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May 2, 2008 1:06 pm US/Mountain
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'Iron Man'
By CHRISTY LEMIRE, AP Movie Critic (AP) ―
Much of the allure of "Iron Man" comes from the fact that we are
indeed talking about a man — a real man who has lived a life and made
mistakes and experienced regret — not some scrawny, teenage boy who
received his superhero powers through a bite from a radioactive spider.
No offense to Spidey, the other Marvel Comics hero who's already
provided billion-dollar summer blockbuster fodder. But there's just
something more relatable about Tony Stark, even though he's a playboy
industrialist of staggering wealth and arrogance.
And in the hands of Robert Downey Jr., he's absolutely riveting.
Downey may have seemed an unlikely casting choice at first, but it's
difficult to imagine any other actor in the role; he's so quick-witted
and he makes such inspired decisions with dialogue that, at times,
might have seemed corny otherwise. Throughout his eclectic career —
from "Less Than Zero" and "Chaplin" to "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" and
"Zodiac" — he's always been capable of both great charisma and
vulnerability, and both are beautifully on display in this, the biggest
movie of his life. "Iron Man" is a blast, too — the perfect start to
the summer with its shiny mix of visual effects, elaborate set pieces
and plenty of humor within its intelligent script.
This is also the biggest movie of director Jon Favreau's life
following "Made," "Elf" and "Zathura," and he juggles all the
complicated, expensive toys deftly. The visual effects come courtesy of
the venerable Industrial Light & Magic, with Matthew Libatique
("Requiem for a Dream," "Inside Man") providing the crisp cinematography
Stuff gets blown up real good, to the tune of AC/DC's "Back in
Black" and, appropriately, Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," but beneath the
requisite spectacle is an issue-laden storyline with heart to go along
with its brains. Tony's weakened heart has always been his Achilles
heel, but it's also what gets him out of trouble and inspires his
rebirth.
The first moments of "Iron Man" give us a telling glimpse of Tony: a
close-up of his hand, cradling a tumbler of Scotch on the rocks, as he
rides in the back seat of a Humvee that's rumbling across the
Afghanistan desert. He's the brilliant and talented head of Stark
Industries, the leading supplier of weapons to the U.S. military, and
he banters comfortably with the soldiers who have been assigned to
protect him during a trip to demonstrate his latest missile. They, in
turn, are in awe of his high-flying ways.
(The Iron Man comic-book character was partly inspired by
billionaire industrialist Howard Hughes, but the similarities to
Downey's own life are unmistakable: the well-documented highs and lows
and, now, the shot at complete redemption. The subtext provides both
knowing laughs and a sense of substance.)
But things go awry almost immediately. The Humvee is attacked by
insurgents and Tony is abducted. While in captivity, with a battery
attached to his heart to keep him alive, he's ordered to reconstruct
the missile. Instead, with the help of the doctor who saved him (a
graceful Shaun Toub), he's crafty enough to create a suit of armor and
become a weapon himself to escape.
Tony returns home to his monstrosity of a mansion that's carved into
the face of a Malibu cliff but looks more like an old set from "The
Jetsons." He's a changed man, and the changes he has welcomed to his
life and company also bring enemies. His top executive Obadiah Stane
(Jeff Bridges, deliciously villainous with a shaved head and devilish
goatee) is appalled at Tony's new purpose — to no longer make weapons.
But Stane insists, "What we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."
It's an anti-war argument in the multilayered script from the
writing teams of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, and Art Marcum and Matt
Holloway, but the delivery is hardly heavy-handed. The original "Iron
Man" comic book that inspired the film took place in the 1960s during
the Vietnam War, and Tony Stark was relevant, functioning as an
important, fervently anti-communist cog within the military-industrial
complex. Moving the film's action to Afghanistan and the present day
makes it just as relevant in its own way.
In his tricked-out underground workshop, his own personal bat cave,
Tony creates his Iron Man uber-suit, even though he's not quite sure
what to do with it once he's finished: the right thing, perhaps, for
the first time in his life?
His right-hand woman, Pepper Potts, stuck by him and kept his life
organized when he was a shallow pig, but seems to like the more
enlightened Tony better. (In another unexpected bit of casting, Gwyneth
Paltrow brings understated smarts and class to the role.) Meanwhile,
his best friend, Rhodey, an Air Force colonel played by an underused
Terrence Howard, just seems confused by this person he no longer thinks
he knows.
Tony undergoes plenty of trials and errors on the road to becoming
Iron Man, which are both amusing and thrilling. But the moment he
finally climbs inside that streamlined, rocket-propelled, red-and-gold
suit — with its perfectly intertwined pieces that lock together like
the most comfy, high-tech pair of ski boots — will surely cause the
hearts of geeks and non-geeks alike to go pitter-patter.
But because the build up is so successfully engaging, the ending
feels like a letdown. It's just plain silly watching versatile,
Oscar-nominated actors behave like a couple of middle-aged Transformers.
That's merely one bump in an otherwise satisfying ride, though. And
there's plenty of opportunity for improvement: The last line clearly
sets up a sequel. But you knew that was ironclad from the beginning.
"Iron Man," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for some
intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive
content. Running time: 126 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)