Iron Man is the first film produced under the Marvel Studios banner, allowing the comic book company to churn their live-action adaptations in house while giving them tighter creative control. If this spectacularly fun effort is any indication, Marvel made the right decision. The last few Marvel films were the hugely disappointing Spider-Man 3, the mess that was X-Men: The Last Stand, and the, to be blunt, completely retarded Ghost Rider and Fantastic Four (both of them). But, finally, finally, finally, Marvel zombies have a film they don’t have to be ashamed about.
It’s been a long, hard road to the big screen for Tony Stark. Noted comic book fan Nicolas Cage and noted kook Tom Cruise were both in serious running to play the character. Neither choice panned out nor did Nick Cassavetes who was attached to direct from a script by Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. This was definitely a fine example of, “Everything happens for a reason.” Jon Favreau hopped on board as director and fought for Robert Downey Jr. as his star, despite both men’s lack of experience in big-budget blockbusters. Shock of all shocks, Favreau made the decision to put characters and story first while remaining faithful to the original source material. I know, crazy idea, don’t know if it’ll catch on. The only real deviations from the comic are the updated locale change of Iron Man's origins from Vietnam to Afghanistan and the change of Stark's butler, Jarvis, into an advanced AI system voiced by an uncredited Paul Bettany.
In the most surprising move, Favreau cited Robert Altman as an influence in his process of filmmaking. Who would have thought I'd be saying Robert Altman and superhero movie in the same sentence? Five different screenwriters may have had a hand in the script, but much of the dialogue comes from improvisation from the A-list cast. Owing much to Favreau's experience on Swingers and Made. They don't treat the origin story as something that's forced upon. That they have to tell it before the real action starts. It isn't the overly long, slightly clunky preamble from Batman Begins.
Downey absolutely inhabits the character. He IS Tony Stark. Downey definitely taps into his past as a good-time boy to perform as the hard partying billionaire. His genius industrialist is more Richard Branson than Bill Gates. Unlike other superheroes, Tony Stark never wallows in a sea of forced angst. There's just the right mix of drama, conflict, and humor. Dude has a stripper pole built into his private plane, for Odin's sake. And whoever thought Tony should listen to Suicidal Tendencies? Kudos to you, sir. They've also done a splendid job in setting up Tony's eventual fall from grace as everybody involved have all but confirmed that the inevitable sequel would be based on the "Demon in the Bottle" storyline.
Some purists might complain that Tony Stark was never this much of a smart aleck, but Tony Stark was never this interesting. Downey is just on and everybody else in the film is attempting to play catch up. I'm not that big a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, but she's the liviest and hottest she's ever been with her Howard Hawks-esque interplay with Downey. Terrence Howard didn't have much to do, so we'll have to wait for the sequel for him to get a meatier role.
Jeff Bridges is just fuckin' on as Obadiah Stane. Who better to be a thorn in the Golden Avenger's side than an evil Big Lebowski? It's a credit to him and Downey when they can make a minor bit involving a pizza box one of the film's more enjoyable scenes. I kept waiting for the Iron Monger to run screaming into the night, "He peed on my rug!"
Favreau isn't quite the most stylish in the visual department. The final battle between the iron warriors was slightly disappointing. Still, the CGI is great (with only one or two iffy shots) and the practical armors designed by Stan Winston are incredible. Adding frosting tot the cake, the filmmakers throw a few bones for the fanboys such as the foreshadowing of Rhodey becoming War Machine ("Next time, baby"), the introduction of S.H.I.E.L.D., a Mandarin reference (The Ten Rings), Stan Lee's best cameo ever, and the theme from the 1960's Iron Man cartoon as Rhodey's ringtone. Hell, even the ending credits are awesome.
If I have any tiny nits to pick, it is the rather generic score, which was passable if not unremarkable. Also, as great as Jeff Bridges was, I thought the villain was a bit weak. That may be a problem for the sequels as Iron Man has a decent rogues gallery, but none of them are particularly cinematic, save for archnemesis, The Mandarin.
I was expecting Iron Man to be a great flick, but I had no idea it would whoop this much ass and be one of the best comic films ever. Taken on the surface, Iron Man is pure, undiluted, unadulterated, popcorn entertainment. The script may not be the most innovative, but it's strong and elevated by great performances across the board. It's the rare action film that wins at both the critical and financial fronts. Lately, a lot of these big-budget spectacles have run 2 1/2-3 hours and most of the time, the films drag and feel arbitrarily stretched out. Iron Man runs just over 2 hours and I wouldn't have minded one bit if they tacked on an extra 15-20 minutes.
Rating: ****
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