Iron Man (Film Review)

I HAD HEARD some pretty great things about this movie before going to see it, and as superhero movies go it had a lot to live up to, but the good news is that Iron Man more than delivers and, with one exception, managed to hit all the right buttons as an origins story and the birth of a new Marvel franchise on screen.

For anyone who doesn’t know this already, Iron Man is the Marvel comic book hero invented back in 1963 who usually featured as a member of the Avengers superhero team and is one of the small number of superheros (like Batman for example) who rely on technology for their powers rather than any mutation orientated origin.

SusiQ even accompanied me to the cimena to see this one in action, a rare event in itself especially for any action orientated films, and she was bowled over by the film too… except for that one thing they just didn’t get right, but let’s talk about the good stuff first.

Robert Downey Jr is absolutely perfect as the titular Iron Man/Tony Stark. His origins story from uncaring weapons dealer to superhero is expertly handled, without being too mushy. His investment in the character of Tony Stark is all over the screen and the childish behaviour, inventor distractions and fledgling steps towards superhero are directed with humour and a great eye for pacing by John Favreau, the director.

Gwyneth Paltrow even turns in a sensitive performance as the ever faithful sidekick and assistant Pepper Potts and manages to convey an inner strength not usually found in female sidekicks for a superhero; they are usually too busy swooning to be noticed but she manages to pull it off.

The special effects and CGI jiggery pokery is extremely well handled with one exception, and I’ll come to that in a minute because it’s related to the overall single thing that I was dissappointed with in this film, but before we get there I feel a special mention is also deserved for the technology on display in this movie because it’s just about a generation ahead of where we are now, or at least as an audience member you buy into that concept because of the way it’s portrayed on the screen. Unlike the tech in Minority Report this stuff actually resembles current day offerings, albeit with a twist and a few upgrades. All in all it helps invest a level of confidence in what we are seeing on the screen and the CGI effects are seemless for the most part.

It helps of course that there are some wonderful scenes where humour is the key, especially when Tony Stark is learning to control his new found capabilities through a combination of trial and error and perhaps a bit of blind luck too. And as gushing reviews go this one needs to stop here because it’s at this point that we reach the one thing they got wrong with this film, and that’s the plot/ultimate baddie confrontation.

I won’t spoil it for you except to say this; it’s obvious and lazy. Worse still the actual confrontation between Iron Man and – well let’s just call him the baddie for now – is a completely over-the-top CGI mash up which is in stark (no pun intended) contrast to all previous engagements for the Iron Man character. It was completely unsatisfying and unnecessary too in my opinion as the same could have been achieved differently… but that’s another story for another time because I will not ruin the core plot for you here by getting in to the details.

Still, leaving aside that one big problem the rest of the movie was brilliant, and brilliantly executed. I do hope they make a sequel because I believe Robert Downey Jr has crafted an excellent Tony Stark/Iron Man character and all the foundations are there to build a very successful franchise out of this one. I would strongly recommend this film – so go see it in the cinema and experience it the way it was meant to be – up there on the big screen. I know I’ll certainly be collecting this puppy when it’s released on DVD and watching it again… and probably again too!

Technorati Tags: Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man, Iron Man Film, Ironman, John Favreau, Minority Report, Robert Downey, Tony Stark