Iron Man

By: Adam Quigley Posted: May 16, 2008

Give it up for Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau, the two most unexpected talents to take hold of the comic book movie genre and make it their bitch. And believe me when I say, I mean that in the best way possible.

Let's flash back in time a moment. Before Iron Man, Downey Jr. played, among other roles, an incompetent small-time crook in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, a quirky journalist in Zodiac, and a conniving druggie in A Scanner Darkly. Meanwhile, Favreau had only directed three movies: the comedy crime drama Made, the Will Ferrell family comedy Elf, and the children's fantasy adventure flick Zathura. These are not the type of people you'd expect to head a big action blockbuster like Iron Man, and yet, it's those exact unique qualities they bring to the film that make it such a satisfying experience. No, it's not amazing, and it doesn't reinvent the genre in any shape or form, but it does present a fresh spin on comic book movies during a time where they've been in dire need of one.

Robert Downey Jr. reaches a breakthrough in masturbating technology.

Maybe it's because the Iron Man comic book is so one-note and imperfect that the movie works so well. Other comic book films have the burden of translating cherished stories and characters to the screen while a horde of disparaging fanboys pick apart every little detail that isn't faithful to the source material. The problem is, a lot of what appears in these comics doesn't translate all that well to the screen. Lucky for Iron Man, the best thing the comic is known for is the badass costume. Once you have that, you're set; you can alter the story and characters as you please. So yeah, Robert Downey Jr. probably isn't the most fitting choice to play Tony Stark, but who cares? Tony Stark is boring in the comics. This Tony Stark, on the other hand, is such a charismatic son of a bitch, he makes women's panties drop just as easily as he rolls off biting quips from the tip of his tongue. It's the type of character that doesn't just ask for Robert Downey Jr., it demands him. Iron Man lives and dies on the lead actor's shoulders, and with Downey Jr., it doesn't just live; it flourishes.

Keeping the story fresh is Favreau, injecting an abundance of comedic flavoring to balance out the darker elements to the storyline. In another director's hands, we'd have yet another bleak comic adaptation: a hardcore, brooding, and gloomy tale of a man who has innocent blood on his hands and attempts to redeem himself after nearing death during his capture by the enemy. I'm not saying there's not a place for that style (just look what it's done for the new Batman films), but Favreau knows that Iron Man doesn't need it. Instead, he brings back the—and this is the keyword here—"fun" to comic book movies. It may not pack that much of a dramatic punch, but this is popcorn entertainment at its finest.

Admittedly, the gay love scene in Iron Man felt a little out of place.

That's not to say it's without flaws though. In fact, there's one problem in particular that truly keeps the film from reaching greatness, and that's the execution of the film's primary villain, Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. Iron Monger, played by Jeff Bridges). For somebody of such high intelligence and apparent reasoning skills, his actions in the second half of the film don't make any sense. It was as if the writers hit a block and just said to themselves, "OK, well shit, now we need to get him in the Iron Monger suit and end with a climactic battle against Iron Man." It also doesn't help that the final showdown ends rather weakly, presenting three huge clichés straight out of a screenwriting seminar: (1) the hero uses something seemingly unrelated that was referenced earlier to gain the upper hand, (2) the actual defeating of the villain isn't directly caused by the hero but by a friend or loved one, and (3) the final action scene of the movie must always end with some grand explosion (that somehow manages to avoid killing all but the bad guy).

"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, Iron Man."

It's only because the film's prior action sequences are so unbelievably awesome that this doesn't hamper the film too badly. To say I peed myself in excitement is an understatement; by the time Iron Man dons the final version of the suit and takes out over a dozen terrorists in a matter of minutes, I literally lost control of every single one of my bodily functions. That's how cool the fight scenes are. If I was 9 years old seeing this, I would've spent the next year of my life pretending I was Iron Man, punching my enemies through walls and shooting missiles at that fucking bitch teacher who kept calling my parents and saying I had aggression issues. It's not even fair to call them fight sequences, since it's really just a series of scenes where Iron Man is just beating the shit out of everybody who stands in his way (is it really a fight if the opponent is never given the chance to punch back?). My only complaint: I wish there was more of it.

Thankfully, Downey Jr. is not left to fend for himself when the dust from the action settles. He's aided by a solid supporting cast, with Gwyneth Paltrow guaranteeing to surprise many with how not annoying she manages to be. In fact, her chemistry with Downey Jr. is one of the highlights of the film. And Terrence Howard punches up his relatively one-dimensional role as the best friend of Tony Stark by maintaining his down-to-earth likeability, and he even gets a terrific moment of winking-at-the-camera fan service (referencing him becoming War Machine in the sequel).

"Pfft, you think that's impressive? I can lift a car without horribly killing everybody inside."

Speaking of fan service, I just can't end a review of Iron Man without crying for joy about the after-the-credits sequence, giving a not so subtle hint at Stark's involvement in the Avengers initiative. If all goes as planned, we wont just be getting a sequel to Iron Man; director Jon Favreau will actually be helming The Avengers movie, which would include all the established characters/actors for the upcoming Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Ant-Man, and Nick Fury films. And if what we've seen so far is any indication, they're off to an amazing start.

4 out of 5