Deus ex Marvel
Iron Man is the best superhero movie since Batman Begins. This is saying a lot due to recent horrors like Ghost Rider and Spider-Man 3, which have caused not only fans of Marvel Comics, but filmgoers with good taste, to fear any cinematic adaptation coming from the venerable comic book company. What makes the film work, though, is not just one man fighting evil in a cool metal suit like something out of a Tom Clancy wet dream. The film has genuine, hilarious wit.
There is a small throwaway scene with billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returning after being held hostage by Afghanistan terrorists. Seeing the atrocities his weaponry wrought on innocents in the Middle East, he decides to use his MIT-genius to build a suit to defend the people he put in harm’s way. As he works in the warehouse sized tech-workshop of his palatial Pacific Coast mansion with his holographic screens, he is seen dumping unnecessary items into a 3-D representation of a trashcan–apparently Stark is so brilliant, he found a way to improve the Mac OS. It also takes a certain amount of brilliance on the filmmakers’ part to add just a small flash of wit to the proceedings and Iron Man is filled with moments like these.
What makes the movie so successful is entirely the work of Downey. Whether he’s drinking with his pole-dancing stewardesses on his private jet, wise-cracking at his automated fire extinguisher system, or letting Gwyneth Paltrow finger a large cavity in his chest, he not so much gives a performance but molds the role as a canny statement on the entire hedonistic journey of his career as an actor. It’s a smart move that causes you to feel his presence even while covered head to toe in impenetrable, face-obscuring armor. The acting job is so spot-on, energizing and flawlessly entertaining in comedy both verbal and physical, the man deserves an Oscar nomination.
Jeff Bridges is also darkly swarmy enough to make an impression amidst the titanium as Obadiah Stane, Stark’s ruthless second-in-command, who creates a suit of his own for purposes fiendish in nature. Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code, Master and Commander) gets a few sarcastic lines in an un-credited cameo as the voice of Stark’s computer, JARVIS.
Fairing not so well are Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow, Crash) and Paltrow. As Stark’s Air Force buddy Jim Rhodes, Howard seems to be impatiently biding his time until he is called upon in a sequel to don a suit of armor of his own, presumably to follow the War Machine storyline from the comic books. Paltrow does what she can to inject spunk into Pepper Potts’ admin assistant character but the role is unconvincingly jimmied to be a rushed romantic interest. Also hit and miss are the computer effects. Some sequences are thrilling, like when Iron Man saves Afghan refugees and tries to out-fly fighter jets, but others are just video game-ish–the scene where he duels a tank just looks fake. It’s too bad more time and care wasn’t spent on these scenes since it looks like old Shell-head could have persuasively waged the aftermath of Charlie Wilson’s war. Still, director Jon Favreau deserves a good heap of credit for delivering a project of wit while surrounded by so much cold CGI steel, especially considering that the only thing on his resume qualifying him for the gig was Zathura.
The best and most successful superhero franchises have actors who created a rounded inner life for their alter-egos. Tobey Maguire and Peter Parker. Christian Bale and Bruce Wayne. Hugh Jackman and Wolverine. Even Wesley Snipes as Blade. They made characters that were compelling even when they were out of costume, and they made you want to see them over and over each summer. Downey makes us want to see Tony Stark again.
And make sure you stay till the end of the credits. There’s one hell of a bonus scene with a cameo appearance that’s gonna make fanboys cheer.
