Iron Man - REVIEW

Superhero movies are a tricky thing to pull off. They need to balance the suspension of the disbelief with enough reality to still make everything feel believable and human. Iron Man, though not a top tier super hero in the vein of Spidey, Batman, or Superman, gets a surprisingly wonderful big screen first outing that puts him on the same level as the above mentioned heroes. The story begins with Tony Stark, a billionaire weapons designer nick-named "the merchant of death", who is in Afghanistan demonstrating his latest invention. Soon after the demonstration he falls under attack by militants, who take him captive and force him to replicate some of his designs. Instead, he builds a suit of metal which he uses to escape before being rescued and taken back to America. Once he returns, he announces his company will no longer be making weapons, which causes the stock to plummet 40 points, much to the dismay of Board member Obadiah (Jeff Bridges). In his mansion, Stark begins to create an updated version of the metal suit he used in Afghanistan, and plans to use to to destroy the weapons that had fallen into the hands of the terrorists. However, what makes Tony Stark different from most superheroes out to fix the world, is that he's so wildly different from the mould. In his early 40's, an alcoholic, a gambler, a party boy, he's everything that superheroes typically aren't. This actually makes him more interesting, mostly due to Robert Downey Jr.'s wonderful portrayal of Stark, combined with the script's smart and funny dialogue. Downey also has great chemistry with co-stars Terrence Howard (as a close friend in the military), Gwyneth Paltrow (as personal assistant Pepper Potts), and Bridges. Howard, though a bit underused is good (and there's a major hint that he might get his own suit in a sequel), but of the supporting roles, Paltrow and Bridges dominate. Paltrow is strong and funny- a perfect romantic foil for Downey-, while Bridges transforms from a sycophant into a menacing rival. The special effects blend so seamlessly that I never once thought of them as effects; they were as realistic as any of the people. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Iron Man though, is how little "action" is put into the 2 hour running time. Despite this, the film is still immensely entertaining because it has a good story to tell. My only complaint is that the climactic battle isn't quite as exciting as it could have been. It's not a crushing disappointment, but after Transformer's robot smack down or The Golden Compass's bear fight from last year, it doesn't feel just right (can't the hero just defeat the villain out of sheer strength/wit as opposed to getting someone else to help him for once in these movies?). However, for the most part Iron Man is a hugely entertaining, smart, and well acted big budget movie that should bump this second tier hero up a notch or two in the Marvel hierarchy.

Grade: B+

Current Nominations: Best Picture(#2), Best Director - John Favreau(#2), Best Actor - Robert Downey Jr. (#1 WINNER), Best Supporting Actress - Gwyneth Paltrow (#1 WINNER), Best Supporting Actor - Jeff Bridges (#2), Best Adapted Screenplay, (#1 WINNER) Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing (#1 WINNER), Best Visual Effects (#1 WINNER), Best Sound Editing/Mixing (#1 for both)

Number of 2008 films seen: 5