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All Movie Info
Starring:
Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Bibb, Stan Lee, Shaun Toub, Bill Smitrovich, Faran Tahir, Sayed Badreya, Clark Gregg, Tim Guinee, Will Lyman, Marco Khan, Kevin Foster, Ahmed Ahmed, Tom Morello, Russell Richardson, Jon Favreau, Nazanin Boniadi, Donna Evans, Patrick O'Connell, Adam Harrington, Peter Billingsley, Gabrielle Tuite, Tim Griffin, Joshua Harto, Micah A. Hauptman, Daston Kalili, Ido Ezra
Directed By:
Jon Favreau
Written By:
Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Arthur Marcum, Matt Holloway, Larry Lieber, Don Heck
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Iron Man (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
May 4th, 2008
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'Iron Man' is one of the best superhero movies I have seen in recent years, and additionally one of the best comic book adaptations. Director Jon Favreau combines elements of action, comedy, drama, and science fiction rather seamlessly, the smart writing keeps things fresh, the amazing special effects never upstage the terrific cast, and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a notably cool alter ego, much better than nerdy scientist types like Peter Parker and Bruce Banner; he is extremely intelligent, cultured, and sophisticated, although more than a little arrogant. Stark is a billionaire playboy; he beds numerous women, and flaunts his wealth quite shamelessly. He earned his fortune through weapons development; inheriting his father's company and producing a variety of deadly explosive devices for the US military. His friend and liaison is Col. James Rhodes (Terrence Howard), who often gets frustrated with Stark's carefree, self-absorbed attitude, which makes him late for important meetings, and other such things. Stark goes to Afghanistan, where he is to demonstrate a new missile; his convoy is ambushed and he is kidnapped by a shady terrorist group known as The Ten Rings. Saved by a fellow captive named Yinsen (Shaun Toub), he is told to make a replica of the missile; he ends up building a rudimentary iron suit that he uses to escape. This is the prototype for his later masterpiece, the flashy red and gold suit that definitively signifies his transformation into Iron Man. One has to wait for more than an hour before the real Iron Man appears, and much of the action is delayed until then, so some may think this is a slow burn. However, the film is still marvelously entertaining even during these interludes. The story builds slowly, and we learn a lot about Stark, how he was a child prodigy, a brilliant designer and engineer, whose swanky bachelor pad is decked out with all sorts of robotic mechanisms that assist him in his underground workshop. Most enjoyable of all is his witty banter with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his loyal secretary. Their rapid-fire exchanges are a real delight, bursting with romantic (or sexual) tension; they care deeply for one another, but never let their professional relationship turn personal. Think of James Bond and Moneypenny. It has that playful screwball quality to it, and Paltrow is excellent, nailing every line with great precision.
Jeff Bridges is Obadiah Stane, who was a colleague of Tony's dad, and helped him build up the business. Tony trusts him, only to find that trust betrayed once he learns about what really happened to him in Afghanistan and why those terrorists had stockpiles of Stark weapons. Tony becomes morally conflicted, and hopes to reform his company, channel his creative energies into something good, suspend the production of weapons, a decision which would inevitably sink profits and make him unpopular with stockholders and board members. The finale involves a spectacular clash between Stark and the hulking Iron Monger. It is also fun to watch Stark experiment with the technology, testing his flying abilities, destroying an expensive car in the process and injuring himself in numerous ways. Stark is thus an unlikely candidate for a superhero, but he emerges as one nonetheless, he turns himself into one, and it is not something that hits him by accident. Downey is the perfect choice to play Stark; his performance is absolutely fantastic. Bridges provides a terrific villain, slimy and duplicitous almost from the start, even though the movie initially tries to trick us into believing that the terrorist leader, Raza (Faran Tahir) is going to be Stark's primary nemesis.
The audience is not constantly bombarded by special effects, they are used sparingly, at just the right moments, but we never lose sight of Downey, as Stark never disappears into that suit completely, meaning his personality is never compromised, or he turns into someone totally different from himself. Leslie Bibb is saddled with a largely unnecessary character, Christine Everhart, a Vanity Fair reporter who encounters Stark on a few occasions, antagonizing him with probing questions he sharply deflects. The superb pacing and carefully structured storytelling are enough to keep even the most flippant or irritable viewer engaged until the end. This is the first great movie of the summer box office season.
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