“Tony, you’re three hours late…..I had to do a piece for Vanity Fair.”
Why are some movies of the Superhero Genre so well received compared to others? What drives Spiderman 1 and 2, Batman Begins, X-Men 1 and 2 to heights of critical, financial and the most hard won of all, core fan success? That question, and what I believe to be a common answer spread out across all of these films came to me while I was watching Iron Man. What is it? Characters. Three dimensional, fleshed out characters. Not just the basic chess pieces moved from square to square in service of the plot, but well written, well acted, well directed people inhabiting a story which JUST HAPPENS to include supernatural and or science fiction elements. If the delivery of them is flawed, if the audience is not able to identify and relate to the people involved no amount of Special Effects, no strict adherence to character back stories will mean a damn. It’s in that area of characterization that Iron Man puts it’s efforts first – foremost – and for the length of the film.
Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as Tony Stark. He inhabits the skin of an uber-genious billionaire, womanizing weapon manufacturing titan as easily as getting a tan. People say that an actor was ‘born’ to play a role quite often, and at times without merit. In this case it’s no hyperbole. We first meet him enjoying the life he’s carved for himself, wine, woman and wealth. He deals in conspicuous consumption of each. This is going to be a spoiler free review, but a single viewing of the trailer puts a few plot points out there off the bat. His capture, and the time spent there generates not a cliched turn from weapon manufacturer to defender of peace, justice and the iron clad way, but to a different focus for the energies and brilliance that have guided his life so far. He’s not shown going from A to B in some trite plot serving way, but in a organic path that is directly inline with his character.
The additional supporting players, Jeff Bridges, Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow all turn great performances as well. They are each given distinct, real and functional areas of Tony’s life to interact with. I’d like to give special notice to Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow though. As the Chairman of the Board of Stark Industries, Jeff Bridges turns in one of his best performances in many many years. He brings a very real sense of experience and age to the role and gives a nicely textured performance.
Terrance Howard has the shortest screen time of the three supporting roles, but is clearly a character to grow in importance in the all but inevitable ( and in my opinion greatly anticipated ) sequel. I’ve never been a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, but I have to say that I’ve never seen her more elegant, beautiful, charming, sexy or endearing in a role as this one. Her portrayal of the long suffering, loyal 24/7 personal servant is in some ways a strong anchor for the film, and she pulls it off in spades.
It’s with her performance in mind that I want to return to my original point about the importance of characterization. Why Iron Man worked so well for me, the base of it’s greatness in my opinion is that I’d be just about as interested in seeing these actors inside these characters in a courtroom drama. The Tony Stark we see defending his company from a leveraged buyout takeover. They’d have been fascinating in a survival movie. The crashing of their corporate jet high in the mountains. But as the story we see goes, he becomes Iron Man.
Characterizations aside – it is a very well crafted film. John Favro turns in work as a director that’s not revolutionary by any means, but very solid. The action sequences are delivered with punch, flair and just unique enough to earn him a ‘B’ on directing. With this one done, we can expect to see an ‘A’ game next time. The effects, done by ILM are first rate, with any and all scenes involving the transition from physical suit to CGI coming off flawlessly. In the becoming of Iron Man, the film delivers an origin sequence of designing and evolving the technology for the suit that’s far and ahead any of the usual ‘musical montage’ sequences we have seen in the past. There is a logic – a real world texture given to the devices, machines and idea’s that culminate in his creation, a real pleasure to watch.
If I could find a fault with the film, and a mild one at that, is I’d love to have seen another 10-15 mins. Just a few more out of suit moments between the characters, a little more time during the suit design phase. I have a good feeling I’ll get my wish in the eventual DVD release.
Stay THROUGH the credits, little gem well worth your time.
I give this movie a very heavy, solid iron cast four stars out of four stars.
