After the success of the X-Men and Spider-Man franchises, Marvel Comics brings one of its most beloved comic book heroes to the big screen. It melds the original spirit of the comic with current events and a few updates. Mixing high-flying action, wit and an anti-war message is a tall undertaking but Iron Man manages to pull it off in just the right bright and loud package that comic book fanboys and summer movie audiences require.Billionaire playboy Tony Stark is on top of the world. He is a brilliant inventor and head of the most profitable weapons manufacturer on the planet. He is a wry, sarcastic son of a gun and loves his liquor. However, after he is attacked and held prisoner by a terrorist cell after a weapons demonstration in the Middle East, Stark suffers a crisis of conscience. After building a robotic suit to facilitate his escape, he destroys his captors and finds his way home.
Stark holds a press conference and proclaims that his company will no longer manufacture weapons, having been on the receiving end of their awesome wrath. The decision is balked at and blocked by the company’s board of directors, as there is very good money to be made from war. Stark then focuses his efforts on creating another version of the suit, intending to use it to do good in the world. The arrival of a mysterious new hero doesn’t go unnoticed though. Questions swirl around Stark as his personal relationships and business associates create equally unique turmoil in his life.
Robert Downey Jr. brings Tony Stark to life and makes him believable, not only as the womanizing playboy but the redemptive soul looking to help others as well. I think the casting of Downey was a brilliant move because he is one of only a handful of actors who could pull off the redemptive arc of Stark’s story. The Tony Stark we meet in the beginning of the film is very similar to Downey’s behavior during the late 90s. He battled addiction and came out on the other side a changed man. Having lived through such a dramatic transformation surely helped him get inside the mind of Tony Stark. Any time an actor can bring personal experience to their character, the performance is strengthened in ways other actors can only dream of.
While Robert Downey Jr. truly brings the film to life, the supporting cast of Iron Man helps keep everything in check. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts creates a believable personal assistant who has all but had enough of her boss’s antics. She is frustrated but she loves the man, probably the only reason she still stands by his side. Jeff Bridges portrays Obadiah Stane, the quintessential heartless businessman. He is more concerned about making money and keeping the stock holders happy. During the second half of the film, it is revealed just how far he would go to protect his two main interests.
Other supporting characters include a straight-laced military man, mysterious representatives of a secret organization called S.H.I.E.L.D., and various other members of the populo minutiae. The key to the film’s success is that none of these supporting characters share in Stark’s wit and sarcasm. They react to it and often times work against it, which is key. It helps isolate Stark as the central character but also with himself. Everyone was tired of his antics before his turnaround and, after it, most have a hard time believing it is genuine. Stark really does stand alone against the odds.
In many ways, Iron Man is Marvel Comics answer to Batman. Both involve wealthy tycoons masquerading as superheroes, using their personal fortunes and resources to do so. Both are very much mortal and the only thing that makes them "super" is their devotion to their cause. Each contains a world of colorful characters, both good and bad. The big difference is that, while Batman’s Bruce Wayne is a fairly straight-shooting man seeking a mix of redemption and revenge for something he blames himself for (the death of his parents), Tony Stark doesn’t wear his nobility on his sleeve. Stark has a warmer and more approachable personality and has no inner demons haunting him. Iron Man is something of the average Joe’s Batman; a guy who would save your life, make fun of your hairstyle and then toss back a few beers with you.
This makes Iron Man all the more likable but there were aspects of the film that just didn’t do it for me. It’s very clear that the filmmakers intended this to be the start of a movie franchise and not just a one-shot superhero flick. This forces Iron Man to spend an awful lot of time introducing us to the world of Tony Stark and the characters that inhabit it. Some of these people will become more important down the line but they have to be introduced early in order for grander plans to pay off. This is the unfortunate truth about many origin story films. Time must be taken to bring you up to speed slowly and then pay off all that build up in the second half.
For some, the payoff Iron Man delivers will be sufficient. For me, it was enough to be enjoyable but I was hoping for more. Critics and fans alike enjoyed the film and it’s easy to see why. The action scenes are fun and high-energy, the computer effects look really good for the most part and the hero doesn’t go around speaking in robotic platitudes about doing the right thing. Maybe it’s because I was never into comic books and there wasn’t an Iron Man Saturday morning cartoon to watch when I was a kid, but the film failed to grab and engage me like other superhero flicks have. As good as it is, I don’t feel compelled to watch it again.
Exhilarating but not breathtaking, Iron Man left me feeling like there was more beneath the surface than the filmmakers could bring out the first time around. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but it makes for an awkward introduction. I think that the next installment of the franchise is going to be better for having gotten all the origin stuff out of the way. That’s seems to be how these things work nowadays.
RATING: 3.25 out of 5
