Iron Man (2008)

O Masterpiece
X Excellent
O Good
O OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / June 17, 2008

Every once in a while Tinseltown gets it right. “Iron Man” is one of those jubilant occasions. Another oft-cited example is “Batman Begins” (2005), and I suspect this summer’s “The Dark Knight” will follow suit. The antithesis of these is something like “Ghost Rider” (2007), which is a veritable abomination.

Here is the key to a good superhero movie: Make it as believable as possible. Yes, credibility is the elusive, common thread that links the greatest examples of the genre. Think about it: Superhero movies, by nature, are far-fetched fiction. Sure. But if a movie can sweep me away for two hours by persuading me to believe that this super-person has a feasible way to exist, then I am under its spell. Now then, in this day and age of convincing CGI, anything can appear to be possible because we can see it with our incredulous eyes. Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” (2005) is a great example. So the burden of credibility ultimately falls upon the screenwriters, provided the CGI personnel aren’t clowns who give us cartoony CGI.

“Iron Man” joins the short list that does justice to the genre. Its director, Jon Favreau, is obviously an Iron Man fan, who evidently wanted to empower his hero with credibility, because “Iron Man” is refreshingly realistic … inasmuch as that is possible for a superhero movie.

As with any first superhero movie (or comic book), “Iron Man” is largely composed of the origin story. Mostly I find this tradition tiresome, which is why I prefer superhero-movie sequels. Here’s how origin stories go: The hero is usually physically weak in some way — initially. Something tragic yet remarkable happens to make him (yes, the hero is usually is a him) powerful, insomuch that his new ability exceeds that of typical human beings’ capabilities. Alas, said power is almost always a two-edged sword, a blessing and a curse, and it tends to alienate the lonely hero from fitting in with others. And then there’s the costuming issue (which is excellently non-existent in “Unbreakable”), coupled with a fumbling, often painful training on learning to wield the newfound superpower.

Most of “Iron Man” is origin story, but surprisingly, it’s not tiresome. Even the origin story is interesting. The secret to this particular movie’s success, however, is its casting, namely, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. He is exceptionally entertaining in this movie.

Again we’re brought to the writing. The movie’s story is fine, but it’s the humorous dialogue and Downey Jr.’s delivery that make the movie great. Everyone loves a caped crusader’s battle scenes. But the time the hero spends running from the telephone booth decked out in Technicolor tights and the time he spends as his timid secret identity differ greatly. There are usually precious few superhero-in-action scenes compared to his bumbling, loser, alter-ego scenes.

But that’s another admirable aspect of “Iron Man”: The development and set-up scenes aren’t boring like they were, in say, “Superman Returns” (2006). Nope, instead, Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is just as interesting and flashy as Iron Man. It is his dialogue and the actor’s delivery of it that make his secret identity so intriguing.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a world-renowned weapons developer who is demonstrating his newest wares for the U.S. military in Afghanistan when he is captured by “bad guys,” essentially terrorist types who want Stark to be their personal weapons designer. And so he does, except, he doesn’t build any weapons for his captors, he builds his first Iron Man suit. This invention marks the beginning of a superhero and all that entails, as described above.

I can comfortably recommend “Iron Man,” because it is excellent summer-blockbuster entertainment. And for “Iron Man” fans that have followed the comics and anxiously await this franchise’s sequel(s), keep watching after the credits begin to roll; otherwise, the 10-second bone isn’t much of a scrap.

Directed by Jon Favreau
Robert Downey Jr. / Gwyneth Paltrow / Jeff Bridges
Action / Sci-Fi 126 min.
MPAA: PG-13 (for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content)

U.S. Release Date: May 2, 2008
Copyright 2008: 288