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex it was not as good.), I am against your assessment of Mei Lei in terms of her character being "annoying" in the beginning. I honestly thought she was decent up until that revelation of her father's wish and her linkage to the Mandarin. I too felt there could have been more interaction on the Elementals part, perhaps giving them some basic emotions. Then again they were just servants, not necessarily the main character. That to me was where the movie ultimately failed. The main villain was highlighted but beyond that we gained nothing of interest about him.

Mostly I think this has some potential (and I too had no previous experience with any Iron man animation save a few comics back after the entire Onslaught saga and the following Heroes Reborn saga.), but felt the animators wasted it in places. Certainly I felt that Tony Stark didn't play up entirely to my expectations, along with James Rhodes as well. If Marvel expects to capitalize on such interesting characters, better scripts are certainly needed. That's probably why the Ultimates worked so well. They used existing material and scripts instead of hacking apart what they wanted and taking elements to place in this movie. This, to me, wasn't an Iron man movie so much as it had Iron man, one of his key villain (but not heavily highlighted) and then CGI effects. This was one movie I was, while not upset with, disappointed by the potential that didn't live up to its standards.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Tempest

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
754
Location
Atlantis
While I do site a number of your complaints (I do agree also while the CGI animation was above par, compared to such studio works as IGPX and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex it was not as good.), I am against your assessment of Mei Lei in terms of her character being "annoying" in the beginning. I honestly thought she was decent up until that revelation of her father's wish and her linkage to the Mandarin. I too felt there could have been more interaction on the Elementals part, perhaps giving them some basic emotions. Then again they were just servants, not necessarily the main character. That to me was where the movie ultimately failed. The main villain was highlighted but beyond that we gained nothing of interest about him.

Mostly I think this has some potential (and I too had no previous experience with any Iron man animation save a few comics back after the entire Onslaught saga and the following Heroes Reborn saga.), but felt the animators wasted it in places. Certainly I felt that Tony Stark didn't play up entirely to my expectations, along with James Rhodes as well. If Marvel expects to capitalize on such interesting characters, better scripts are certainly needed. That's probably why the Ultimates worked so well. They used existing material and scripts instead of hacking apart what they wanted and taking elements to place in this movie. This, to me, wasn't an Iron man movie so much as it had Iron man, one of his key villain (but not heavily highlighted) and then CGI effects. This was one movie I was, while not upset with, disappointed by the potential that didn't live up to its standards.

Good post! I agree with much of it and I DID see IRON MAN 1995/96 second season, boy did I.

Again to FEATURE and promote The Mandarin as the main villian and only have him on screen for a couple minutes is effin ponderous????

Unlike some other people, my opinion has nothing to do with the mid-90's Iron Man series, as I only watched about 2 episodes of that and I don't even remember them.

But the movie was merely average for me. I wish they didn't focus so much on the Elementals since, as Chris Wood said, they were freaking boring. The only interesting one was the Earth Elemental, but that was mainly because he had Super Saiyan hair.

Lee Mei was OK in the beginning, but as the movie kept going, she got more annoying, until her character finally collapsed in the finale. The finale wasn't helped by the writers having Mei naked, either, since that created some very awkward shots of the Mandarin's clock covering her body. It would've been better if Mandarin had used his magic to put a copy of his clothes onto her (since she's his vessel and all). 'Course, if this was anime, they would've ditched the cloak and just given Lee Mei Barbie-doll anatomy.

As for the animation, I felt it was rather weak. The 2D animation was OK, but several of the compositing shots (especially when we see characters walk) seemed very non-organic and stiff. And maybe Production I.G. has spoiled me thanks to Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and IGPX's utterly fantastic animation, but the CGI here just couldn't hold up. It felt like a Mainframe production.

Overall, the film was OK, but I prefer Ultimate Avengers I.

Good synopsis, not too far off from my feelings throughout my IRON MAN season 2 obsession aside.
 

Kyuss

Active Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
4,988
Location
Beyond the Pale
Tempest,

Glad you found my arguments compelling. I do try to be logical about this sort of thing, even composed of large worms as I am...
 

Tempest

Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
754
Location
Atlantis
Tempest,

Glad you found my arguments compelling. I do try to be logical about this sort of thing, even composed of large worms as I am...

Yeah you nailed it as the sort of Iron Man animation novice perspective. It was you and the REAL novices the producers were supposedly aiming towards with their erratic (yet boring) reimagination of the IRON MAN mythos just didn't move me or remotely up the level of play from 1996 IRON MAN.
 

Kyuss

Active Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
4,988
Location
Beyond the Pale
Novice is one thing. Having a better idea/understanding that can be conveyed to the viewer/reader is another. This is especially true when you understand that the fundamental aspects of story telling are the following: plots, characters, conflict, time management, and especially in this case resolutions.

Some of this was done well. Had they considered it and done it better, this would have been a more enjoyable movie.

In comparison to say Hellboy "Sword of Storms" the characters were there, the plot wasn't negligible just need work, and the resolution, while not standard, was there as well. That's why I'm hopeful with a better plot, better time management, the next Hellboy animated movie will improve substantially over its predecessor.
 

Duke

Truer Words Were Never Spoken
Joined
Feb 4, 2002
Messages
51,014
Location
Baltimore, MD
I am against your assessment of Mei Lei in terms of her character being "annoying" in the beginning.
Actually, I said she was "OK" in the beginning, and didn't get annoying until later on (specifically after she left China mid-movie).
 

Bones Justice

Bring on the noise!
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Messages
4,698
Location
Lots of places
And unfortunately with INVINCIBLE IRON MAN once was more than enough (And I actually bought the DVD) and I have no desire for a FULL second viewing (very rare for me). For lack of a better word I was sort of bored by it.

I bought the DVD as well and have watched it twice so far. I probably will watch parts of it again but the beginning is extremely slow. As everyone else has mentioned, Mandarin needed to be in it for more than five minutes. Rhodey was kind of boring in it, too. I previously posted that Rhodey should have showed up in the end as War Machine.

I've never seen the Iron Man television series. I'd give it a try if they would ever release the DVD.
 

KuwabaraTheMan

Active Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2004
Messages
23,800
Location
In your hearts
I previously posted that Rhodey should have showed up in the end as War Machine.

Eh, that would have been kind of lame. This was "The Invincible Iron Man". Having him need help in his first outing would have been a let down, both to viewers and simply from a dramatic perspective.

I wouldn't be opposed to War Machine being in the next movie, if they make it, however.
 

Spotlight

Staff online

Who's on Discord?

Latest profile posts

How about Mike Pollock as the ideal voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman?
Remember back when people were saying that "Streaming is the (bright) future"?
"I can't wait to eat this baby" - Paramount, presumably looking for tax write-offs
Happy Baseball Opening Day

Featured Posts

Top