Action

Iron Man movie review

Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard
Genre: Action, Comics, Mainstream

Iron Man was so good that I went into a Comic Book shop directly after our viewing just to find out more (and to appease my curiosity concerning the portended sequel). Already a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr (whom I have to say vintaged quite nicely and looks even better now than he did pre-prison), I didn’t even need to see a trailer to predict this was a must-see. Robert Downey Jr and robotics? I’m there. Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard… all icing on the already established cake of coolness, but we’ll come back to them in a minute.

Charisma and controversy are no major stretch to pull for Robert Downey Jr in real life, and he definitely brings those elements as lifeblood to the character Tony Stark, a wealthy weapons manufacturing mogul, all sarcasm and slickness, lacking finely honed morals or modesty in anything he says or does. You’ll notice that this already sets Iron Man leagues (excuse the pun) apart from any other recent superhero movie whose premise relies on some nerd or recluse out for revenge turned justice. Heroes like Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne experienced intense personal loss due to crime at an early age, so the progression to serve as community vigilante is no shocker. Tony Stark, on the other hand, self-absorbed as he is, requires a little extra prodding.

Kidnapped by terrorists and forced to build the aptly named Jericho missile for them, Stark quickly grows a soul. A crude electromagnet/miniature energy cell implanted into the center of his chest allows scrapnel from entering his heart, ironically serving as a catalyst to Stark’s compassionate metaphoric change of heart. Of course, instead of the WMD, he delivers death to their doorstep, fleeing and later vowing to cease weapon creation, consuming his efforts with lofty endeavors and perfecting the Iron Man suit. This is when the wondrous Stan Winston steps in to woo and wow us with two subsequent versions of the suit (gotta love a scientist’s process), even endowing emotion to the hydraulic arms that help to build the suits under Stark’s MIT direction. Another modern marvel is AI butler Jarvis, Stark’s “KITT”, if KITT were wired into an entire house. I guess it’s just lucky coincidence that Jarvis also alludes to the Jarvik artificial heart.

It is genius that Stark’s worst nemesis is someone close to him. I won’t give it away, so I’ll just list his lovely and talented co-stars. Jeff Bridges plays the chumsy long-time family friend (former business partner with Stark’s late father), Gwyneth Paltrow as the matter-of-fact and surprise potential love interest Pepper Potts, and Terrence Howard who adds a gentle warmth to a usual stereotypically brusque Hollywood military commander role. Each and all offer chemistry that flowed well amidst all of the Audi plugs. The entire film flowed so well; I was so surprised and relieved that scenes didn’t drag, didn’t get cheesy. Iron Man was seriously non-stop entertainment thanks to brilliant scriptwriting, brilliant direction and brilliant casting.

Ironically, it is Tony Stark’s imperfections that make him believable and actually likable as a superhero. Human to the core, full of flaws, we willingly accept his abrupt 180° transformation because he isn’t just a one-dimensional, one agenda kind of guy. He made and makes mistakes and that’s okay, in fact preferred. There are probably only a couple of actors who can pull off that level of sardonic wit, bravado, ingenuity and comedic edge; George Clooney maybe, Robert Downey Jr most definitely. So I guess the “iron” in Iron Man stands for irony.

HINT: There’s a teaser clip following the credits, so be sure to stick around for that.

About the Author

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gus van Sant. Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.

Tags: Action, Comics, Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr