Iron Man – Rise of Technovore: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Tony Stark, in his Iron Man armor, prevents an attack from a mysterious new foe, but innocent bystanders are killed, including his best friend War Machine, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes. Detained for questioning by S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Man escapes, determined to find the mastermind behind the attack. Pursued by Black Widow and Hawkeye, Iron Man enlists the help of the ruthless vigilante The Punisher. But can the Armored Avenger handle what he finds when he catches the person responsible and is forced to face his deadliest weapon, a biotechnology called Technovore that could wipe out all life on the planet?
When the Marvel Anime shows were announced I couldn’t wait. Then they premeired and the next thing I kept wondering was “When are they going to do a full feature?”. My prayers were finally answered when I heard of this title. It combines the fast paced action of anime with the phenomenal iconic characters of the Marvel Universe. The animation is flawlessly blended with traditional animation and CG for some of the exterior shots. The voice acting to me wasn’t the strongest and I’ve experienced much worse but I will say that Matthew Mercer did bring the snarky humor that Robert Downey Jr. is usually known for as Tony Stark/Iron Man. It was interesting to hear Norman Reedus‘s voice coming out of The Punisher. Not that it was bad or anything but I just kept seeing Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead whenever he spoke. Ha! I think it’s just that his voice is so distinct that it happened that way. Other than that his performance was great. The action scenes were fantastic and had pretty much everything you could ask for in a Marvel Anime. The best thing about animation is that you can accomplish just about anything and this film proves it. The flight battles were intense and for the most part left you with one word coming from your mouth……Whoa. I absolutely LOVED the design of the armor of Iron Man and War Machine. Especially War Machine, his armor was exactly like it should be. Big and brute forced with heavy artillery. Story wise, this film was kind of in the middle for me. The overly philosophical dialogue at times is a bit of a bore and could’ve been trimmed down a bit although I did like the inclusion of Ezekiel Stane. Anyone that is a fan of the films will enjoy this and see that it doesn’t steer too far from the style we all love. Anyone that is a fan of anime will see that it holds true to everything you love about the genre.
Special Features:
Tale Of Tenchnovore – A bit of a back story of Technovore and how they made him translate to something a bit more modern in this film.
S.H.I.E.L.D: Protecting The Marvel Universe – A really good feature on the history of S.H.I.E.L.D and how they’ve played a factor in a lot of the biggest events in the Marvel Universe.
Iron Man: Rise of Technovore is available April 16th on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
