Iron Man (2008) May 7, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Jon Favreau
It’s the start of May, so it must be summer! Right? Well the sunglasses are out in Hollywood, as the first of the big summer releases hit theatres last weekend, hoping to grab an early share of audience blockbuster spending before the busy school holiday period kicks in. And it may just work. Iron Man reaches us with plenty of that positive ‘buzz’ which seems so important these days, and there are expectations for this film way beyond its built-in comic fan base. It’s almost as if this is the sequel to an already popular original – which it isn’t, and that might be its biggest problem.
As far as Marvel comic adaptations go, the story is fairly typical: Tony Stark is a well educated engineering genius, who has applied his knowledge into weapons manufacture for Stark Industries - the company he owns. When Stark flies out to Afghanistan for a sales pitch however, his military convoy is attacked and he is captured by rogue forces, who desperately want his weapons knowledge for themselves. With potentially fatal shrapnel wounds, Stark is given an electromagnet device that protects his heart from damage.
It is while in captivity, and surrounded by his own merchandise, that Stark realises those inside his own company have not been dealing weapons strictly to American forces and that it is time to make a change. Charged with the task of building a mega-weapon for his captors, Stark instead puts his mind to something else: a metal suit, powered by his heart device, that allows for a dramatic escape. Once back on US soil, he works to redesign a better version of the suit - intent on restoring order to the damage his company has done.
At its core this is an origin story film, and so contains all the hallmarks of that particular narrative style. Unfortunately, Iron man doesn’t have the dark brooding of Batman’s origin story, nor the troubled relatability of Spider-man’s, which adds up to a slightly empty first feature. Being a wealthy, hard-drinking, womanising arms developer certainly makes him unique, but in a narrative sense the film has little else to offer. As long as you can follow the progression from successful businessman to “I am Iron Man” then you’ve pretty much got all you need to know.
Director Jon Favreau is probably still better associated with his acting roles in films such as Swingers and Made, yet his directing roster continues to build with family projects like Elf and Zathura under his belt. Iron Man proves to be a little less all encompassing than his previous films, but Favreau brings his confidence to the screen, and even pops up in a subtle background role as one of Stark’s bodyguards. Maybe his family feature background is also behind the commendable decision to not make an unnecessarily dark or graphically violent turn, too. The film certainly earns its 12A, but does a good job of keeping itself in check of what is suitable for that age range.
The script, on the other hand, can be a bit sporadic, sometimes taking witty jabs at the conventions of action and superhero movies (usually out of the mouth of Downey Jr), while other times conforming to those conventions in a by-the-numbers manner. It is Gwyneth Paltrow who is forced to endure the worst of these utterances, although Jeff Bridges gets his fair share towards the end. On the whole, the story is quite well told considering that it is, by its very nature, fairly simple. The writers haven’t tried to convolute the tale into something more than it is, which is refreshing but does leave a few slow gaps during the 126 minute running time.
If there was one strength that this film always had up its sleeve, it was the casting of Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark. And he makes a great Iron Man, or at least a likeable screen presence that translates into a good protagonist. Rather surprisingly, his usual motor-mouthed smart-alec routine seems to gel nicely alongside the special effects-laden action moments. All the other central characters have significantly less involvement. Jeff Bridges takes the rather predictable villainous role (if the beard doesn’t give it away, the bald head will), while Gwyneth Paltrow is relegated to the background as Pepper Potts - a name that’s annoying almost to the point of distraction. Terrence Howard gets the most play, but his character follows suit by being mostly one-note.
When trying to fathom where the $180+ million budget has gone, the natural reaction is to turn to the special effects, which luckily are pretty spectacular. Everything from the Iron Man suit to the film’s big set pieces are convincing enough to let you forget that it’s not real. If anything, this realism helps you notice the film’s other holes, like the fact that the final showdown between Iron Man and Iron Monger is a bit muddled and anticlimactic. For all the build-up, fans will be more excited by a thirty-second scene that occurs after credits (stick around), than the entire last quarter hour.
If nothing else, this film sets itself up very nicely for a superior sequel. For once, the ability to say that I would actually welcome a sequel is a more than weighty argument for the fact that we haven’t yet seen the best from Iron Man. Whether this first instalment quite hits the mark, I’d say maybe not. It’s a little too slow and dragged down by a padded origin that garners little wider significance than just becoming Iron Man (which occurs in the first hour). It will entertain though, and as a summer distraction you could do a lot worse than Robert Downey Jr zipping around, blowing things up and being witty. This film has dealt with all the baggage – now it’s time to see what the character can really do. Cue Black Sabbath.
Iron Man is currently on UK general release.
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