Iron Man: An Honest-to-god Superhero review

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Anirvan Ghosh reviews Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008)

All within the space of a traditional nuts-and-bolts studio summer picture, the area in which Jon Favreau's Marvel adaptation succeeds most broadly is its barely-hidden subtext deliberately de-politicized in favor of more a more universally guided moral compass. We have the summer's first blockbuster action-hero movie, and it's a damn good one, raising expectations from The Dark Knight (the soon to be released Batman movie)

In "Iron Man" it all plays out more or less as expected, from the trial-and-error building of the costume to the climactic showdown, with lots of flying, chasing and kick-ass action in between. As pop entertainment, Iron Man has equal parts brain, brawn, and balls, but what it doesn't want you to know is that it has an equally bleeding heart. More importantly, this movie version of Iron Man accomplished something I didn't expect: it makes this erstwhile tin man look like an honest-to-god superhero. From the moment Robert Downey Jr.-who plays Iron Man and his alter ego, brilliant weapons manufacturer Tony Stark-dons his gleaming metal creation for the first time and takes it out for a breathtaking test run, you feel that this is one superhero who enjoys being that in contrast to films like Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Hulk and even the Spiderman sequels which have all dwelt instead on all of the emotional trauma and mental strain that comes with being the saviour and fighting crime.

But Ironman, fueled by Downey's live-wire performance, carries no such baggage. And I give credit because its different. Instead of the tedious, moralizing, pop-Freudian origin story we often get in the first installments of comic-book-franchise movies Ironman plunges us straight away into a world that crackles with character and incident.

The plot really starts off with billionaire playboy Tony Stark showing off his latest weapon of mass destruction to U.S. troops in Afghanistan (updated from East Asia in the original comic). Tony is a media celebrity, a former M.I.T. whiz kid and the son of the successful founder of a high-tech weaponry company. He is captured by a terrorist cell in an ambush in the rocky Afghan terrain, and imprisoned in a cave deep in hostile territory. His captors order him to construct a powerful missile for their own purposes, but Stark-who was badly wounded during his capture and is hooked up to a battery to keep shrapnel from destroying his heart-instead builds himself a bulky suit of armor (complete with a flame-thrower and rocket launcher) and mounts a daring escape. In the course, he discovers that his weapons company makes him accountable for millions of deaths he never blinked an eye about before. Tony's skeptical friend is Rhodey, an Air Force officer (Terence Howard). Stark's secretary is Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tony's smitten, ultra-competent assistant.

His partner and mentor in Stark Enterprises is Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Upon Stark's return to the US, Stone decides that Stark has lost mind trying to undo what they built together as a team and he takes actions into his hands, leading to the inevitable confrontation at the end that packs a quite a few iron punches towards the end.

And it is with Stone's character that the film falters a bit. While the bald head and bushy face worked wonders for his villainous demeanor, his character development got adversely shafted and edited. You can't buy his progression from "do what it takes to get the job done and stuff our pockets fat with cash" guy to "I instigated a mutiny against you in your own company" guy to "I am Iron Monger and I crafted a bigger, badder suit to pound you". You're never even convinced that Bridges as Stane has the aptitude to steal Stark's invention, reverse engineer it and spew out his own malevolent model.

Director Jon Favreau is well-aware that the success of the film rests entirely on his leading man's shoulders and, in fact, there's barely a moment where Downey is off-screen. That works, because the 43-year-old actor is superb in the role; he owns the character of Iron Man in a way that Christian Bale and Brandon Routh have yet to do in Batman and Superman respectively.

Gwyneth Paltrow, returning from an extended hiatus, is effortless as Pepper Potts who keeps Stark from mal-functioning and even remembers his social security number for him Paltrow took the role only after Rachel McAdams turned it down and maybe it has worked for the better. Terrance Howard plays Stark's sceptical friend Rhodey with good-humored weariness. Jeff Bridges delves into the character of Obadiah Stane with wit and exuberance. All three of these actors are at the top of the game and wouldn't take any role for the sake of a big payday.

In addition to delivering a memorable performance in "Love & Sex" in 2000, Favreau got a hit with "Swingers" in 1996. But with Ironman, I would rate him as one of the directors to really watch out for, atleast till his next film. Leave everything for another day, and go see this movie.