Iron Man

This one kicks ass...

I  R  O  N      M  A  N

Theatrical Release: May 2008... Your standard summer blockbuster

Genre: Action

Sub-genre: Comic book adaptation... But a cool one! Unlike Daredevil or Elektra or either of the Hulks...

Starring: An impressively recovered Robert Downey, Jr.; Terrence Howard from some movies I haven't seen (yet); An unrecognizable Jeff Bridges (shaved head with a full beard? It CAN look cool!); Gwyneth Paltrow, who I didn't know was in the movie. Did you see her in the previews? Me either... She's foxy as a redhead, though... Huh? Oh yeah, the review...

The overview: Billionaire genius narcissist, Tony Stark, has an attack of conscience after a life-altering event in Afghanistan shows him that his life's work and legacy is being used for evil. Upon his return to the states, he develops (singlehandedly, in the most awesome home workshop EVAH) the Iron Man suit, a modification to the prototype he assembled in a pinch in Beefjerkistan. Shareholders think he's crazy, partner in the company turns out to be villain, battle between good Iron Man and oversized evil Iron Man, yada yada yada...

The new and improved Robert Downey Jr (smack-free since 2000!), is probably one of today's more gifted actors and Iron Man is one of his best works. Downey runs the full range of emotions in this one, from bliss to humility to subtle anger to outright arrogance (which you get TONS of). A nice modern twist is put on this Iron Man, however, with Tony Stark (Downey's character) starting the movie in Afghanistan, promoting his company's weapons in a real battlefield. The writers could've opted for inventing a war in some unheard of and unpronounceable former Soviet bloc country (can YOU find Azerbaijan on a map? Then shut up!) but using a country most Americans recognize now as a terror haven but know nothing about, well, that was a bit of a risk. It makes the wholly implausible idea of a real life superhero, kinda plausible. Bad shit really does go down in Afghanistan, so why couldn't this happen to a weapons manufacturer, right? And I'll try not to go overboard with my references to the Air Force here but I'll say this: This is the first movie to portray the Air Force as the instrumental fighting force it is. Technologically and idealogically, no other organization is as advanced or progressive, and Iron Man showcases that this throughout the movie. F-22's, UAV's, a female combat soldier (I nicknamed her A1C Fargo, that one's for Amanda!), and whenever a decision about tactics on the ground in Afghanistan needs to be made, the guy calling the shots is back stateside, in a war room full of Air Force dudes. And full kudos for using the new ABU's. Whoever the on-set technical consultant was, he deserves a beer.

So, Stark's captured by less than believable terrorists (the head terrorist shaves his head?) and held in a cave where he's forced to build them a redneck version of his weapons company's newest toy, a ground-launched cluster missile. Stark is imprisoned with a doctor who may very well be a scientist or a professor (I think he was just a doctor, though) who saves his life by putting an electromagnetic coil IN HIS STERNUM (which, incidentally, is hooked up to a car battery) to prevent the shrapnel from his wounds to going to his heart. Rather than build the terrorists

their missile, Stark instead jimmy-rigs a smaller, insertable electromagnet to place in his sternum (no car battery required) and he also fashions what has to be a 10-ton iron suit to bust out of the cave with. I'll suspend my logic in thinking that even a super-genius can make these 2 things out of materials squandered out of a terrorists hideout cave in fucking Afghanistan. Needless to say, though, the final escape in the early Iron Man suit (pictured at right) is wicked awesome (that one's for Rouse!)... Stark comes back to the USA a changed man after seeing his weapons used against him and against US forces (the opening of the film does NOT bode well for the Air Force, thanks to Starks rockets). There's something of a power struggle between Stark and his company's VP (?), played by a beard-sporting Jeff Bridges. I don't know how a weapons company could shift gears to making anything else like bicycles, pharmaceuticals, prophylactics, tissue, or handbags either, but whatever... Stark's not as blind to the world as he used to be but he's still just as arrogant. I think this detail is what I like most about this movie. Stark doesn't have this drastic, unbelievable change of personality. His new persona is inside. What happened to him in that cave changed him, certainly, but only in what he sees as right and wrong. He's not walking along the street plucking flowers, petting puppies, apologizing to women he gave the clap to back in '05. He's still kindofa douchebag. But, to borrow a phrase I like to use in real life, he wants to use his powers for good now. A lot of other super heroes are reluctant to BE who they are, but they do it out of a sense of duty (think Batman). Tony Stark doesn't have these issues. He's happy to be Iron Man. He enjoys building and improving his suit of armor. He gets a kick out of his first flight. The final scene of the movie, when it's clear it would be in his best interest to keep his identity a secret (and after being ordered to by a government agent) he just skips the lying and says "Yeah, I'm Iron Man." It's refreshing to see this positivity in a Marvel movie. Don't get me wrong, Batman has issues that make Bruce Wayne's character, at times, more interesting than Batman himself. Superman is from another planet and does what he does out of a sense of obligation. Bruce Banner is as happy with being The Hulk as Robert Reed was with being gay. But Tony Stark relishes his opportunity. I'm just saying, it's nice to see this. You don't have to be a brooding, sullen character to be deep and complex. But not everyone could pull off this sort of subtlety. Robert Downey Jr absolutely can. Ben Affleck absolutely can NOT. 

This is a great movie for a lot of reasons but I feel this is just the staging for a kick ass series of Iron Man movies. Thankfully, the end of the movie doesn't leave you feeling incomplete, like when you saw the end of the first Lord Of The Rings movies and the screen just went black when Frodo was almost where he needed to go and you were like "What the fuck?! NOOOOO!!! Sequels take YEARS!" This is a great stand-alone movie but has a lot of potential to go in a hundred different directions. I'd love to see Terrence Howard's character (Lite Colonel James Rhodes) do something awesome in the next installment. Howard apparently was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Get Rich Or Die Tryin', a movie I'm not the least interested in seeing, although I think he's a good actor and hasn't yet found the vehicle through which to showcase his full potential. The Col. Rhodes character will be instrumental in the next movie, mark my words. Maybe a sidekick but not in a Boy Wonder kind of way... 

My only real complaint about this movie was the climax. It wasn't nearly as CLIMACTIC as it should've been! Is it too to ask for a little more devastation in the city? I know, I know, a city bus gets ripped open like a pop can and cars are thrown about like Hot Wheels, but I wanted more explosions, which isn't like me at all. That should tell you something. I also would've appreciated something that made me question if Stark would live to be in a sequel. You know he's gonna make it, but a good ending makes you question this, even if just for a second. All in all, an excellent movie! Put it at the top of your Q. 

Best Scene: When Stark realizes his weapons are being used by terrorists to kill innocent civilians in the middle east, he flies (at supersonic speeds) to stop it. This rollout of Iron Man's weaponry is impressive and gives you a feeling of satisfaction when he reaches through the concrete wall to grab the terrorist in charge and turns him over to the villagers and says "He's all yours." You don't see him kill the other dozen or so terrorists in the village, but no one could survive being thrown through a cement wall. I agree with my wife here... My only beef with this scene: It should've been a helluva lot longer! 

Overall: 9 out of 10 - Great character portrayal by RDJ, the Air Force is shown to be technological superpower they are, love interest, cool weapons, and nothing otherworldly or wholly unbelievable (we'll see what the sequels bring)...

**BONUS: After the credits are over there's a special celebrity guest and a clue to the future of Iron Man. It's an awesome, albeit brief and almost obscure, cameo! Like a Royale with Cheese!**

Who would enjoy this movie: Kids, parents, Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.

What my wife said: "Gasp! NICK FURY IS IN X-MEN?!?! SCREEEEECH!!!" Let it be known that my wife is an X-Men geek and has something of a hard-on for Wolverine.

Watch it if you like: The Dark Knight; the original Superman movies; the first two, Tim Burton-directed Batman movies with Michael Keaton; Transformers

Next In My Netflix Q: Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), then Magnolia (1999), P.T. Anderson's first movie after Boogie Nights. I tried to watch it years ago but I don't remember why I didn't finish it. I remember the final scene, though. Raining frogs. Cool...

**Thanks to Google, Wikipedia, and IMDb for various reference sources**