There are many reasons why one could be excused for being skeptical about Iron Man. If, like me, you said, "Iron Man who?" or worse, "Robert Downey Jr.? Really??" you might be as pleasantly surprised as I was to see that both the superhero and the actor are quite a treat to watch in what promises to be quite a magnum opus (with a few sequels already being planned). Perhaps it is because expectations were so low that the movie seemed quite refreshing, not least because it didn't try to elbow its way into the jam-packed summer schedule and try to compete with The Incredible Hulk or The Dark Knight. Whatever the case may be, the movie definitely brings into sharp relief that which may have been seriously lacking in other superhero movies - some real humor.
Robert Downey Jr. is alternatively cocky and conscientious as Tony Stark, billionaire inventor and owner of Stark Industries, which manufactures and supplies weapons to pretty much anyone who wishes to buy them. Acting more as the poster boy for the company than anything, Stark doesn't realize the full repercussions of his creations until he is kidnapped by members of an Al Qaeda-like terrorist group, and ordered to build a Jericho missile for them. Here, with the assistance of fellow captive, Dr. Yinsen, he builds himself a fully armed suit of armor, powered by a small but powerful electromagnetic battery attached to his chest, which also keeps his injured heart beating. Using this iron suit, he escapes, returns to the United States and announces to the world that Stark Industries would no longer manufacture weapons, thus incurring the wrath of his father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, who looks appropriately threatening). Stane wants sole 0wnership of Stark Industries and is, of course, willing to go to any lengths to get what he wants.
Added to this mix is Terrence Howard, who plays Stark's good friend and loyal US pilot, Lt. Colonel James Rhodes, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's adorable (and thankfully not dimwitted) secretary and love interest, Pepper Potts. The awkward, almost adolescent interaction between Stark and Potts makes for the best humor in the movie and allows Downey Jr. to be in his element. But the actor's brilliance lies as much in the seriousness with which he views terrorists and the genuineness with which he has (both literally and metaphorically) a change of heart, as his ability to feign ignorance and innocence about a burgeoning romance.
As for the superhero side of it, Downey Jr. owns every part of the action, and director Jon Favreau very smartly allows the actor to seamlessly sew his identity onto the Robocop-like outer shell, thus ensuring that this otherwise not widely known character (with apologies to Marvel aficionados) will be as much of a household name as Spiderman. It is this, and not the special effects, which are of course, sufficiently spectacular, that makes for fantastic entertainment, through and through.
No comments:
Post a Comment