05.07.08
Review: Iron Man
Chances are that at this point you don’t need anyone to tell you that Iron Man kicked all sorts of cinematic ass. You’ve probably seen it already and don’t need to be told that Robert Downey Jr. not only stole the show he was the show. As cool as the suit is we were all just waiting to once again see Downey do his thing so brilliantly. So why bother with a review at this point? Well I think Iron man, as good as it is, needs to be put in a sort of better context with all the hype set aside. Iron Man unfortunately has to live beside a wealth of already extraordinary comic book film adaptations. We’ve already had to suffer through the “good but could’ve been great”-ness of the first X-Men. Iron Man suffers from the same bland action that made Spiderman seek out bigger and better set pieces in its sequel.
Iron Man should’ve had far better action. Theirs really no excuse when films like X-Men 2 and Spiderman 2 manage to have the character actors and action scenes live peacefully side-by-side. I’m not on some crusade to put down a great movie, don’t get me wrong. Iron Man is in the perfect position for a superior sequel. I just can’t get my head around this whole Iron Monger silliness that plagues the films final act. Instead I wanted to see Iron Man going around the world stopping terrorists but instead we get a great character put on his top hat, twirl his mustache, and tell Iron Man “you’ll never catch me wahaha”. A climax that has no place when you consider what the first 90 minutes was building itself upon.
Iron Man does stand tall on its strengths very much how Hugh Jackman made X-Men far better than it deserved to be. John Favreau’s direction is confident as if he’s been making big budget comic book films his entire career. Gwyneth Paltrow is surprisingly tolerable despite the stupid name of Pepper Potts. Terrence Howard is not exactly convincing me that he’s going to be cool enough to suit up as War Machine in the sequel. Something about his high pitched soft toned voice isn’t selling me on his ability to be a super hero. Jeff Bridges is almost invisible as he sports a killer beard and bald head combo giving him a striking look to go along with his well balanced performance. (Until of course the films end)
Yet when Downey is completely alone with only robots to speak with he’s just as complete as when in a room filled with other actors. I believe the one thing to take away from Iron Man is that despite the past few marvel duds (Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four) we can still get a glimpse of that magic that made Spiderman and X-Men so good. The comic book film genre is not necessarily headed down a path of crumminess. If The Incredible Hulk can give Marvel a two for two hit record this summer then perhaps their is more water to squeeze from the comic book film genre.
3.5/5
