In a world looking for heroes and hope, finding them in an escapist comic-book movie may not be so unbelievable. “Iron Man” is the right movie and right hero at the right time in America. He was a wealthy businessman who lived a frivolous, meaningless life building weapons and not considering who has them or where they‘re used. But when the future hero is involved in a traumatic life-altering experience, he begins to see the world from a different perspective and takes responsibility for his and his company’s actions. Watching Iron Man’s alter-ego, Tony Stark, be innovative and create new technologies to protect people is fascinating to behold and will fill you with pride at what a motivated person can do. “Iron Man” is exciting and action-packed with moments of well-timed humor but it’s also a morality tale that has real world implications.
Robert Downey Jr. (“Zodiac”) was a risky choice to headline this film as Tony Stark because of his checkered past, but after watching him embody the character on-screen, he was the right choice. Stark is the owner of a big business he inherited from his father and shares with his father’s friend, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, “Seabiscuit”). He surrounds himself with employees, colleagues and desirable women but doesn’t have close family and friends. He goes to Afghanistan to present his companies’ latest weapon to the American military, but his caravan is hit by terrorists and he is taken hostage. They want him to build a super-weapon for them, but he has other plans. Using spare parts and modest resources and time, he creates a power suit to save himself and ultimately give his life purpose.
Gwyneth Paltrow (“Shallow Hal”) plays Stark’s poised personal assistant Pepper Potts. She does not criticize her boss for his meaningless liaisons, seeing the genius underneath the guise of a playboy. She has a large role in the film, emphasizing the importance of his professional and personal relationship with her because she is the closest thing to family he has. His military colleague, Col. Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard, “Crash”), also knows the Tony underneath the carousing and is legitimately frustrated by watching his friend live a life without focus. The funny thing is, when Tony begins his moral change, Pepper and Rhodey don’t know how to deal with it, leaving him to rely on his machines - machines which he has infused with personalities of their own.
The movie keeps up a driving pace, as we learn about the characters, including the motivations of the villains. Having terrorists as baddies may be nothing new, but a greater threat from within gives the film a Shakespearian quality. Comic book fans and casual movie-goers will find “Iron Man” a fun and impressive film with a little something for everyone which creates the building blocks for a potential franchise. Stick around after the end credits to see where the story may go from here.
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
