Entertaining, but it could have been so much more.

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2008)

Robert Downey Jr. has deservedly been hailed as the star feature of Iron Man: he brings wit and warmth to the playboy entrepreneur-turned-superhero formula at the heart of this film, which would likely seem tired and clichéd without such a charismatic presence. Downey Jr. plays weapons manufacturer Tony Stark, owner of a vast fortune and an ego to match. After being captured in Afghanistan by a group of terrorists, Stark gets his first inkling of the misuse of the modern weaponry that he has helped to produce. To escape his captors and avenge the wrongdoing that he was witnessed first hand he draws upon his technical prowess and becomes a force for good: Iron Man.
The opening scene, in which the Afghan terrorists suddenly seize Stark, is brutal and gripping. The subsequent flashbacks to Stark's nauseatingly opulent lifestyle in America form a startling contrast to the misery and fear of his imprisonment in an Afghan cave fort. The bold decision to set much of the action in the modern-day battleground of Afghanistan shows that director Jon Favreau is willing to engage directly with serious issues arising from modern warfare. It is disappointing that, from this early promise, Iron Man develops as a hit and miss action film that is unable to offer much in the way of meaningful commentary.
Stark first appears as Iron Man when he escapes from his imprisonment in the cave and massacres his captors. This is a rudimentary action scene with few surprises. Other action scenes, including the final showdown with an evil Iron Man, have the same dull inevitability about them. It is only in the sequence involving Iron Man and the two jet fighter planes that the CGI and choreography combine to dazzling effect. The humour in this film is similarly patchy. The scene in which Stark's secretary (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) operates on his machine-aided heart is painfully funny. Like most of the humour, this scene owes much of its success to Downey Jr.'s personal charm. Elsewhere, the use of slapstick is far too predictable.
Where Iron Man really falls down, however, is in the decision to dabble with serious issues such as terrorism and the arms trade whilst failing to offer any real insights. The Afghan enemies develop into hackneyed villains along the lines of the Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Jeff Bridges gives a darkly menacing performance as Obadiah Stane, Stark's crooked business partner, but is forced to chew his way through some clumsy lines, especially during their final confrontation. Iron Man, a film with some very strong elements, falls short in the effort to mix action, comedy and current affairs. This is an entertaining film but could have been so much more.