Forget about all the fantastic action. Dismiss the disarmingly smart, wry screenplay, and ignore the phenomenal supporting cast. Feel free to overlook the dozen components that make Jon Favreau's Iron Man the most uniquely entertaining superhero movie in a long time ... I've got the one main reason that this flick is worthy of your two hours and ten bucks right here, and that reason is named Robert Downey Jr. Like many movie fans of my generation, I consider Downey to be sort of an old friend. We all wept when Jami Gertz noticed his odd demise in Less Than Zero, we loved watching his evolution in films like True Believer and Chaplin, and we all felt pretty great when the guy finally kicked his well-publicized drug addiction.
Downey is a survivor, no doubt, and he's also a refreshingly engaging actor to watch -- and boy was I thrilled when Marvel announced that this would be the guy to portray Tony Stark. To those who don't know the Stark character from the comic books, let me just make it clear: Downey is the perfect guy to play a smug yet charming, sarcastic yet likable, and perpetually womanizing multi-billionaire mega-genius with a bum ticker. We all know the guy can play sly, snarky, smart characters, so much of Iron Man's early stuff is light lifting for the actor -- but when he starts getting angry? Noble? Heroic? The guy is aces across the board. Bottom Line: Downey has paid his dues, he's been through a lot of hell, and now he's a freakin' superhero who delivers the best popcorn flick performance since Johnny Depp first played pirate. Sometimes Hollywood actually works.
So there's two full paragraphs on the lead actor. As far as Iron Man as a whole ... I'll put it in terms that the superhero movie geeks will understand: It's almost as good as Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2 and Batman Begins. Yeah, it's that kind of quality. Only Iron Man is a pretty unique entry in its own right. It's got some violence, some edge, and some seriously snarky attitude. But then it also has a little something to say about the nature of a society that allows itself to be governed by its own high-tech weaponry -- which means that not only is Iron Man a very fun, very slick, and very consistently clever movie; it also has some sort of a social conscience. The flick says "Hey, if the best X-Men flicks can tackle some real-life issues, then why can't Iron Man make a comment or two on a world that sometimes seems to value money and guns above all else?"
OK, now I'm making Iron Man sound like a preachy affair, which it most certainly is not. As is often the case in "first" flicks (and trust me, there will be more), Iron Man is an origin story. It tells the tale of how a brilliant multi-billionaire industrialist named Tony Stark is abducted by terrorists after showing off his latest (mega-deadly) rocket to the U.S. military, how the guy manages to escape (in rather dazzling fashion), and how he returns home to create his technological masterpiece: A stunningly flashy suit of armor that's got jet-packs on the feet, rockets in the arms, pulse laser thingies in the hands, and the world's smartest computer in the helmet. Frankly you could make nine movies and not get into all the awesome things that Stark's suit can do -- but for now we'll just deal with Part 1.
Tony Stark is an affably sardonic tycoon from the first time we meet him: He's in Afghanistan to demonstrate the overwhelmingly destructive power of his latest creation, the "Jericho" missle. But of course there's a large band of horrible terrorists who attack Stark's convoy, abduct the weapons magnate, and toss him into a cave so he can build a giant weapon for them. Obviously that's not going to happen. With the help of a handy prisoner named Yinsen (an excellent Shaun Toub), Stark begins work on a massive suit of armor, which he then uses to kick some serious ass and escape his way back to the States. (This escape is not only one of the best sequences in the movie, it's one of the best sequences in any superhero movie.)
Upon arriving back in America, Tony proposes (publicly!) that his company should stop making weapons and perhaps focus on something a bit more user-friendly -- but now I'm just rambling about a fairly simple story, and obviously you'll want to discover all this stuff for yourself. Suffice to say that Iron Man capably blends a fairly typical origin story with a satisfyingly kinetic action story -- and boy is it a whole lot of fun. Lots of times when you're dealing with movies like this, the "talky stuff" is the material you struggle through just to get to the "fun stuff," but thanks to Downey (and a stellar supporting cast that includes Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Clark Gregg, and Leslie Bibb) the "in-between" material is actually quite compelling! Like the best superhero movies, Iron Man boasts a screenplay that takes a whole bunch of wild spectacle and (somehow) infuses it with a lot of wit, humanity, warmth, and intelligence.
Truth be told, I could devote extra paragraphs to the flick's excellent musical score, its quick yet unrushed pace, its special effects and action bits ... but really, you already know by now if you're going to see Iron Man. I'll just simply say that I think it's easily one of the most entertaining superhero movies ever constructed, and that it kicks off the 2008 summer movie season in very classy and crowd-pleasing style. Everyone on board deserves a pat on the back for their work on this flick, but it's especially cool for both Downey and Favreau. This inevitable blockbuster represents a big leap forward for both filmmakers, and I'm thrilled to see them cook up something so darn cool together.
Bring on the sequel please.
(Also check out Rocchi's take on the flick!)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-29-2008 @ 11:59PM
Catherine said...
Thanks for the review! I've been anxiously awaiting this film. IMO, Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most talented actor on the face of the planet.
Now...when is someone going to review "From Within", which premiered at Tribeca last Friday night?
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4-30-2008 @ 12:52AM
carg0 said...
heh...so tell us what you REALLY think, Scott
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4-30-2008 @ 1:32AM
Cracklee Henderson said...
Sometimes Hollywood actually works ...WOW! You can always leave room for improvement.
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4-30-2008 @ 10:40AM
ladyofshallott said...
I LOVE your review! the best comment of all HAS to be:
""Mr. Downey delivers the best popcorn flick performance since Johnny Depp first played pirate.""
I have adored Robert for a good many years - I was totally engaged for the entirety of the movie. He did SUCH a great job in this role - so much so, if I had a few minutes and the opportunity, I'd love to tell him so - directly. of course, I'd likely be babbling incoherently - but I'd LOVE to give it a shot, anyway!
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4-30-2008 @ 10:05PM
Dash said...
This movie was amazing. And it's true, there is a fantastic performance there, you can see Downey really gor Stark.
And I'll try to comment spoiler free, but Scott, did you stay until the end of the credits? I almost cried there (really people, wait until the end)
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5-01-2008 @ 1:56AM
Lucas said...
Funny - no info on the last end-of-credit scene a la X3, but better, oh so much better:
SPOILER ALERT - if you want to know the big spoiler at the end have a read of our review:
http://www.butterboom.com/2008/04/30/review-iron-man/
Its the same positive review as the good folks here have written. So only read it if you don't want to go fanboy-mental at the end of the movie.
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5-01-2008 @ 10:39PM
Greg Knop said...
I just got out of the movie and it was the best Marvel movie to date, I will definitely have to see this one multiple times.
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5-01-2008 @ 11:33PM
bobbo said...
Hey Folks,
Yep I am a geek and just saw an early screening. As Scott said - two words "Robert Downey Jr." Ok technically 3 words but this movie kicks the crap out of anything out there and anything in a long, long time. My hats off to Jon Favreau as well. This movie is going to make MONSTER $$$$$$$. Go and see it - it is worth every penny.
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5-02-2008 @ 3:25AM
Arran said...
Less then an hour ago I walked out of the Archlite theater in Hollywood with that just been f'd look and suffering the severe effects of a full fledged Marvelgasom! Raging comic book geeks and everyday human movie goers will all agree that Iron Man is ushering in the return era of the true Super Hero. Robert Downey Jr captured Tony Stark with a performance that's louder then his own name. The down side of fame is that too much time in the spot light can make an A-lister shine brighter then the characters they portray and that is not the case with Downey as his name took a subtle bow beyond the red curtain to only reveal the man behind the Iron, Tony Stark. Jon Favreau has given himself the chance to make or break his career under the new umbrella of Marvel "Studios". Some could consider his cameo a bit self indulgent but it was so subtle that it only came of as a reflection of his passion to the story and production as a whole. Combine Favreau and Downey with the complex dynamics of Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and Gweneth Paltro and you have a deadly line up of carefully placed chess pieces. The visuals are over the top insane and done old school meaning this was an actual hand crafted suit and not built from the all to common fallback of CG generators. The overall feel reminded me of Transformers meets Top Gun, sexy and geeky fortified with a ton of bad-assitry. Marvel Studios has their chains cut and they are free to tell the super heroes tales the way they were meant to be and obnoxious comic book super geeks will have their moment to pause and re-hit the inhaler when their internal monolog reveals............that was how it written in the comic book.
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5-02-2008 @ 10:20AM
Dawn said...
I just seen Iron Man and it was AWESOME! I really hope that the is a sequel. I personally think that Downey has not found a calling up until now, but that is my opinion. THIS IS HIS ROLE. HE CAN TAKE THIS AS FAR AS HE WANTS TO GO!!!! I definiately recommend this movie. You will be surprised at how great Downey is, there is a chemistry between him and Paltrow. I loved it, to say the least. The effects were outstanding. Just wait until you see it.
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5-02-2008 @ 10:59AM
kevjohn said...
Nice review, totally spot-on. I saw this last night in an excellent digital theater and despite being surrounded in a sold out theater by effing frat boys who wouldn't STFU the entire movie (will somebody PLEASE shut Florida State down so these jerks will slither back home!), I concluded that this was easily the best action movie I'd seen since Sipder-Man 2. Or X-men 2, whichever came out last. I think it topped the dark Batman Begins and it benefitted greatly by having a character backstory that could be summed up in a 60-second awards show montage and a few scenes of playboy liveliness. There are no struggles with life as an oppressed teenager, or as an outcast mutant, or as the child of a destroyed planet or murdered parents. It's just a fun-loving, hard-living rich guy who gets into a bad spot and decides to make the best of it. Rock on!
On a side note, I wonder where all those idiotic naysayers who were griping about Favreau and Downey Jr.'s inclusion in this project are going to slink away to now. Didn't they learn anything from the whole "the guy who made Dead Alive cannot possibly be allowed to make Lord of the Rings" nonsense??
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5-04-2008 @ 9:36PM
Steve said...
This clever, quick-witted, tightly scripted adaptation of yet another superhero movie may actually turn into one of the most respected and highest ranked movies in this genre’s increasingly impressive collection.
I am not a comic book guy for the most part and had never heard of Iron Man before the previews to this movie. I almost didn't even go see it, but the good reviews by the critics made me decide to give it a chance. I was NOT disappointed. It was fantastic.
My Social Standards now has my whole review. Check it out at our site, http://mysocialstandards.blogspot.com to see it.
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