I’m On Board

The trailer for IRON MAN has just been…well, “released” isn’t exactly the right word. Let’s go with “unleashed.” I have to say – before I saw this footage, this movie wasn’t even on my radar. I had some vague notion that there might, at some point, be a comic book movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as the pilot of some sort of flying tank, but I had no idea it would be anything like what’s seen in this trailer.

Being more of a Superman and Spider-Man fan, I have absolutely no idea who the characters are, what they’re doing or why. But what I can tell you is that this movie already fulfills my dream of seeing a sequel to THE ROCKETEER. What has me so enamored is not only the incredibly stylized design of the robotic armor…it’s the movement. You can actually feel the weight of the suit, yet also see how it would work in a real-world environment. The hydraulics in the refined armor are sensed instead of seen – watching it gives you a hint of what body armor might look like if it were designed by Apple. Moreover, the thrill of human flight is captured so perfectly in the final third of the ad – better than in any of the MATRIX or SUPERMAN films, since you can see the uncertainty, shifts in balance and constant corrections the character makes to compensate for wind resistance.

While I’ll always long for the art deco helmet and telltale matte lines of my beloved Rocketeer, it’s comforting to know that design still rules the sky. And not to hype this short clip any more than I already have…but watching this trailer feels like coming home.