Iron Man Movie the Live Movie adaptation will soon be hitting the movie houses (here in the Philippines) but before that there is "The Invincible Iron Man Animated Movie" which was released back at 2007 straight to DVD. I have rented and watched the first animated Iron Man Movie and here is what I have to say.
Some warning though. This is my own review of the movie and spoilers maybe up ahead so read at your own risk! Now back at your regular viewing.
The Story of Invincible Iron Man
(My own summarization of the story, you may pass this section if you don't want be spoiled.)
The movie starts somewhere in China where Tony Starks Company is doing an excavation for some Chinese officials to raise a long buried City. All was going well until a group called the Jade Dragons interfered that will stop at nothing and sacrifice anything just to stop the rising of the City. Why? Because with the rise of the city will also means the rise of the Mandarin, a powerful Chinese Emperor who tyrannically ruled China three thousand years ago.
Stark was forced to travel to China when all his men in the excavation died except his best friend Jim Rhodes who was held captive by the members of the extremist Jade Dragon. One of the Jade Dragon is compassionate and caring as she treat Rhodes well and argued with the higher ranking Jade Official. The woman goes by the name of Li Mei.
As Stark arrived, together with some military back-up they traveled to the city only to find themselves trapped by the Jade Dragons. Tony Stark almost fell in that attack. He was later seen in the same place where Jim and a Chinese Shaman was held captive by the Jade Dragons. With great stroke of luck and the power of technology, his life was extended by a machine connected directly to his heart. Upon his awakening, the Shaman told him and his friend about the Myth of Mandarin, the great Iron Warrior who defeated the Mandarin, and the reasons of why the Jade Dragons are willing to take lives just to stop his resurrection. With Li Mei being caring and compassionate amidst their current situation. Love slowly blossomed between Tony and Li.
The leader forced Stark to create a weapon that will stop the machine that has progressively raised the city. He promised them that in a short time he will create a weapon that will destroy the foundations of the machine but instead he made a iron suit which they use to escape from China. Li Mei chose to be left in China to continue the battle with the Mandarin.
Tony together with his friend returned back to America only to find out that he is held responsible for the illegally exporting weapons to the Jade Dragons which he is not aware of. He became a fugitive in his own company but then there are his friend that aided him to gain access of a hidden laboratory inside his office where the original design of the Iron suit he created in China lies.
He traveled back only to find out about the materialization of the Elementals who will aid in the finding of the five rings that will revive the Mandarin. He defeated each of these statue turned warriors one, two at a time, and finally crushing the last one. He retrieve all the rings that the prophecy foretold that would bring forth the Mandarin, and yet one is still missing. Li Mei took the rings into her custody, leaving stark back to his company problems.
His office was crowded with cops and he has no choice but to use his designed suit in his escape from China, but this time back to it to face the Mandarin himself. He thought of himself as the one responsible for everything so he planned to take back the rings from Li Mei only to find out that she has been possessed by the spirit of her ancestor "The Mandarin". The identity of Li Mei was finally unveiled. Her family line is the descendants of the Mandarin and knowing about the evil that his resurrection will cause, they made a pact that they will never let it happened and yet it was inevitable as Stark's Company meddled. If it failed then the only way to ensure the Mandarin's defeat is by the Mandarin taking a physical form through possession with one of his descendants who was Li Mei.
The Mandarin's resurrection is almost complete as he possessed Li Mei's body but Li Mei was struggling. Love eventually conquered the evil soul of the Mandarin but it will also mean that Li Mei's life will also be put to end.
Tony Stark returned with to America, cleared his case with the accusations against him and bought back all the shares from his company with two absolute decisions as the sole owner of the company. One is to promote his best friend Jim Rhodes as Chief Engineer for Advanced Technologies, and handling the ownership of the company back to his father who earlier in the movie was only a slave to the share holder's (board of directors) decision which made him abandon his son. Howard Stark fired all of the greedy directors and told his son that he foresaw the company as a father/son enterprise. It ended with the father and son's reconciliation and them shaking hands.
Chris A's Review...
I am a great fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, action genre type of fan and movie goer... and upon finishing the movie I can say it is a good movie but... but there are some issues. Issues concerning the graphics. Of course it is an animation but it feels like there are some missing elements. Maybe the 3D fight animation to the character interaction animation isn't that well blended. The design looks like a not so old animation like that of Spider Man Animated Television Series back in the 90's. It would be better if the fight scenes would be more longer and Iron Man having a small chance in defeating the Mandarin because in those last scenes all that Iron Man did was be thrown of the wall and his suit damaged (or maybe that was the whole idea?). This made me think... I guess they are right on not showing this animated film to movie houses because it just looks like a well-3d animated special for TV (considering what American Technology and Animations are capable of). It is not a bad movie, in contrast it has a good story. Maybe my summary is not that good as that of the movie but hey, try to see it for yourself. Although I have some complains, I can recommend this movie for you Marvel readers and fans (specially for Iron Man followers), action, and animation enthusiast to go rent or buy this DVD.
Invincible Iron Man gave me a taste of things to come from the much awaited Trilogy of the soon hit Iron Man Movie which will be seen in theaters in the future.
