Movie Review - Iron Man

Iron Man has some heart but lacks finish

By Vanessa Ho

Iron Man is the latest in a long line of comic book heroes to come to the screen and in director Jon Favreau's version, it doesn’t' quite meet expectations of recent quality adaptations like Spider Man 2 or Batman Begins.

The fault really isn't Favreau's as origin movies do take a while to get going and it really does take a while before we finally see Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) emerge in the Iron Man suit.

But every story has a beginning and the movie starts with Stark in a military convoy in Afghanistan that gets ambushed and his protectors all killed. He is then taken captive by terrorists group called Ten Rings who want him to reconstruct a military weapon that his company, Stark Industries (which specializes in weapons manufacturing) developed and demonstrated earlier that day.

While in captivity, instead of developing the weapon, he works on fashioning a suit, with the help of a fellow prisoner (Shaun Toub) that will help them escape their captors. The suit is powered from a miniature arc reactor, which supplies energy to an electromagnet which protects Stark's heart from the embedded shrapnel in his chest

After returning to the States, Stark shuts down the weapons manufacturing part of Stark Industries, much to the consternation of business partner Obediah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

The journey towards becoming Iron Man was satisfying and Downey Jr.'s performance as Stark/Iron Man is amazing. Seeing his transformation from brilliant engineer but womanizing billionaire to one that is dedicated to using his great mind to protect his country after learning that the weapons his company makes are being used by terrorist is what makes the movie work.

The sequence of scenes where Stark is upgrading the design of the original suit features amazing special effects (the suit looks frakking awesome) and great one liners from Downey as he interacts with his robotic team that are assisting him.

Truly wasted is Terence Howard as Stark's military friend James "Rhodey" Rhodes. He really adds nothing in his scenes but only comic relief and sidekick support.

Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Stark's loyal personal assistant, who delivers witty one-liners to Stark's latest conquest early on in the film but is seemingly attracted to Stark. Paltrow's talents are also wasted in her role but it is hard to have a strong, independent female character in a super hero movie without being the damsel in distress.

As Stane, Bridges quickly turns him into a one dimensional and stereotypical comic book villain that is drunk with power and jealous over our hero Stark, this is especially true in the film's climactic scene towards the film's end that features an over the top performance from Bridges.

You can tell that Favreau's is a fan of the comic books (and he even cameos as one of Stark's bodyguards Happy Hogan). The film does feature amazing special effects and Iron Man is a superhero that definitely embraces who he is and proud to show it off and takes the audience happily along for the ride as well as its inevitable sequels.