Iron Man
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, Gwyneth Paltrow
Rated PG-13
Paramount Pictures
Release date: May 2, 2008

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), billionaire-playboy and engineering savant, is hardly what most people consider a hero. Running the family business, a super-sophisticated weapons manufacturer, has made him the center of controversy. After an awe-inspiring demonstration of his latest missile system however, Stark receives a wake-up call as a group of terrorists kidnap him with the aid of his own weapons. But their attempt to force him to build a super-missile backfires when he instead builds a crude suit of armor to escape. Upon returning to America, he realizes his life’s work has been a selfish drive that has hurt millions. His new goal is to create a refined suit of armor and use it to clean up a mess he created. His newfound morality does not go over well with his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) however, who sees war as the best way to make money.

Downey is absolutely perfect as Stark. The same self-satisfaction and smart-assed disposition that Downey brought to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is vivid in his portrayal of Stark, an his own battles with personal demons has certainly given him credence beyond any typical character study. Bridges, who looks nothing like himself as Stane, is equally entertaining and believable.

What made Iron Man so enjoyable for me was the movie’s subtle commentary on many real world issues without being preachy. It’s naïve to believe that the personal greed of some in power isn’t paid for with the lives of others. The general disregard Stane shows for the lives of anyone who is not American is hardly an exaggeration nowadays, and the conflict between what is good for business and what is good for humanity has countless reflections in the world today.

Even so, Iron Man doesn’t shove its morality down the audiences’ throats. It is, after all, a superhero movie, but succeeds in being entertaining and substantive at the same time.

Nevertheless, I can assume there will be some common criticisms:

• Silly product placement.
• Jon Favreau’s cameos overstay their welcome.
• For a movie called Iron Man, there’s not enough time where we see the gold and red armor being awesome.

Sure, I can get on board with the first two. Burger King’s ad department must have devised how their product placement worked, because its sudden and gratuitous display is unbelievably shallow. Likewise, Favreau seemed unsure on how to approach placing himself in the film. Some directors seem to enjoy making small cameos as nameless characters with no lines, while others make themselves major characters. Favreau seems stuck in somewhere in the middle in Iron Man, and his cameo goes from a small bonus for viewers who care, to a somewhat silly self-indulgence. This can all be forgiven, of course, because Favreau gave Stan Lee the best cameo by far of all the Marvel films.

But for those who wished the two-hour film was mostly made of CGI sequences of armor-suited-hero kicking ass, I’m sure the video game version is more what you are looking for, and thankfully the movie shows more reserve. Yes, we only see the full-fledged Iron Man for two sequences in the entire film, but they’re damn good sequences and are held up by the strong performances and solid story that fills out the rest of the film. If that’s not enough for you, there are video games to fill the void.

Iron Man is a great new entry in the comic film genre, and the potential for sequels/spin-offs is great. I only hope if they do go down that path, they keep true to the idea that made this such a good film.

Lastly… for goodness sake, stay until after the credits.