The first of this year’s big batch of summer superhero movies is another from the Marvel stable, and if the rest match this one for entertainment value then we are in for some fine cinema viewing while we take refuge from Britain’s summer liquid sunshine.
In the pantheon of Marvel heroes, Iron Man wasn’t usually the first choice of most comic buyers. Spidey was always popular, as were the Fantastic Four and X-Men, but Iron Man still had his dedicated fans – I know I was one of them as a youngster – along with Thor and their team-up as The Avengers. With this new movie it looks like Iron Man might be picking up a whole new legion of fans, mostly thanks to its lead, Robert Downey Jr.
Like most of the other initial Marvel movies this is an origin story, updated to the 21st Century, but still remaining faithful to the essence of the comic. Tony Stark is still an inventor, military industrialist and playboy, except this time he is in Afghanistan instead of Vietnam when he is wounded, ironically by one of his own weapons, and saved by the electromagnet placed in his chest. When he escapes from his captors, in the prototype Iron Man suit, he has an epiphany and realises just how bad the family business’s products are, and so he dedicates his time and money to building a better suit that he can use for good.
This is very much Downey’s movie. He plays the louche Tony Stark with great ease (and humour) but also gives him totally believable emotional gravitas when needed. It is this balance that gives the character life and makes the movie more than just a special effects fest once the suit goes on. And those effects are pretty spectacular too mainly thanks to the fact that 3D CGI perfected metal shading and rendering a long time ago, so this must have been relatively easy for the boffins at ILM. Unfortunately the excellent support cast don’t get much of a look in, and it could be said they are woefully under-used given the depth of talent they have. Jeff Bridges, who plays Stark’s business partner Obadiah Stane, is almost unrecognisable with his shaved head and full beard – a character as far removed as possible from The Dude in BIG LEBOWSKI. Gwyneth Paltrow, as his devoted PA Pepper Potts, is not given much chance to show her acting chops simply because the role does not demand it, but she manages to look good. Terence Howard’s role as Rhodey is similarly undemanding although his role will become more important should a sequel be made – something that was hinted at toward the end of this film. Director Jon Favreau also flexes his acting muscles as Stark’s driver Hogan, another character who features prominently in the comic books.
Beyond all the action and origins story is a strong statement about the US’s double-standards in arms dealing with their declared enemies, something that was also addressed in the Nicolas Cage vehicle LORD OF WAR. Whether this was an intentional political statement by Favreau and the writers or simply a story device I don’t know, but it certainly adds a bit more edge to the film.
If you are a superhero fan, especially of the Marvel universe then this is a must see.
Incidentally, there is also a tie-in videogame from Sega, which is available on all the current consoles. The Xbox version I saw looks fantastic and the rendering of the characters is spookily life like, and they are all voiced by the film’s cast.
IRON MAN is out from Paramount Pictures on May 2
Review: Chris Patmore