Iron Man

Boy, did this movie get some attention! Remember? Way back at the beginning of the summer? The first big screen treatment of Marvel's Stan Lee's and Gene Colan's beloved comic, the adventures of mercurial arms-dealer turned do-gooder Tony Stark? It was an out-of-the-box smash, matched only by that late entry Indiana Jones flick. For some reason, it slipped past me.

I was never a huge fan of Iron Man, but I had some of the comic books. I recall some of the kids in my neighborhood, dressed in their cheap Woolworth's version for Halloween. I was basically neutral. So my drive to see the film wasn't really there. Prior to the film's release, the derisive cries of fanboys littered the Internet with questions of why Robert Downey Jr., he of the reliably caustic screen persona, was cast in the lead. But the objections seemed to be silenced almost immediately. Everyone loved it. The critics were kind, too. I became intrigued, but not enough.

Soooooo. I have finally caught up with IRON MAN. Can you guess the rest? I know what you're thinking. You think I'm going to say something to the effect that the movie didn't live up to the hype. You'd be partially right. However, another mega-hyped superhero film of the Summer of '08 later came around and positively exceeded my wildest criteria, but we'll get back to that.

I was a bit disappointed. I still enjoyed it, but was sorry to see how bubble-gum it all was. Nothing wrong with that, in essence. And yes, I know it is based on a comic and all, but, c'mon guys. A little imagination would've made this more than just cotton candy for the brain. The first two X-MEN films had upped the ante somewhat, as did (arguably) Sam Raimi's SPIDERMAN series. Jon Favreau's direction of IRON MAN was uninspired, his blocking content with basic set-ups and clunky action. Nothing all that inventive about the cinematograpy. Just average art direction. I had recently watched the Will Ferrell vehicle, ELF, and Favreau had demonstrated considerably more directorial flair with that one. ELF!

Downey does well as the smug, billionaire playboy Stark who grows a conscience after he is kidnapped by evil insurgents in Afghanistan. Stark was there to present his latest instrument of death, a stealth missile unlike anyone has seen (Stark, an engineering genius particularly with electronics and hardware, designed it himself). After an ambush of the soldiers in his entourage, Stark is held captive in a dank cave. A significant amount of schrapnel had entered his chest, nearly killing him. When he regains his consciousness, he meets a kindly fellow detainee who sews up his chest and saves his life. Enter the snarling leader of the captors, who informs Stark that he will create a missile just for him, or he dies.

Stark builds something, but it ain't no missile. He and his new surgeon friend somehow create a suit of armor, with a crude propulsion system and weaponry which will allow them to blast their way out. It works. After a crash landing, Stark is later rescued by the U.S. Army.

Back home, Stark, irrevocably scarred by his trauma, has a complete paradigm shift. At a press conference he announces that his company will no longer produce those weapons of mass destruction. This does not sit well with the company's #2, Obadiah Stane (a bald-headed Jeff Bridges). Tony Stark eschews the construction of firearms and bombs, opting instead to perfect the suit which is light enough in which to fly but still durable enough to withstand bullets, gas, or flame. His mission: mankind, and their protection from those who would oppress them. Thus, the stage is set for corporate struggle, soul searching, and the not unrelated threat of a highly pissed off Raza (Faran Tahir), the head kidnapper we met earlier.

We also get to know Stark's loyal assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow). She handles every bit of daily minutae, but is also called upon to commit corporate espionage, perform "heart" surgery, and other tasks that may or may not affect the fate of the world. Paltrow is very appealing as a modest wallflower with a reticent sexiness that Tony admires and perhaps covets. But like any good drama, the relational tension is not resolved. Of course it isn't! There WILL be sequels!

IRON MAN has all the right elements, but I wanted more. A good solid realization of a comic was just not enough. I know why now. The long shadow of a little film called THE DARK KNIGHT. Now of course, the latest in the Batman saga had come out over a month later, but I saw it first, and was utterly blown away. Chris Nolan (co-writer/director) completely transcended Bob Kane's (admittedly ambitious) source material. I had never seen a superhero film like it. As I've said before, a proper, full-length review is to follow. As a side note, Downey later fired some potshots at DARK KNIGHT, stating,

"The Dark Knight is like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and scriptwriting and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.' I didn't understand The Dark Knight. I still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and, in the end, they need him to be a bad guy. I'm like, 'I get it -- this is so high brow and so f--king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.'"

Sorry Jr., but by comparison to DK, IRON MAN seems frivilous and slight, a bright, loud funhouse that is barely remembered a week later. Again, nothing wrong with that. I did enjoy this movie, but once you've seen something that completely obliterates the boundaries of a certain genre, there is no going back. I shoulda seen this in May.