Making a comic book film is a very delicate matter to tackle. One factor to consider is the budget to make such a film since these types movies usually command a high budget to realize the effects we see in the printed material. There's also the issue of treatment. Should the film be as faithful as possible to the source material and risk alienating the general public who are not avid fans themselves, or should it be given a different, but "audience-friendly" treatment and risk the ire of the comic's fans who know the comic book's very intricacies by heart?
As box-office history has proven, the best comic book films are the ones who were able to balance faithfullness with being "audience-friendly," at least to a certain degree. There's Superman 1-2, (except for the comical Luthor portrayal) X-Men 1-2, Spiderman 1-2, and Batman Begins.
Today I'm proud to add another film to my personal list: Iron Man.
For someone who is familiar with the comic itself, I'm very satisfied with Favreau and company's efforts to translate it into the silver screen. It was essentially a very faithful adaptation of the source material and the universe it belongs. It was also nice to see some elements of this universe such as the "Ten Rings" (Mandarin-related perhaps?) and a certain somewhat-omnipresent organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (with appearances of some agents and a certain director of the organization)
But at the same time, the film is successful in endearing itself to the non-readers of the comic by telling a tight, comprehensive story that anyone can relate to. Hopefully, a halo effect can be seen when some of these non-readers would translate this appreciation by reading the comic. (which admittedly is not doing that well)
Robert Downey Jr. may be the least likely person to portray a superhero, but amazingly he was able to pull it off quite well. He certainly deserves the accolades he's getting now, after a long bout with alcoholism and other issues which almost endangered his career. Same praise goes as well for Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges for their portrayals.
I also would like to give my praises to Jon Favreau who beat all odds to make this memorable film. For someone who has not yet done a high-profile film such as this, he reminds me of Peter Jackson who was able to make a great film out of his love and respect for the character.
With that in place, I hope to see more of these things when the sequel comes out 2 years from now. Until then, I hope "The Incredible Hulk" coming out in June starring Edward Norton would be good. And Hugh Jackman's "Wolverine" fim coming out next year...
PS After Iron Man 2: Thor, Captain America...onwards to an Avengers film in 2011. Keeping my fingers crossed that these films would be as good as Iron Man.