Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Overrated

Dreadfully Boring

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

"The Invincible Iron Man" isn't so much bad as it's unremarkable and ultimately, unnecessary. This animated film was released a year before the live-action Jon Favreau,-Robert Downey Jr. effort/triumph and is a prequel to "Ultimate Avengers". It begins with Tony Stark (voiced by Marc Worden), playboy billionaire and genius inventor attempting to unearth an ancient Chinese city using the latest technology from Stark Enterprises. The attempts are thwarted by terrorist attacks led by the Jade Dragons. As we witness the birth of Iron Man, we are informed that the city Tony has been attempting to raise contains the spirit of the Mandarin, an ancient evil ruler who can be brought back to life if his four rings are returned inside the temple. As a prophecy had foretold long ago, it is up to this "Iron Knight" to stop the Mandarin's return.It's not really that the movie is bad, but I never felt like it rose above that made-for-TV production. Considering this film was released straight-to-DVD that would be perfectly fine, but then Hollywood went and released the excellent live-action film. There was never a second where I was glad I was watching this animated story instead of the theatrically released blockbuster instead. It really doesn't help that they're both origin stories for the character, so it's one, or the other and while once again, this movie isn't all that bad, it doesn't stand a chance.The animation is consistent from frame to frame, but the quality of the motions and backgrounds are just OK. Several more detail-heavy elements/characters are created using computer then spliced in with the hand-drawn footage and the difference is pretty glaring. There are some nice twists on the origin of the Iron Man armor, but as an introduction to the classic Marvel hero, I never felt like I really got to know him very much and the villains get very little development. The Mandarin himself doesn't show up until late in the picture and the four elemental warriors Tony has to combat have no dialog whatsoever. I didn't mind their designs, but the four elements thing has been done so many times that it didn't resonate with me at all. The Jade Dragons terrorists are a bit better but they feel more like plot devices than actual people and are even less memorable than everyone else present. Some of the things I enjoyed include the seriousness of the whole affair. This isn't a movie where they sugar coat the violence by having the bad guys wield laser pistols or people just fall down cliffs and disappear instead of actually dying. While there might not be any real blood, the genuine threat of death is real so there is some tension. As mentioned earlier, there is a pretty successful effort on mixing up the origin of the Iron Man armor and particularly towards the end there are some nice twists with the Mandarin as a villain.The movie's biggest fault really is that it doesn't stand out. Sure for small children who want to be introduced to the character or will just gobble up anything Iron Man, this will be an entertaining watch but it's really just a stepping stone towards the beloved 2008 flick, the more elaborate comic book stories or the more... colorful animated series from the 90's. There isn't much here for adults who are fans of the character and comic book fans that are familiar with Tony Stark and his crew will be frustrated to see this story yet again. I can only give it a 2.5 out of 5 because of this but it's not a "bad" average rating, it's more of a "yeah, it's alright" kind of rating. (Dvd, November 11, 2013)

I caught this a few scenes into it and was really happy I did. First off Iron Man is one of my favorite comic superhero's, first following him around the early 70's watching those horribly animated Marvel TV shows made in the mid 60's. I would get hooked and would start collecting the comics buying them used and all torn up but with those great stories and characters this would go on until the mid 80's when other interest's took more precedence. As far as the movie goes I was really surprised at all the flat out dislike the reviewers here have posted and then I realized why. I am 100% sure that the reviewers are under 30 years old, that they probably always had an internet and are basically spoiled with technology and awesome anime programming. I on the other hand do remember the days before the internet, I also remember growing up with some really terrible animation (including anime shows like Gigantor and Speed Racer), that included the 60's Iron Man show. I also remember watching stuff from the 70's and 80's and while a lot better animation then the 60's stuff was still pretty bad (weak stories also, which at least the 60's stuff was good at since it was a copy of the comic's stories). The 90's Iron Man TV show wasn't bad, it was pretty good, but this 2007 movie's animation is really really good. Keep in mind, I'm sure Marvel saw this having limited audience at the time (maybe a whole lot more now that Iron Man is better known with the live action movie), so they had to keep the costs under control and you can tell it a LITTLE bit. However if you make a comparison of this Iron Man movie to all the past Iron Man stuff, it's totally awesome. I really like that Tony had to use his old armor to battle the bad guys also because the series developed that he was Invincible like the comic cover said when he had his new battle suits, so he was at a real disadvantage in the old stuff and I like that tension being created. So there you go, from a 45 year old who missed the very early introduction but has followed Iron man for over 35 years, this movie is the best Iron man I've ever seen, it's great for Iron Man fans. See it and don't listen to those that sound like the Comic Book Guy from the Simpson's this is a cool flick! 9 of 10.

Don't get me wrong, the guy's a success dynamo, but he got to the top by selling overpriced plastic toys to impulsive brats. So I get a little peeved when he looks at comic book fans as an extension of that same market.See, "The Invincible Iron Man" wouldn't be bad if it were slotted on a Saturday morning and geared exclusively toward undiscerning children. But it's not directed exclusively at children. Periphery characters are killed every five minutes and there's enough bloodshed and semi-nude bodies to make network censors squirm, so it isn't quite cut out for children's television.So what audience is this video aiming for then? It's the audience that enjoys nigh intelligible story lines about reviving a tyrannical Chinese emperor with 5 arcane rings, that's who. And I think that audience is restrictively small.A lot of great writers have passed through Marvel's leathery yoni over the decades. So it's a shame that Marvel would risk their pricey animation investments on so many questionable storytellers and scribes who, like Mr. Arad, are better accustomed to peddling action figures during Saturday morning cartoons. How many lukewarm receptions do Marvel have to endure before they come up with a better strategy? ***Animation: just passable cels, some segments are better than others, a low budget look all throughout -- this ain't no Bakshi (Ralph) and it ain't no Bluth (Don)! CG animation's okay, but far from impressive.Story: a litany of clichés, all over the place, convoluted, contrived, and uninspired.Characters: so why is Rhodes even here if all he does is add to Stark's sexual ambiguity? Hmmm... her Dad's in a wheelchair... Tony misses his mom... Asian chicks are hot and, apparently, little else; the female lead is thoroughly objectified by the feature's end.Performances: can't blame competent voice actors for a bad script.Art: very Western musculature, very clean lines, faces are very derivative of Eastern art, very boring mattes, very bland CG.Conclusion: Not great, but worth a watch for the fans and those who enjoy superhero myths. A 'must-buy' for collectors. A valuable "what not to do" course for junior animators.

I 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.