"Iron Man" - Marvel Comics' man of steel... um, iron

Rating: 9/10 (2 May 2008)

"Iron Man," a cinematic adaptation of the popular Marvel Comics icon created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck and Larry Lieber in the early 1960s, is in many ways one of the best comic-to-film adaptations out there (perhaps because Marvel chose to fund this one themselves - the first move of its kind for this sort of movie). Despite having the usual trappings of the usual origin story, "Iron Man" is pure fun. What makes this story stand out are two key factors: the smart-a**ed performance of a newly-reformed Robert Downey, Jr., and a smart-a**ed screenplay by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway.
Working behind the camera (and sharing an on screen cameo) is director Jon Favreau of "Swingers" fame. An admitted Marvel Comics aficionado, Favreau seemed to be the perfect guy to direct an adaptation of Marvel's Man of Steel. Of course, I've never been able to land a copy of an Iron Man comic myself, but I've always admired the character (those who have read my reviews know that Spider-Man is my greatest comic book superhero). As an aside, fans will also realize that Iron Man served as a partial inspiration for the landmark sci-fi picture "RoboCop" (1987), and the character is one of the many aliases of Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah, and his 1996 debut solo record was appropriately named "Ironman."
As billionaire industrialist Tony Stark - who is in some ways analogous to DC Comics' Bruce Wayne/Batman - Robert Downey, Jr. is one of the smartest (and unlikeliest) casting choices for any superhero character thus far. He's got the smart-a** attitude, the irresponsible playboy demeanor, dry humor, vibrant sexuality, and the cool slyness of any man at ease with his wealth. While the comics had a Tony Stark who journeyed to Cold War-era Vietnam, Our Hero is now seen demonstrating his company's weapons technology in war-torn Bush Regime-era Afghanistan.
After his U.S. Army convoy is attacked, we next see Stark being held captive by Islamic militants who want him to help build them one of his most lethal and effective "toys" from scratch. Stark, who now wears a device that helps keep shrapnel out of his heart (compliments of a fellow benevolent prisoner), thinks otherwise. Using the raw materials at his disposal, he plans to engineer a daring escape plan by constructing a powered suit of armor.
After this huge action sequence, Stark returns to California's Stark Industries a changed man. No longer the arrogant rich-boy he was before, he has seen the light; undergoing a sort of philosophical awakening in Afghanistan after seeing the militants use his own weapons against U.S. forces there, he ceases weapons production at Stark Industries, much to the mortification of his business partner and surrogate father figure Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who eventually uses Stark's own technology against him to become the armored super-villain Iron Monger. Along for the ride, of course, is Stark's pretty assistant Pepper Potts (an amazingly well-cast Gwyneth Paltrow), who he starts putting the moves on and she seems to return the affection; there is also loyal best friend Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), who in the comics, of course, eventually becomes War Machine.
Yes. "Iron Man" is one heck of a fun ride. Yes. It is incredibly well-acted and directed. Robert Downey, Jr., an alcoholic himself and whose drug problems are well-documented in the annals of Hollywood celebrity hell, is perfectly cast as the rich playboy-turned-superhero Tony Stark/Iron Man. Stark's change-of-heart business philosophy and alcoholism battles and many personal demons were well-documented in the comics as well, thus furthering the true-to-life superhero portrayals defined by Marvel back in the '60s when the character first saw print. This is all something that Downey, Jr. plays incredibly well in the film, and it seems he not only looks like Stark, he IS Tony Stark. Also, most superhero movies make the mistake of having the protagonist just jumping into fray; not so with "Iron Man." Here, Stark's becoming the iron-clad superhero is a process, with a number of technical glitches that provide plenty of humorous bumps along the way to keep it from ever getting boring.
Since the movie is typical superhero origin story stuff, it falls victim to it as well. The film of course ends in a fantastic super-powered showdown between Iron Man and Iron Monger that kind of wore itself out after a few minutes in. We've seen so many of this stuff in the origin stories before, so let's just hope that like "Spider-Man 2" (2004) - the greatest superhero movie ever - "Iron Man 2/Iron Man Returns" takes the time to really explore the depth of the character and make good with his many personal flaws.
9/10