Iron Man Script Review

[Hunter Rider]

http://www.latinoreview.com/news.php?id=511

Exclusive: A Look At Iron Man!
Date: April 24, 2006

By: Kellvin Chavez
Source: El Chavo

Both El Mayimbe and his right hand man El Chavo have checked out the script for Marvel's "IRON MAN," in which Marvel has taken back the film rights to the comic from New Line and may just try to raise some money to bring the story of Tony Stark, the enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune to the big screen via another studio…perhaps Paramont.
The film centers on a driven inventor and executive (Tony Stark ) who seems to have it all, Tony is haunted by his dark side. Though he commands his empire by day, by night he secretly becomes "Iron Man," the living embodiment of decades of defense spending and innovation. Strapping on billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armor and weaponry each night to fight crime, terrorism and corporate espionage, Tony begins to crack under the strain of his fractured lifestyle and must ultimately confront the one enemy he can never beat - himself.
Marvel Studios' Avi Arad has reported this about Iron Man: "Right now we're concentrating on finding the right creative talent," Avi continues "It's not a part of our slate deal, but we can raise the money to do it if we choose to. We would also have no difficulty licensing it to another studio."
So what did El Chavo think of the script? Just click on the image below to check out the script review.

​

 

[Hunter Rider]

Reviewed by: El Chavo - 04.24.06

Yo the most Dangerous Dominican EL MAYIMBE here with another script review.
Both EL CHAVO and me took a look at IRON MAN this past weekend. I gave him the script first to read because I was at the immigration protests.
Let's see what he had to say and then I will put in my two cents.

Iron Man
By Alred Gough & Miles Milliar
Revisions By David Hayter

Rating: B-: if I'm in a good mood.
C-: if I have enough money and food to survive another idiot as President (note: I did not say 'Republican')​

The following is the Iron Man review:
Lets mention the other films that come from comic books and see where we're at:

• Superman - original versions were cool, if dated — and the new one has superior potential.
  Batman - it started with a bang, then got gay, then got ultra cool with Batman Begins. Probably the only truly 'successful' transformation from comic to screen to date.
  Tank Girl - piece of crap, and I can't believe I remembered to mention it here.
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - I was already too adolescent to truly appreciate it... but it touched... for bad or good, a generation.
  Constantine - uh... yeah... amazingly so-so.
  History of Violence - uh... k. thoroughly average much?
  V for Vendetta - well acted, poorly conceived... overall: boring and forgettable.
  The Hulk - yeah... could have been called 'The Big Fat Belly Flop'.

Obviously there are many other films that were adapted from comics, but how many were any good? Why the fascination with turning comics into films? Adult sentimentality? or is it the toys and Burger King cross-promotions... Don't you think comic book writers would have been book writers if they could write instead of draw?
Ok. So, lets get to it: Iron Man.
It started off great! Starring Tony Stark; young, rich, handsome — and most importantly — brilliant. This guy isn't just brilliant, he's über brilliant: he can sketch out devices along with algorithms that in the right hands would make the guy manning the science station on the starship Enterprise get wood. He's brilliant, but he drinks like a fish... unlike Aquaman.
The script comes in at a hefty 119 pages... that's 2 hours in movie-land-time, or about twenty minutes too long - for an action film. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue is smart, mature and relevant — so cutting needs to take place with some of the action sequences. HOWEVER. I wasn't necessarily sold on the idea of Iron Man making its way to the screen. The character is visually boring (might as well be a robot). The set-up is over done (rich, successful and handsome — PHYSICIST?). The whole story is one big cliche... but, I had fun (until about page 40... then again for a few pages here and there). It gave me hope that it could be something special - especially because the script is in development hell (which means that it was passed on....at some point). I really liked the Bugatti chase scene though...
The whole thing made me wonder what you can do with a film like this. Batman is dark and adult and that is clearly the benchmark for this type of film (Batman Begins, that is)... how do you start this future franchise off right?
I came to the following conclusions:
1. The film does not directly follow the comic book, not that it is a bad thing. I think the screenwriters chose to make this more relevant to 'today', but I'd definitely incorporate more of the original comic story line. Anthony Stark as a Vietnam POW, for example.
2. It needs to be dark - but different dark. Ultra realistic - to minimize the suspension of disbelief. Having been a physics major - there is a lot of room for improvement and I am SICK and TIRED of seeing Ninja Turtles logic in an adult setting.
3. Iron Man would make a badass movie - IF - IF - it were a character study: about the fragility of man despite his resourcefulness, how ultimately humanity is doomed to succumb to a most artificial evolution in the case of the ends justifying the means. Keep the action powerful, but more subtle and visually stunning.
4. I'm working on the script re-write, pronto.
Pot brownies anyone? hehe.
Iron Man B- A decent script, but not good enough.
El Mayimbe here. So what do I think? Well, I have a theory on why this wasn't made yet - it is the story line that killed the Hulk. That whole father vs. son thing. Here we got Howard Stark vs. Tony Stark - just like in The Hulk - father vs. son. David Hayter wrote Hulk and I guess he borrowed from that and poured that same situation into Iron Man. I prefer the whole father vs. son thing here than in the hulk but I guess the suits didn't think so. Howard Stark is the main bad guy in this draft. He profits by stealing Tony's designs and weaponizing them. I don't read the comic book so I know very little about IRON MAN except from the sixties cartoon and that this pretty boy scientist has an alcohol problem and a bad heart and a brilliant mind. Tom Cruise has been forever attached to this thing and he wanted to do a marvel character movie different than from what has come before. I guess he read this, saw THE HULK, jumped on Toby Emmerich's couch and was like, "Oh Hell No! They did that whole father vs. son thing in The Hulk!" The rights have reverted back to Marvel so we shall see what further development they do on this.
For all you IRON MAN geeks out there - here is what I can tell you - the Mark I and Mark II armor are in here and Howard Stark dons the WARMACHINE armor in the big climatic finale vs. Tony in his Iron Man Mark II armor. It read pretty cool to me.
I have to agree with my little buddy here EL Chavo, the script is a B a decent script but obviously it wasn't good enough to get made.
I wonder what the hard-core Iron Man fans would have thought of this.
Anyways…
Hasta el proximo capitulo…
YO SOY EL MAYIMBE!

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Yikes, guess I was wrong, Howard Stark actually is the main baddie in this. Well I can definitely say that, yeah... that's a bad idea.

The guy offered some constructive criticism, good script review... there's something there about all of man's resourcefulness still not being able to guarantee the peace of mind he's looking for, or maybe not. Being a Vietnam POW would make Tony about 50-60, btw, so I don't know if I agree with that.

One more thing: Iron Man by night? I didn't realize that Iron Man did most of his fighting at night. If anything he's one of the few characters I associate with action that takes place during the day. But I guess night's always good at masking bad CGI.

 

[Ironman24]

Nice insight into what the writers were thinking when they wrote the script, David Hayter seems to be in love with the father vs. son angle in superhero films.
I thought it interesting that Howard Stark dones the War Machine Armor. That was much earlier than I would have thought to introduce that armor,(was thinking any sequels would have worked).
I suppose Marvel is looking to improve the script, though, these reviewer's seemed to enjoy the script and what the story intailed.
Now, as a Iron Man fan, a huge Iron Man fan, this script isn't Iron Man, and thats the biggest problem, they seem to want to change Tony's origin completely, which granted, Vietnam is very dated and would make Tony around 50 by now. I'm not sure what it would take to bring Iron man to the big screen and keep his origin somewhat the same, but, Father vs. Son isn't the way.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

I still think you can have like a... father living in shadow of his son, or maybe father who gets in arguments with his son from time to time, but the father as War Machine? No way man. Find another bad guy. It could be AIM, even.

 

[Ironman24]

Well, and Iron Man has so many villians to choose from, Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, Controller, Justin Hammer, Spymaster, Ghost, Madam Masque, Mandarin, Count Narfaria & so on, choose one of them not War Machine, does anyone at Marvel read Iron Man?

 

[DarKush]

Why not change Howard Stark to Justin Hammer? I think an Iron Man movie would be kickass. I do agree with the second reviewer that they make it a character study and tie it to real world events.

I can easily see changing Stark's background to place him in Iraq or Afghanistan, or a Central Asian country. His company could be in Iraq as weapons contractors, or something. He gets captured by a warlord/terrorist group. They want him to make weapons for them. He turns the tables on them building a prototype Iron Man suit. I would use a modified steel gray original suit at first, and upgrade it as the movie progressed.

 

[green]

Constantine - uh... yeah... amazingly so-so.
History of Violence - uh... k. thoroughly average much?
V for Vendetta - well acted, poorly conceived... overall: boring and forgettable.


Its kinda hard to take anything this guys says seriously when he starts with comments like these.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

Constantine - uh... yeah... amazingly so-so.
History of Violence - uh... k. thoroughly average much?
V for Vendetta - well acted, poorly conceived... overall: boring and forgettable.


Its kinda hard to take anything this guys says seriously when he starts with comments like these.

I was thinking that too, but the comments he made for Iron Man do make sense. At least I think they do, but that's just my opinion.

 

[tamron]

Latino Review annoys me sometimes. They talked around the script, but didn't really give much detail as to why they thought it was a B script.

El Chavo used his review to argue against an Iron Man film! I don't care if you don't like the idea, and I don't care about your suggestions; how was the script?

If you had so many criticisms against it, what made it work to the point were you'd still say that it's a B-level script? They were more critical of it than anything, which is hardly what I'd expect if the script is really that good.

Howard Stark as the villian is just a bad idea. There are more than enough corporate villians in IM's rogue gallery, like Obadiah Stane or Justin Hammer, that can be used in that role.

I don't think tying Stark as a POW to any military conflict is necessary. Just having him be kidnapped by a warlord/terrorist group like DarKush suggested serves the same purpose, and will avoid dating the film. They could then introduce James Rhodes by having him be the pilot of a military search team sent for Stark and his business partners.

I think it would be cool to have Firebrand as a villian in the Iron Man film. Having Tony think that one of his schematics has fallen into a foreign terrorist's hands only to discover that Firebrand not only built the armor himself, but is an American against America, would be a cool twist, IMHO.

I also think the best way to emphasize the duality between Iron Man and Tony Stark would be to avoid having the superhero and daily personas ultimately dealing with the same, or interconnected villians. Tony Stark should have to deal with Stane or Hammer, while Iron Man deals with the supervillian. The stress of fighting different battles on various fronts then ultimately drives Tony to the bottle.

 

[Octoberist]

I'm sick of the whole notion of creating new villains for a movie adaptation. Why not use the villains from the comics. And if you don't like them, just modify them while keeping their integrity.

With the Hulk, Nick Nolte was a bore. And his "Absorbing Man" thing was a cop out.

 

[Philly Phanboy]

I still think you can have like a... father living in shadow of his son, or maybe father who gets in arguments with his son from time to time, but the father as War Machine? No way man.

If that travesty would happen, every fanboy would get up and leave the theater.

Find another bad guy. It could be AIM, even.

MODOK

 

[Mr. Magoo]

MODOK

I might say Modok, but I'm pretty sure he's the big bad in the Deathlok movie, unless they've changed the script.

 

[Tony Stark]

I just want to know are they going to go the classic Iron-Man origin (i.e. the heart), or the Ultimate route (i.e. brain cancer), as a reason for Tony creating the suit.

I like the fact that they are delving into the alcoholism. If done right, Iron-Man will not be a kids movie. It's going to be a cross of the Aviator with Batman.

Tony Stark is essentially Howard Hughes, and all the baggage that comes with it.

 

[ultimatefan]

Hmmm, yeah, after Hulk, I can see why the studio wasn´t too crazy about "dad as the bad guy" angle... But they seem to think the script is overall good, just needs some more work. And I like it that they´re dealing with the alcoholism thing, not the kind of thing most people expect from a superhero movie.

 

[Nightwing 52]

I'm sick of the whole notion of creating new villains for a movie adaptation. Why not use the villains from the comics. And if you don't like them, just modify them while keeping their integrity.

With the Hulk, Nick Nolte was a bore. And his "Absorbing Man" thing was a cop out.

According to Joss Whedon himself, we may get the same thing for Wonder Woman. He's said he created a new villain for her to face in the film, though there can be changes to it.

 

[ClarkLuther55]

According to Joss Whedon himself, we may get the same thing for Wonder Woman. He's said he created a new villain for her to face in the film, though there can be changes to it.

Man, it really pisses me off when they try to make up their own villains. IIRC, Whedon said that WW's rogues were lame, so he was going to make a brand new one inspired by Greek mythology. So what was wrong with Ares?

They better not go with this idiotic Howard Stark crap for Iron Man.

 

[Nightwing 52]

Man, it really pisses me off when they try to make up their own villains. IIRC, Whedon said that WW's rogues were lame, so he was going to make a brand new one inspired by Greek mythology. So what was wrong with Ares?

They better not go with this idiotic Howard Stark crap for Iron Man.

Or Doctor Psycho, and Morgan le Fay for that matter. He didn't use the word "lame," he's just not to fond of her rouges gallery is all. I'm just curious as to why though, and the Greek mythology scenario is something he's using that the old comics were based on for this new villain he created. I'm actually intrigued to see just what Whedon has up his sleeve, if he doesn't mess it all up somehow that is. I won't judge it just yet.

 

[Ironfan72]

Marvel has scraped the script for Iron Man and is starting over, unfortunatly they have not announced a new writer as yet. My hope is who ever they get to write the script will have some understanding of the history of the title, I understand that Vietnam is out of the question for a origin,but the middle east or even industrial esponiage where either Justin Hammer or Obidiah Stane try to kill Stark.
The other thing that bothered me about the review was Hayter's use of War Machine,which was never Tony's enemy,why he choose War Machine over Iron Monger,Titanium Man or Crimson Dynamo is abit strange.

 

[Mr. Magoo]

We don't know how much of the story is Hayter btw. Gough and Millar took a crack at the Iron Man script, which I believe Hayter did a "re-write" or "polish" of. A couple of big things, such as War Machine, could have been there before him. Anyway it doesn't really matter, but I just figured I'd point that out.

 

[Ironfan72]

Its cool, your right, i didn't give Gough and Miller credit,they are the ones that wrote the script,Hayter just like you said polished it for filming. Thanks

 

[chiefchirpa]

I think this is an old script, because Marvel should've learned by now:

Hulk: Bad Father -> Flunk
Batman Begins: Good Father -> Pass
Spider-Man: Good Foster Father -> Pass
Superman Returns: Good Foster Father/Father -> Reserving pass

This is a PG-13 movie. Marvel has to make an a harmonious father and son relationship example for the young audiences. Tony Stark is his father's son.

 

[InkSlinger]

If Millar and Gough wrote that script, I'm not surprised Marvel didn't like it.
They've dragged out the nasty Father against the Son crap for 5 years on Smallville and just keep running around in circles. Clark should be finishing college and becoming the Big Blue Boy Scout, instead of just screwing around trying to find his 'destiny'. WE KNOW WHAT HIS DESTINY IS! Move on, man! Bring on the Suit and forget the teen angst. We want adult angst!

On a lighter note, if they insist on bringing in his father, why not make HIM the Vietnam Vet whose shrapnel damaged heart needs the ultra-tech heart pace-maker. He is an electronics wizard and developes the best pacemaker for himself with the technology available. His son, Tony, becomes the real techno-wizard and with training started by his father, designs and makes a better heart monitor pacemaker for his father that keeps him alive and well. Because of this design, they make a fortune as a hi-tech medical products company. Unbeknownst to them, his circuitry is being reverse engineered by a military-industrial combine that Tony must eventually stop as the IronMan. Because of their theft of his technology, Tony developes the nanotechnology that allows him to build the Ironman armor, with his father's help. An attack on the Stark medical research facility by the Combine (could be AIM) kills the elder Stark, and gives Tony the go ahead for some real kick-ass Mission Imposssible style fireworks as he avenges his father's death and recovers his technology. Of course, his father's death is a good segway into Tony starting to drink more than he used to or should, setting up his problems with the bottle.

How's that for a new start?

 

[Sardaukar]

**** this father/son Oedipus crap.

This script needs The Mandarin.

 

[huskerwebhead]

*sigh* Latino Review....sometimes they are good...sometimes I just want to punch them in the face.

Reviewed by: El Chavo - 04.24.06

The following is the Iron Man review:
Lets mention the other films that come from comic books and see where we're at:

• Superman - original versions were cool, if dated — and the new one has superior potential.
  Batman - it started with a bang, then got gay, then got ultra cool with Batman Begins. Probably the only truly 'successful' transformation from comic to screen to date.

• 
  
  Eh?? No mention of Spider-man, Crow, X-Men, Road to Perdition?? WTF??
  
  

  Tank Girl - piece of crap, and I can't believe I remembered to mention it here.
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - I was already too adolescent to truly appreciate it... but it touched... for bad or good, a generation.
  Constantine - uh... yeah... amazingly so-so.
  History of Violence - uh... k. thoroughly average much?
  V for Vendetta - well acted, poorly conceived... overall: boring and forgettable.
  The Hulk - yeah... could have been called 'The Big Fat Belly Flop'.

Obviously there are many other films that were adapted from comics, but how many were any good?

Again, left out Spider-man, X-Men, etc...Maybe even throw in Hellboy. Seems a bit skewed already. I don't agree with his thoughts on Constantine, HOV, or VFV either.

Why the fascination with turning comics into films? Adult sentimentality? or is it the toys and Burger King cross-promotions... Don't you think comic book writers would have been book writers if they could write instead of draw?

ouch....that's quite a dig on comic book writers.

The script comes in at a hefty 119 pages... that's 2 hours in movie-land-time, or about twenty minutes too long - for an action film.

Wha?? Nuts to that idea...give me a two hour action movie any day.

I wasn't necessarily sold on the idea of Iron Man making its way to the screen. The character is visually boring (might as well be a robot).

Oh Hell NO!! Visually Boring?? If done right Ironman would be amazing. And if I see anything other than the red and gold armor (outside of a flashback to the original armor) I'm going to go postal.

I think that's about enough of that load of BS I can read. I should be a movie critic. Apparently all you need to do is be able to talk out of your ass about something you have no clue about.

On a side note, yes, the whole father as WarMachine thing is a BAD idea. Ironman has so many cool villians to choose from....why do the father thing? Someone said they already threw this script out...so I guess it's a moot point until we see the rewrite. I do hope they keep in the drinking problem though.