Iron Man - Review

“Iron Man”
3.5 stars out of 4

“They say the best weapon is the one you never have to fire,” Tony Stark bemuses at the beginning of Iron Man. “I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once.” Rest assured that the Iron Man series will be firing more than once, as this superhero saga is one of the best to date in the genre, as well as the first real blockbuster of 2008. With new installments for Batman, Hellboy, and the Hulk, Iron Man gives a touch of originality to superhero movie this summer; not that those movies won’t be good, but it makes Iron Man all the more appealing.
The movie is helmed by an unlikely duo – Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau. And make no mistake – this is Downey’s movie from start to finish. From now on, I will look at Robert Downey Jr. and think “Tony Stark.” It’s as good a performance as it gets in superhero movies, with a character different from any we’ve ever seen. Stark is a billionaire weapons designer, playboy, and scotch-loving mogul who takes a trip to Afghanistan to show off his new “Jericho missile,” when his convoy is ambushed by terrorists. He’s taken captive by terrorists and ordered to build them a missile. Instead, with the help of a doctor (Shaun Toub), Stark decides to – guess what? – build his Iron Man suit, Version 1.0. Once he returns home, Tony decides to disband the weapons manufacturing department of Stark Industries, a move that doesn’t go over too well with second-in-command Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). That’s all the plot you’ll get out of here.
The other part of that duo is Favreau. Let’s face it – I was a little skeptical when I heard that the director of Iron Man was going to be the guy who did Elf and Zathura, not exactly action movies. So how was this guy gonna film an action movie? That problem is resolved easily – Iron Man is not an action movie. That’s not to say there isn’t action, because there definitely is, but it’s not just thrown around randomly and gratuitously – the action is used to advance the plot, and more specifically, to advance the character of Stark. Favreau and his team of screenwriters make sure this movie focuses on the origin of Iron Man, rather than focusing on him running around fighting a bunch of bad guys. It’s more about the "man” than the "iron,” which is essentially why the movie succeeds.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the other nice acting jobs in this film. I never expected Jeff Bridges to be the villain in a superhero movie, but hey, he does a very nice job as Stane. Bridges doesn’t have to yell and scream and overact here and he doesn’t, keeping fairly low-key until he’s ready to combat Tony for the climactic battle. Gwyneth Paltrow is also excellent as Pepper Potts, Tony’s do-it-all secretary, and her chemistry with Downey Jr. is one of the absolute best things in this film. It’s not exactly a romantic relationship, but it works perfectly and piques interest for the future of these two in upcoming films. The fourth big-name actor here is Terence Howard as Lt. Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Tony’s best friend and a high-ranking military official. Howard’s not bad, but too often he’s given nothing more to do than be bossed around by Tony. (MINOR SPOILER: His “Next time, baby” line when he finally sees Tony’s Iron Man suit gives the impression that he won’t be bossed around in Iron Man 2.) While we’re on the subject of negatives, the climactic battle scene is a bit of a letdown, and I found myself wondering what exactly happened. But this problem is quickly fixed by an excellent ending scene at Stark’s press conference, followed by an awesome bit after the credits. Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, and every other summer blockbuster, this is your warning: Iron Man sets the bar for the summer season, and it’s going to be a tough one to beat.