When I was
growing up, I knew of three super-heroes: Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. Yet
Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” (2008) showed me a hero that is, if not as
interesting, even more entertaining than these three put together. Tony Stark
(Robert Downey Jr.) has the money of Batman, the brains of Steve Jobs, but also
the libido of Hugh Hefner. The scene that says it all in terms of
characterisation is the one when he is flying to Afghanistan in his private jet
with his Air Force friend James Rhodes (Terrence Howard). As they drink and
talk shop, polls descend from the ceiling and the stewardesses begin to…well
you know.
This movie was
one of the highlights of the 2008 summer seasons. I was on vacation from
Sherbrooke University and was working a summer job in Quebec City. But when the
week-end came, man did I have some choice cuts at the Cineplex: “The Dark
Knight,” “WALL-E,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” and
“Tropic Thunder.” “Iron Man” was one of the first out of the gate and what a run
did that race dog have. The trailer had done a good job of raising my
expectations and the ones of my fellow geek friends back on campus. It had the
right amount of eye-popping explosions, funny one-liners, and of course “Iron
Man” by Ozzy Osbourne playing in the background. I believe the technical term
for this particular oeuvre is “popcorn movie.”
Based on a character
from Marvel comics, “Iron Man” opens as military industrialist Tony Stark is
ambushed in Afghanistan after demonstrating his latest weapon to the military.
During the firefight, Stark notices the logo of his own company on the weapons
being used against the men and women trying to protect him. The irony of the
moment has an inevitable impact on his personality later in the story.
When he awakens prisoner
in a cave, fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) informs him the only way to
keep shrapnel from reaching his heart was to surgically install an
electromagnet in his chest. Stark is now part machine, with a huge glowing
circle on his chest. The insurgents provide Stark with tools and materials to
build them the same missile he recently sold to the U.S military. Instead, he
secretly builds an iron suit fitted with flamethrowers in order to facilitate
his escape. Both the surgery and the building of the suit seem highly unlikely
given that they occur inside a cave somewhere in the desert of Afghanistan, but
it is worth suspending your disbelief just to watch the insurgents fleeing at
the sight of an iron monster spewing flames like a dragon.
Once he makes his
triumphant return to America, Stark decides to make some major changes in his
life. Privately he begins to build a better version of the suit, one that will
allow him to fly and hopefully help people in need. Publicly he announces to
the press that from now on Stark Industries is no longer in the business of
making weapons, but will focus on the energy sector. This sudden humanitarian
streak upsets his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, with a shaved
head and a full beard) who has his eyes on the throne of the company and has no
problems with selling weapons to the highest bidder.
As a superhero
movie, “Iron Man” has more or less the same structure as all origin stories.
The hero has a traumatic accident, he decides to become a hero as a result, and
he will battle the main antagonist in the third act. What makes it stand out is
the performance by its star. Robert Downey Jr. was born to play this role. Some
of the funniest moments of the film happen as he is testing a new model of the
suit in his workshop. His robots seem genuinely concerned when he threatens to
send them to Radio Shack if they screw up again.
Director Jon
Favreau, who had previously worked on smaller films such as “Made” and
“Zathura,” proved that he could handle blockbuster material with this movie. He
managed to stage spectacular action sequences ranging from desert firefights
Afghanistan to Iron Man fighting tanks in an Afghani village. He was also smart
enough to develop his characters and let them have their moments. The conversations
between Stark and Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark’s assistant
and potential love interest, show that these two have been through think and
thin. Years of dealing with a billionaire playboy must take a special kind of
patience.
The one person
who seemed slightly out of place was Jeff Bridges as the villain. Bridges is a
great actor, but he didn’t come off as a menacing villain. The scenes when he
is inside his own mechanical suit seemed cheesy even for a comic book movie.
Yet I liked the
movie enough to go see it a second time with my brother. He didn’t really
appreciate waiting until the end of the post-credit sequence to see that Samuel
L. Jackson cameo, but it was fun seeing the audience react to the announcement
that Avengers would soon assemble.
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