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after the lengthy Middle East prologue are pure comic book archetypes: the cute-as-a-button assistant to Stark, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow); the best friend and military liaison, Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard); and Stark's father's old friend Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who's totally not sketchy or evil or anything, I swear.
The structure of the film is, in many ways, a lot like Batman Begins - the long set-up in a foreign country, the arrival back in the U.S., the decision to become a superhero. I had no knowledge of Iron Man before hearing about the film, but it's easy to take to, and fans of the comic will be happy to know that there are also a few easy-to-spot nods to the source material, including a few lines that blatantly set up things for a sequel.
The one part I didn't like was the climax. It's just not very interesting. Okay, the structure of the film apes Batman Begins, but the plot is entirely different. In the climactic battle, however, we're given a variation of Spider-Man: the battle with the arch-nemesis who used to be a friend, in which they take their masks off for no other reason than to show the actors' faces. It also suffers from a case of the stakes not being very high, especially after the large-scale beginning.
Still, the film works quite well, not only thanks to Favreau but also to Robert Downey, Jr. as his leading man. I've never been excited by Downey, because he always plays a variation of himself – the snark with the drug problem – but somehow he seems made to play Tony Stark. It was unconventional casting, but after you see it you won't be able to imagine anyone else in the role.
Movie Grade: A-
Synopsis:
Based upon Marvel's iconic Super Hero, Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to America, Tony must come to terms with his past. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.
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