IRON MAN

I liked Iron Man, which might be the superhero movie that comes closest to the comic books I enjoyed during the 1970s. Despite its unbelievability, it touches just enough on some crazy, twisted realities (largely having to do with armamentation) that it reaches a level of mythic (or quasi-mythic) profundity.

The story has to do with the smart, rich, playboy Tony Stark inventing a metallic suit that gives him special powers including supersonic flight. What's so unbelievable about the story? Basically, the physics of it all (at least as far as I can tell). And Stark and his nemesis both seem awfully quick at figuring out how the metal suit operates. And his nemesis also seems awfully slow at finishing off Stark.

That, of course, is very comic book-ish. In fact, the movie was very good at reproducing some classic Iron Man story elements. For instance, one of the ongoing Iron Man motifs that I remember from yesteryear had to do with technical difficulties. I can personally recall numerous occasions when the drama of the storyline intensified due to Iron Man's energy running low or malfunctioning. (Which reminds me that I've got to recharge my Palm very soon!) Another is the Tin Man motif: Tony Stark has a weak heart (literally and figuratively), so he encloses himself in a literal and figurative shell.

This movie stands apart from a lot of superhero movies in that Iron Man's alter-ego Stark, as portrayed by the rascally Robert Downey Jr., is interesting and lively, not some boring mild-mannered opposite of an "exciting" superhero. So it's actually fun to watch him when he's not enclosed in metal. Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays his faithful assistant Pepper, enhance the proceedings with a little Secretary-like dominant/submissive chemistry. Jeff Bridges is excellent playing an out-of-type role.

The movie's score is very good, cleverly interweaving themes previously associated with the character, and the soundtrack comes across very well at the Ziegfeld, where some low rumblings have a Sensurround-like effect. My main complaint about the film is that the climactic battle was kind of dull. It was like the big stupid battle at the end of Transformers, but (to my relief) much shorter.

Hollywood seems to be having big problems with fights these days. In movies such as Iron Man and Transformers, the fights seem to be about action and noise and special effects...but not about cleverness and drama...elements that are actually interesting. However, in the case of Iron Man, it's not so different from the comics I used to enjoy, as the following video illustrates. After that, there's an Iron Man trailer that ends (around the 2:22 mark) with one of the most annoying cliches of modern filmmaking.



Source (9:45)




Source (2:32)