New DVDs: 'Iron Man' solid on Blu-ray

Just when movie-goers finally seemed burned out on superhero movies, last summer saw the one-two punch of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight," the later arguably the best of the superhero movie genre.

"Iron Man" came out first, pleasantly surprising critics and fan-boy skeptics. The Marvel Entertainment movie is indeed smart, exciting and perversely fun, even though its third act plays out no better than, say, "Transformers." If you blew it off in theaters, make things right on DVD. Or even better, on the "Iron Man" Blu-ray.

Let's begin with some pop-culture history: Back in the mid-'60s, "Iron Man" was Marvel Comics' black-sheep title, chronicling the adventures of an Establishment multimillionaire who performed his heroic deeds from inside a tin can-looking contraption.

The irony was, most of Marvel's superheroes were brooding, conflicted youngsters such as the amazing Spider-Man. The web-head made 150-point headlines as he battled the bad guys, but as Peter Parker he suffered money problems, self-doubts and the myriad indignities of youth. The Iron Man seemed a better fit for DC Comics, home of clean-cut flag-wavers like Superman and that square rich guy Batman.

Iron Man was "the stepchild in the Marvel universe," as one current Iron Man writer puts it.

Marvel chieftain Stan Lee says on the "Iron Man" DVD that he thought it would be fun to mess with the minds of his increasingly anti-establishment readers. He created Tony Stark, a playboy arms manufacturer whose fortunes flowed directly from the hated military industrial complex.

Lee has said over the years that he regretted having a superhero deal death to the Vietnamese, but on the new "Iron Man" DVD, he's cackling away over that anti anti-establishment move.

Of course, Iron Man's looking hip as they come these days, with plenty of Muslim terrorists to blow up and cool-cat Robert Downey Jr. bringing Stark to life.

Paramount Home Entertainment has released "Iron Man" in spit-shined DVD and Blu-ray editions. All those high-tech weapons and toys look sharp and colorful, especially on the high-def disc. The movie unspools at widescreen 2.39:1, as in cinemas.

"Iron Man" sounds even better than it looks: The hyperactive audio comes in Dolby TrueHD (Blu-ray) and Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD). Check out the chaos in the opening scene, as bullets from that mad minute in Afghanistan ricochet off the Hummer and slam into every corner of your living room.

The "Iron Man" extras are spread over two discs. Most of the good stuff is on the first.

"The Invincible Iron Man" tracks the millionaire-in-a-can from his 1963 creation through his big-screen debut, with the Marvel crew weighing in on all aspects of the character.

Lee says, "Of all the comic books we published at Marvel we got far more mail for Iron Man from women than any other title. I think a girl would want to mother him. There was something that rouses the female instinct" (with his heart problems). That probably explains the foursome Stark/Downey effortlessly sets up with some beauties at a party (a deleted scene).

One young writer points out that the details of Stark's sophisticated big-money lifestyle come from no experience whatsoever. Comic book writers aren't invited to celeb-riddled parties, he says, glumly.

"Tony Stark is a very difficult character to write because he's a lot smarter than any writer who's going to tackle him," story man Joe Casey points out.

The 48-minute docu covers the influence of graphic novels on the comic series, along with edgy story arcs such as "Extremis" and "Execute Program." "He's a character that can be molded for each generation, unlike most comic superheroes," an "Iron Man" worker points out.

The deleted/extra scenes are uniformly worthwhile, certainly strong candidates for inclusion in any director's cut. They include Stark losing $3 million at roulette; more-explicit hotness with the jet flight attendants; the swinging party scene; and some interesting looks at partially completed ILM fight scenes with the dueling iron men.

Disc 2 has some Downey screen tests (great, but ... this was necessary?) and a lengthy "Iron Man" making-of featurette that's surprisingly leaden. Director Jon Favreau seems tired and distracted throughout.

Also circling the DVD blog's players are "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," the thoroughly enjoyable busted-romance movie that acts all cool but is stickey-gooey old-fashioned in its heart; the animated "Click & Clack: As the Wrench Turns" from those "Car Talk" guys; and another Blu-ray-in-space disc, "When We Left Earth -- The NASA Missions."

New and Notable DVDs:

Adam 12, season 2 (Shout! Factory)
Banacek (Arts Alliance America)
Beauty and the Beast: The Complete Series (Paramount)
The Best of Mr. Bean, Vol. 2 (A&E Home Video)
Billionaire Boy's Club (A&E Home Video)
Buried Alive (Sony)
Can't Hardly Wait (Sony*)
Click & Clack: As the Wrench Turns (Paramount)
Edward the King (Acorn Media)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal*)
Iron Man (Paramount*)
My Name Is Earl, season 3 (Fox)
My Three Sons, season 1, Vol. 1 (Paramount)
Sports Night: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
Trial & Retribution (Lynda La Plante, Acorn Media)
When We Left Earth -- The NASA Missions (Image*)

* = Blu-ray available

Complete list of this week's releases on my pal Harley's site, onvideo.org