Minor Spoilers

This movie is best described as a fanboy’s wet dream. There are plenty of not so subtle references for Iron Fans to pick up on, clever dialog to keep the audience actively listening, and it’s a stunning spectacle. Call Iron Man what you will, but don’t call it boring. It’s a great way to kick off the summer. I, for one, was ‘ooh-ing’ and ‘awe-ing’ along with the rest of the audience at the niftiness that is Iron Man.

Bravo to Jon Favreau for using as little CGI as possible. During some parts of the movie I kept trying to figure out whether or not they used it. In some parts computer intervention is reasonably obvious, but mainly because the possibility of achieving the various superheroic acts would be slim without the construction of an actual suit of powered armor.

Sometimes the camera felt too shaky for a movie about highly advanced technology. I understand that some of that is probably because of the location it was shot in. And further to the filmmaker’s credit the shaky-cam is rarely noticeable. Most of it occurred while Tony Stark was in Afghanistan and they may have wanted to use that raw feel to increase the tension of the situation.

The wit in this movie is astounding. Everything from visual jokes to one-liners to witty banter is employed here. Tony Stark’s rich playboy savoir-faire more than contributes to the comedy. The characters around him succumb to his cleverness and charm and it keeps us, the audience, in stitches. Stark’s comedic rapport with his slightly dimwitted seemingly empathic robotic machinery is hilarious. Don’t worry. His relationship with his armor is strictly professional.

The most satisfying aspect of the film is Robert Downey Jr.’s performance. He captures all that is Tony Stark and gives it to us on an iron platter. He’s electrifying. A lot of “comic book” Tony Stark’s charisma that is successfully interpreted to film, I think, can in large part be credited to Robert Downey Jr.’s own charm. This is probably one of the best cast movies I’ve seen in a while. It’s hard to go wrong with Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. Though Obadiah Stane is far from likeable, he is an interesting villain due to the friendliness that is present in Bridges’ voice, which makes some of his other roles, like the Dude in The Big Lebowski, lovable. As Pepper Potts, Paltrow is able to match Tony Stark’s charisma and be influenced by it while still maintaining her better judgment… for the most part.

There is an obvious pushing of social commentary in its anti-war theme. I don’t mind the theme, but I think it’s force fed to the audience on a nearly constant basis. The film opens with Tony Stark being captured by terrorists who use illegally acquired weapons made by Stark Industries and after his escape Tony decides that weapons of war are morally wrong. The motivation of Stark is pushed as if it is the essential point the filmmakers are wanting the audience to leave with, but the theme conflicts with the plot. A weapons maker stops making weapons for the military and decides to wage his own war using his weapon specifically designed for personal use. It makes sense why he does it. The only way to destroy the weapons is by making a weapon that can destroy them, but he also uses the suit to fight people. It’s unavoidable. So, essentially the movie presents two themes “War is bad” and “If you want peace prepare for war.” I almost thought this was a flaw, but I’m not so sure. I think it’s an interesting bit of irony. Superheroes often swim in ideals and are faced with situations where they have to decide what is morally straight. Usually the hero’s own morality is held up as the standard, but the innocent hypocrisy adds something to this movie.

The narrative is driven more by circumstance than it is by plot, but personally I didn’t care much. The plot ties together enough that it doesn’t feel random which made for a good time. There is a week point where the question of “why?” isn’t addressed. The answer could be left up to the disorganization of terrorist and guerilla warfare, but I figured I’d give you guys something to gnaw on. Also, there is a little needless non-sensible misdirection of the audience to throw us off the trail of something that we already knew would happen, but it’s hardly noticeable.

The story can feel disjointed at times. It focuses most on the construction of the armor, and how it’s affecting Stark’s life. The movie immediately immerses its viewers into action. It’s an assault to the senses that I’m not entirely sure is welcome, but it is effective none the less. From there it backtracks and rebuilds to the point when Tony is then captured by predominantly Afghani terrorists and is forced to build for them his newest weapon, the Jericho Missile. As is easily expected he deceives them and builds a super suit to break out of captivity. Then we have plot lines involving the stages of construction of the red and gold armor, and the making of Iron Monger.

Though nothing has been greenlit yet, there are talks of a sequel and maybe even a trilogy. Most of the main characters are signed on for three movies; so, the only thing that could put a damper in the future of the franchise is a poor box office reception, but as we very well know that’s not a problem.

If you go see this movie, I promise you, you won’t regret it.

-Vince

Tags: Comic Books, Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man, Iron Monger, Jeff Bridges, Jon Favreau, Marvel, Movie, Obadiah Stane, Pepper Potts, Robert Downey Jr., Tony Stark

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 4:46 pm and is filed under Movies, Sci-Fi, Vincent, comics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.