Posted on: October 24, 2008 Posted by: Jay NeuFutur Comments: 0

Whenever individuals may think that the superhero genre is losing steam, a company steps their game up and comes out with a film that is visually appealing, written well, and sets up the prospect for a sequel perfectly. In 2008, there were two films to do just that: The Dark Knight and Iron Man. The behemoth that is Iron Man has enjoyed a number of releases in different formats, but for anyone’s money, the edition that they should strive to purchase is the ultimate 2-Blu Ray disc version. The amount of additional features, coupled with the sharpness in video and audio that is present, far outstrip the experience that viewers will have vis-à-vis any other edition.

The price point at which this edition is set is not drastically higher than any other versions, making this a great birthday or Christmas buy (currently listing at $26 on Amazon, but having an MSRP of $40). What additional features make the Ultimate Edition of Iron Man such a buy, though? First off, there is a bonus on the Blu-Ray version that allows individuals the ability to “hack” into the Stark database to view system specs of the Iron Man suits, really having a chance to look at the armor in a way that the quick action-shots would never allow. The deleted/extended scenes reel is extensive, giving viewers the Iron Man experience that is more truly in line with the director’s. The additional footage may be a little extraneous, but it is interesting to see how the two versions differ from each other.

“Wired” provides viewers with the ability to look inside the creation of all the special effects created for the film, while “The Onion’s Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer” is a send-up of the film in a way that only The Onion’s crack “news” team can offer. There are other featurettes that merit attention on this 2-disc edition, as well: the screen test tat Robert Downey, Jr did is present in all of its glory here, and there is a nearly two-hour documentary (“I Am Iron Man”) that delves into every nitty gritty bit of behind the scenes action in the film, whether it be Downey’s placement into the Iron Man gear or building the set. This is the definitive Iron Man, and should be the viewers Bible when it comes to the film. It should be viewed again whenever Iron Man 2 comes out, just to give that additional context that will make the sequel (What I believe to be) the cultural phenomenon of the year when it does come out.

Rating: 9.1/10

Iron Man Ultimate 2-Disc Edition (Blu-Ray) / 2008 Paramount / http://www.paramount.com /

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