Yeah, Iron Man can fly.

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2008)

Unspectacular. Stygian. Tedious. Youth Hostel. These are just some of the terms you will never hear in conjunction with 'Iron Man,' the latest Marvel superhero brought to life with hundreds of millions of dollars for the big screen. Happily, it belongs far more to the 'X-Men' and 'Batman Begins' camp more than it does to the poorhouse inhabited by 'Ghostrider,' 'Daredevil,' and 'The Fantastic Four.' However, 'Iron Man' appears to be holding back slightly throughout (clearly for the sequel), which prevents it from properly cementing its status as one of the frontrunners of the superhero genre.
Iron Man works due to Robert Downey Jr. It is as simple as that. With any other actor in the role (except perhaps Christian Bale; obviously not an option), the character of Tony Stark would have been an annoying, conceited and unfunny idiot with a beard. Therefore, the film could not work. Downey Jr, on the other hand, becomes Tony Stark incarnate. He makes him likable and believable, especially during his transformation from carefree playboy to killing machine. Unlike other superhero movies, where upon gaining their life changing powers the protagonist becomes a total do-gooder with absolute values towards right and wrong, Tony Stark remains grounded in his own world, maintaining his own flawed set of beliefs and essentially continuing to live as the same person. Due to his status as a playboy there is no blatantly proposed love interest which is a relief because nobody goes to see a superhero film to watch the protagonist try to find true love (think about that, Batman.) Sure, eventually Tony will bed his assistant, the outlandishly named Pepper Potts (a shrewd Gwyneth Paltrow), but not in this instalment so nobody has to worry. Also, as much of Terence Howard's role as Colonel Jim Rhodes (the future most imaginatively titled superhero ever, War Machine) was cut, there is little focus on characters who aren't Tony. Downey Jr has all the time he needs to mould his protagonist into a real human being. Conveniently it also leaves much more time for seamless CGI ass kicking which, with the exception of the final battle, leaves you wishing Tony Stark spent more time in the suit than he does designing it. One case in point is when the 'Man is flying at the speed of sound when he is shot from the air by a tank. After falling hundreds of feet to the ground he stands up, sidesteps a second tank shell and then destroys it with a flick of his wrist. It is so cool. Explosions and death for all.
'Iron Man' does not deserve congratulations all round though. Director Jon Favreau decided at some point that, instead of a final battle between good and evil which would uphold the intelligent atmosphere created by the rest of the film, he would direct the sequel to 'Transformers' instead and shoehorn it in. Because apparently that is what everybody wanted. Iron Man battles the ingeniously named and similarly attired Iron Monger (played camped-up villain style by Jeff Bridges), who take turns to punch each other through buildings. When they tire of this (not soon enough), they fly into the air and punch each other some more. Finally, they fall to the ground, punch each other in the helmets a little and then the entire audience has a seizure and dies. It is such a letdown. Sure, Jeff Bridges' character was a little cartoonish in relation to the darker tone pervading the film anyway, but that doesn't mean that the final twenty minutes of 'Iron Man' should be the equivalent of watching somebody play a video game.
Aside from this, 'Iron Man' is still easily able to support its reputation as the first of this Summer's 'must-see' blockbusters and, with Robert Downey Jr wholly committed to the character and the inevitable sequels, it could supersede 'Spiderman' as Marvel's flagship franchise. The creases just have to be ironed out. As Jim Rhodes says, "Next time, baby!"