Iron Man-Oh-Man
- Review By:
- tpb
- Date:
- November 29, 2008
- Movie:
- Iron Man
- Director:
- Jon Favreau
- Released:
- 2008
- Good Guy:
- Tony Stark
- Played By:
- Robert Downey, Jr.
- Bad Guy:
- Obadiah Stane
- Played By:
- Jeff Bridges
- MPAA Rating:
- PG-13
- Family Friendly Ages:
- Young teens
Of course it's not possible to fly without some sort of stabilizer, wing-like steering/guidance system, but it's so much fun watching Iron Man blast through walls and zoom from one part of the world to another to dispatch greedy, viscious war-mongers that... well... who cares about science when there's so much fun to be had? C'mon! The movie is based on a DC Comics character, for pete's sake! Just set your reality meter to low and enjoy the ride. And this is really a great ride.
Robert Downey Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark, the genius-inventor-millionaire-escaped-kidnap-victim-turned-ironclad-hero-and-defender-of-the-weak (and underfunded) mudhut-villager. He trades snarky, sometimes hilarious barbs with anyone and anything that shares the frame with him, including his anthropomorphized robotic assembly team; gorgeous members of the press; his friends; his enemies; himself; and, of course, the beautiful Pepper Pot (Gwyneth Paltrow), his girl-friday. Paltrow brings a surprising, sincere, and sweet balance of efficiency and warmth to the role of real-world buffer, managing to channel Stark's humanity like some nearly platonic muse. Jeff Bridges, who seems unable to misstep in any role - ever, is large and menacing as the amoral Stane who wants to keep Stark from derailing the company money machine when Tony's newly-developed conscience comes calling. The three of them seem so committed to their roles, and to this movie, that it's easy to forget its 25-cent origins. Let's face it, Iron Man was more popular as a Black Sabbath song than as a graphic novel series. But there they are, these Hollywood luminaries, seemingly refusing to upstage each other to maintain plot and plausibility. On the other hand, Terrance Howard, fresh off his Oscar nomination for Hustle & Flow, is sluggish and unenthusiastic as Stark's military buddy, but his is a minor role, and it doesn't detract from the rest of the movie. As a matter of fact, he's so forgettable... he's... uh... well... forget it.
Iron Man may ignore the laws of physics and strain credulity when handling compressed design-to-manufacturing time lines, but it's so much fun to watch, it really doesn't matter.
I'm waiting for the sequel combo deal with the hulk, that should be interesting.