Yep, it’s movie review time again. This time round it’s “Iron Man”. You may be wondering why the films I review are in such a strange order. Well, it’s literally the order in which I see them. It’s the turn of “Iron Man” this time ‘cos my imported Blu-ray from the U.S. arrived the other day. Anyway, does “Iron Man” soar or sink? Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind? Sorry, couldn’t resist…
Iron Man (2008)
The best thing about Marvel comics was the fact that all the superheroes’ stories occasionally interlocked and crossed over. As a kid I was an avid reader of “The Amazing Spider-Man” comics and thanks to Marvel, I knew who Daredevil was, who the X-Men were and so on and so forth. The story of Tony Stark was well-known to me. Billionaire industrialist creates suit to stop him from dying and decides to fight crime and injustice. Crueler critics than I have just dismissed Iron Man as a rip-off of D.C. Comics’ Batman. I disagree. Iron Man has so much more to offer.
Onto the film. I was extremely pleased when I heard that they’d signed Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark. He pretty much is Tony Stark without even trying, and it shows throughout the film. He’s brilliant. He handles the dramatic and action scenes just as well as the swaggering, “I’m the coolest guy in the World” scenes. “Iron Man” just feels different to your average superhero affair and I’m certain it’s because of Favreau’s direction and Downey Jr.’s acting. It just feels more natural and real. Well, as real as a film about a man in a flying metal suit can be…
For about two thirds of the runtime, I thought “Iron Man” was the perfect superhero film. It was funny, action packed and just that little bit different. Many reviews have cited the slight downturn of the film starting at the point when the film’s villain is revealed. I don’t think this is the case. I reckon it’s the change in the character of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). At the start she is a smart, capable woman who’s more than a match for Tony Stark. By the end she’s the stereotypical damsel in distress shouting lines such as “But you’ll die!” and so on. It’s a shame too as she was a dead cert for my book of “The Least Annoying Sidekicks Ever “. She does pull it back by the end, but the damage had been done by that point.
All in all though, “Iron Man” is great. It’s the antidote to the awesome but depressing film that is “The Dark Knight”. It’s got some fantastic dialogue, great special effects and some genuinely touching moments. It’s solid gold (titanium alloy).
The Popcorn Bucket 