Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Cuba Gooding Jr.

Director: Jon Favreau

Screenplay: Mark Fergus

Running time: 2 hrs 6 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comic Book



CRITIQUE:


In the superhero movie canon, a formula is most common, if not essential, especially in origin stories. Spiderman couldn’t have battled those baddies without the angsty backstory of sacrifice; Batman couldn’t have instilled justice in Gotham without overcoming his own fears; Superman couldn’t have fought with passion if he didn’t discover what true love really was. Same applies with IRON MAN, before we see the high-flying metal clash, we get the welding process of the ironclad hero. Origin stories are tricky creatures, they fumble in pursuit of grasp, some evolve with success but some result in clutter. Thankfully, IRON MAN is saved, kudos to its biggest hero, Robert Downey Jr. With his whip-smart swagger, easygoing millionaire fella, his Tony Stark is not your average superhero. Whilst the rest of the heroes in the comic book plethora suffer in social anguish, or the pains of heartbreak, Downey’s Stark is almost an oblique persona, whose ego is as big as his name. He doesn’t care about his financing of America’s ultra-weapons, as long as the bucks are cashing in and he preserves the nation’s militia’s might, he’s alright. So when he pulls the swerve of his character arc, after being imprisoned in the lair of Afghan terrorists and building his crudest iron armour imaginable, he develops a conscience that the film consistently thrusts upon – this is the work of Downey, and you’ve got to give him credits for that. The icon of Iron Man not only fits him impeccably, he owns the role.


Nevertheless there are glitches. Incessantly, we are forced to ask how the hell did the terrorist not notice Stark building his armour when he was in relentless surveillance? And how in the world could it be possible to finish off the rest of his armour in less than a day? Then there were the thrills, seemingly to cover the holes of logic. And what a spectacle; the visual effect of the finalised scarlet-and-gold iron suit is an impeccable graphics design that could rival the technical brilliance of TRANSFORMERS. On the whole, if we were to summarise the film, it spends most of its storyline around the building of the titular hero’s suit, throwing in branches of plot for good measure. Gwyneth Paltrow gives affection to the film as the secretary Pepper Potts, and Jeff Bridges is almost unrecognisable as Obadiah Staine, the main right-hand man turned villain.


Once you’ve gone past the snappy, humour-filled beginning and have seen the explosive ending, albeit swiftly executed, you’ll learn that there’s a low-point inbetween half. But thanks to a cracking script, IRON MAN never ceases to be a fun ride, with clunks and clatter, this is often funny superhero movie that’s different from any other. One that dares to be original.



VERDICT:

The force that keeps the heart of IRON MAN beating is the talent extraordinaire of Downey Jr. Albeit with flaws, cue a not-so-slick finale, this is an entertaining superhero romp that’s fresh, invigorating and a touch humorous.



RATING: B+