Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
126 Minutes

Directed By: Jon Favreau
Written By: Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Staring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, and Faran Tahir

If you douse me again, and I’m not on fire, I’m donating you to a city college. -Tony Stark

Review

Iron Man is more than just an action film with special effects.  For a movie that is riddled with the fantastic, it becomes a story that really delves into the depth of it’s main characters, the villains, and makes a story that adds substance to mix with it’s phenomenal FX , truly making the superhero genre fun again.  Regarded as one of the best movies of 2008 it is without question a well deserved acknowledgement.  The Dark Knight brought us drama and a deeper look into the more melancholy side of the genre, but Iron Man was all about the amusement and joy of this kind of film has been missing.  Every once in awhile you get lucky enough to watch a movie that is somehow more special than everything around it and director JonFavreau seemed to understand what that meant.  It’s future predicts a classic of it’s kind, and for once actually has me excited about the notion of a sequel.

Tony Stark, the playboy weapons design billionaire extraordinaire finds himself being held captive somewhere in the far east so deep in the tunnels of adeserted mountain that even the United States Military and his own powerful conglomerate cannot find him.  Once the boisterous supporter of his weapons superpower and the idealist that it actually helped the world rather than enhanced the violence in it, he finds his own dogma slowly diminish into the world of fairytale.  Forced to make the group of terrorists a weapon of mass destruction, Tony tricks them and makes a weapon built for his escape, but only after he does, do the realizations of what he created and his perspective on life suddenly become one.  There becomes the birth of Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most versatile and talented actors available today, but even I raised an eyebrow when I learned he was cast to play Tony Stark.  He seemed suitable for the billionaire genius, but superhero and Jr. just didn’t seem to go together.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Not only doesDowney Jr. become Tony Stark, he becomes Iron Man as well.  The beauty of the performance is watching the evolution of his character.  While Stark changes his perspective on things, he is still Stark, and even as Iron Man, his core personality never changed, just his mission.  The changes of Tony Stark was never forced or superficial, and wasn’t a play for the story to work.  It was an authentic transition for his character.  The womanizing playboy is never fully gone, his energy is just focused elsewhere.

The supporting roles were just as intriguing.  I cringed at first sight of Paltrow, but for once she didn’t seem to make the role about herself and really became Pepper, the devoted assistant to Stark.  Her quiet but resolute depiction of the character not only made her smart and funny but an extremely compelling enigma.  We never learn exactly what makes her so brilliant and so devoted to her job.  She is extraordinary, but the mystery as to why lingers in the air like a teaser to something we aren’t mean to beprivy to, something that Tony himself is only starting to see.  Terrence Howard has amazing chemistry with Downey Jr. and brings an energetic dynamic to the group.  His smooth demeanor and little glance in Tony’s garage remarking, “Another Time”, gives a small hint that there is something bigger for this character coming, and he’s interesting enough that you want to find out what.  I didn’t even identify Jeff Bridges initially.  By the press conference it suddenly became apparent he was himself, but in what has to have been one of his most noteworthy performances in a long time, his character was never a stretch.  Bridges brought an incredible integrity to the role that could have come off as one dimensional with a less seasoned actor or someone not as committed to understanding who Obi was exactly, but even with Bridges brevity onscreen he made his motivations and who he was completely palpable.

The “becoming” of Iron Man is the best part of the film in my thoughts.  Stark interacting with Jarvis and conceiving ways to fine tune his creation was pure enjoyment.  There were moments of amusement, great FX , but also the realism that tony though a genius didn’t just make his iron man suit without a hitch, which also was a nice surprise that the thinking behind that played into the film later on.  There was a real evolution of how the suit and everything was created.  The actual moments when the suit finally comes together and the small pieces just go onto his body are some of the most enjoyable CGI FX I’ve ever seen.  It truly gave the kid in a candy store feel to it.  It just doesn’t get better than that.

Favreau is proving that he is coming into his own as a director in this film, and I imagine he will only get better.  As I pointed out recently while watching Dirty Harry, there is never the feel that the story is being rushed for the sake of hurrying to the climax, and Iron Man had that same feel.  There seemed to be no concern about the timing or pacing of the story as it was put together just to tell the story, whether that equaled ninety five minutes or one hundred and twenty seemed to be of no consequence in it’s creation.  There wasn’t too much information shoved into the story, allowing the characters to evolve and develop in a genuine matter and Favreau captured that point on.  I might have wanted a few more Iron Man moments, but that is just keeping me salivating for the sequel or maybe just force me to make a purchase.

Iron Man is in it’s own league of film making.  Every now and again movie magic happens and a great film that is not only unforgettable but amazing becomes a reality.  I’m still leaving The Dark Knight as my number one of the year, but this takes a place in front of even Indy for me.  I know without question this is a movie that I will watch over and over again and only find more enjoyable.  I can only hope that the same love, attention to detail, dialogue, and conception to creation is implemented in the sequel, because I want more.

Popularity: 1% [?]