Title: Iron Man Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, Clark Gregg Director: Jon Favreau Producers: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige Screenwriters: Mark Fergus,Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway Music: Ramin Djawadi, Editor: Dan Lebental Genre: Sci-Fi Action Cinematography: Matthew Libatique Distributor: Paramount Pictures Location: Los Angeles, California Running Time: 126 min. Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2 ½
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
Iron Man is another Marvel comics superhero adapted for the big screen. It begins with the wealthy 40-something womanizing alcoholic and genius inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), presenting his latest weapon, the Jericho Missiles, to the Afghans. Unfortunately, the terrorists are impressed and kidnap Stark to force him to build another diabolic weapon. Injured during the attack, Stark's life is saved by fellow detainee Yinsen (Shaun Toub). Under captivity, Stark finds time to reflect on his life and decides to build instead an indestructible suit of armor to escape his captors. Back at home, he goes through a morality shift and tries to dismantle his weapon producing company. His receives mixed reactions from his closest friends: loyal assistant and occasional girlfriend, Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow) is semi-supportive, military buddy Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) thinks he is losing it and business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is simply furious. Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that would destabilize the entire world and realizes the destruction and violence he has contributed through his weaponry. He vows to amend his life and fight evil.
Iron Man is one of the few action movies that actually have more soul and substance. Downey attacks his character with much conviction and blends humor and sarcasm with his crime fighting persona. Paltrow and Bridges are gems that provide the necessary sparkle to a sometimes flat and boring screenplay. There are some pacing jolts to some viewers these could be a few too many. It takes a long time to build up the story and the wait is longer for the arrival of the Iron Man suit. The action scenes are solid, but they feel a touch too thin on the ground. Over-all though, the movie is a lot of fun stopping long enough for character development to give it a good blend of spectacle and substance. What makes the Iron Man stand out from other action–hero movies is the hero’s character himself. While Spiderman’s angst and motivation are rooted in adolescent insecurity, Batman’s dilemma and motive come from revenge and Hulk’s drive comes from rage, Iron Man’s reason for transforming into a superhero is morality. He simply wants to fight evil because he wants to do something good. Iron Man/Stark makes a good role model as a superhero because he is a real person with no supernatural ability or gift, who decides to use his intelligence and resources to save the world and rid it of violence and destruction. The movie shows how a person, no matter how steeped in vice and materialism can emerge a hero as long as there is a conscious and firm decision to change. Some themes in Iron Man, though, (like womanizing and alcoholism) and violent action scenes are not suitable for the very young audience.
