Man of Steel, Ethics of Plastic

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2008)

*Iron Man* is a steel-belted planet-crusher of a film; alloy feet on the ground, red-and-gold armor streaking for sub-orbital skies. Based in a reality close to current, like the shrapnel lodged in Tony Stark's chest, we feel it close to our heart technology, physics, corporate backbiting, intimate asides and a self-made hero that speaks in tongues to our wild fantasies of power.
Not just for 14-year-old boys.
Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark, all-American, arrogant, insouciant, egomaniacal billionaire playboy weaponry wizard, who sustains a shrapnel wound in Afghanistan (comic book lore tells us a land mine in Nam; movie places Stark in a *current* non-essential conflict), imprisoned by generic Arabs and forced to make a WMD for them, instead designing an armor suit, first for escape from his oily-complected captors, and then as avenger (wink wink) *against* his own weapon creations and the corporate back door deals that cede those American weapons into oily-complected hands.
Departing considerably from comic book canon, all the familiar characters are here, but tweaked: Jim Rhodes (excellent Terence Howard) is not just Stark's pilot, but a high-ranking air force officer; Pepper Potts (moderately cute Gwyneth Paltrow) is Stark's yearning Girl Friday, who sees the parade of fluff through Tony's bedroom as a prelude to her ultimate spanking; Obadiah Stane (an uncharacteristically sinister Jeff Bridges) is not a corporate competitor but in Stark's trusted inner circle, making his betrayal all the more treacherous
Directed by Jon Favreau (Vince Vaughn's wife) and screen played surprisingly well by its four writers, *Iron Man* takes its time focusing on the man inside the metal, rather than the mayhem the metal man musters. (Can I have a prize for that one?)
In captivity, a fellow prisoner, Yinsen (Shaun Toub) creates an electromagnet to keep the shrapnel from entering Stark's heart, which Stark refines into a glowing "reactor" or something, forever to remain his albatross - and simultaneously a cool superhero chest-piece.
Yinsen turns Stark from unrepentant war dog to humanitarian avenger by telling him of his "life's work in the hands of these murderers." Let's get the "murderer" definition straight: when Stark shows off his death-dealing toys in callous arrogance ("Respected or feared? I say, Why not both?"), he merely echoes the stance of the Amerikan Military War Machine, who also believe the "best weapon is the one you only need to fire once." Who are the murderers again? Secondly, a business genius like Stark should know how the supposed "enemy" market is the house of sand the Amerikan military economy is built upon. When it comes to killing for profit, Amerikan ethics are quite, quite plastic.
The first taste of the crude, silver armor is magnificent. Though the '63 comic book version now looks like a clown suit next to his red-and-gold juggernauts, the movie gussies up the suit with mechanical ganglions to lend it cave-cred. And in this roughshod mechanical man, Stark escapes the Arabs like a runaway tank.
Back in "civilization" Stark turns his focus from corporate warfare to one project  his new armor. Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges scares us with his shaved head.
Seeing Stark create and test the powers of his technological marvel is half the fun of this origin tale - and when the full armor suit is eventually revealed, it is the sexiest beast this side of Optimus Prime! CGI is used as sensibly as Ridley Scott used it in *Gladiator*  to enhance the story rather than to blow our minds with cheap shots. Seeing Iron Man out-fly combat jets and take on tanks is action enough 
AND - the worst part about Doctor Doom in *Fantastic Four* was his voice remaining the fruity scientist's drawl even when he donned the mask  but when Stark slams on his iron man  yeeees! - he has a Vader thoom!
We have CGI to thank that Favreau didn't put Downey in a rubber suit and dub in clanking foley. And with the armor's complexity, it is only logical a machine should suit him up - and only CGI could render that machine, rather than having to see him pull on his gleaming jeans one pants-leg at a time.
The CGI only falls overboard once, when Stane dons giant armor to battle Iron Man in the final scenes, the movie suddenly turning into *Transformers 2: Electric Boogaloo* for a bad second.
In the final cut, no one will notice the ethics paradox  it's not for this movie's target demo to tangle with. *Iron Man* is still one of the great superhero movies.
IRON MAN opens with AC/DC's *Back in Black.* And we're played out by Sabbath's *Iron Man*!
Not just for 14-year-old boys. But it'll sure make you feel like one.