[Review] Iron Man

Iron Man

I've now seen Iron Man twice, and I have the same opinion about it after both viewings.  It is a very, very good movie, but not a sublime or transcendent one.  The film's obscene 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes is mostly due to the fact that the movie has very few flaws.

The Iron Man origin story remains almost identical to the comic book, and fanboys will appreciate the authenticity of both the introduction and the rendering of the suit (not to mention the appearance of  what appears to be Captain America's shield in Tony's lab during one spot).  As a film, Iron Man is probably most entertaining when Tony is building the suit, tinkering and making mistakes.  In fact, the story focuses much more on Tony Stark than it does on the Iron Man persona. 

After the credits, a bonus scene is added that made me and most other comic book geeks very happy.  All I'll say is that there's a comic-book-based reason they chose the actor they chose to play that cameo role, and he is the perfect -- some would say the only -- choice.  To know what the hell I'm talking about, you'd have to read The Ultimates.  Stan Lee also makes what might be his funniest, most random cameo in a Marvel movie so far. 

Ultimately, Robert Downey Jr. makes this work.  Were it not for his masterful performance as Tony Stark/Iron Man, the film might be D.O.A.  Gwenyth Paltrow actually manages to be appealing as Tony's assistant, and Jeff Bridges does a bang-up job as Obadiah Stane.  Rarely will you ever see such a laid-back yet intense villain, virtually free of cartoonish caricature. 

As well-acted as the movie was, Favreau did not do a good job with Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, played by Terrence Howard.  Howard does a decent job, but he isn't given much to work with.  This is supposed to be the guy who is badass enough to replace Tony in the comics and eventually become War Machine? If so, then they need to flesh out his character more and give him a lot more edge than he has here.

The battle scenes, while adequate, seemed a bit limp; none of them had me on the edge of my seat or geeking out.  The special effects were good enough, but the rendering of the repulsor beams was really weak during the modern suit's first desert battle.

These quibbles may seem relatively minor, but they are what separate Iron Man from the greatest comic-book movies like X-Men 2, Spider Man 2, and Batman Begins.  The film succeeds on every level, but it doesn't change the game.  Iron Man 2, Captain America and Avengers have all been announced, and I'm a bit concerned that Marvel is starting to bite off more than it can chew.  Let's hope those movies turn out to reach the heights Iron Man did.    

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