Directed by: Jon Favreau
Premise: An adaptation of the Marvel comic book
character. A wealthy industrialist who has made his fortune off of weapons sales
has a change of heart after surviving a terrorist attack and witnessing the
fruits of his labor. He builds an armored suit and begins to use his technology
to fight evil.
What Works: Iron Man includes themes and
story elements seen other films such as the origin mythos of Batman
Begins, the satire of Robocop,
and the political perspective of Lord
of War. The combination works and the elements coalesce together nicely.
The success of many superhero films largely depends on the casting of the hero,
and Iron Man scores a homerun with Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron
Man. Downey makes the character a fast-talking, womanizing, egomaniac and the
screenplay gives him a credible character arc as Stark develops a sense of
responsibility. One of the fatal flaws of many comic book adaptations is their
tendency to take themselves far too seriously but Iron Man avoids this by
adding a lot of humor, largely through Robert Downey Jr. The film’s sense of
fun differentiates it from other comic book films, as does its sense of
relevance. Iron Man’s inclusion of contemporary issues like terrorism
and war profiteering make it much more interesting and gives it some depth and a
little bite, much more so than the average comic book adaptation.
What Doesn’t: The biggest flaw of Iron Man is its villain, played by Jeff Bridges. The actor does a good job with what the
script gives him to work with, but the writing is flat and the final conflict
between the villain and the hero looks more like an outtake from last year’s Transformers and is inconsistent with the more interesting and socially relevant action
scenes earlier in the film.
Bottom Line: Iron Man ranks with Batman Begins, The Crow, and Superman: The Movie among the upper tier of comic book films. The humor saves the movie from some of its sillier moments and Robert Downey Jr. creates one of the most unique and enjoyable superheroes on film.