Despite the attempts of seasons, schools and sunshine to keep summer firmly planted right where Mother Nature intended it to be, Hollywood refuses to wait. After several years of scheduling the coming out party of all the blockbusters in the middle of May, “Spider-Man 3” had a record opening on May 4 last year and irreversibly bumped the season of effects and explosions further up on the calendar. Serving as the first torch barer for the 2008 season is “Iron Man”, the first non-sequel, non-“Da Vinci Code” flick to have the honors in a long time.
“Iron Man” is the story of billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a boozing, womanizing hellcat determined to live the high life, without exception. On an otherwise ordinary day, which finds Stark performing a product display to some American troops in Afghanistan, the playboy’s convoy is attacked by a group of terrorists. Once in its captivity, Stark is informed that he will be granted his freedom once he makes for them the most powerful missile that he can muster. Not about to be employed in the death of his own people again, Tony, with the help of fellow captive Yinsen (Shaun Toub), uses this time to make a weapon-infused suit for himself to wear in an escape, made out of, you guessed it, iron. Following his escape, Stark is forced to contemplate the evil that his business has caused, as well as the good that could be done with his newest invention.
If that sounds like a drawn-out intro, it’s because it is. The sleek red and gold suit that the new school ‘man of steel’ is known for doesn’t make its first appearance until a little ways after the halfway point. And while booms, pows, and bangs will eventually be had aplenty, it’s this extended introduction that places “Iron Man” amidst the cream of the crop of its genre.
Though credits on “Zathura” and “Elf” might not be the sexiest things to have on your resume, director Jon Favreau shows an incredible amount of patience and confidence, opting to tell the story the way it ought to be told instead of taking the easy road of constant explosions and gun fare. The screenwriters of the critically praised box-office bomb “Children of Men” also appear on the scene, putting a man in the metal and giving humor to our hero.
But the film’s most exciting factor has to be its cast, wonderful performances being given from top to bottom. Gwyneth Paltrow is both sultry and smart as Stark’s assistant Pepper Pots, the two trading barbs and flirtations with an easy-going chemistry unmatched by almost any modern romantic comedy. As Stark’s paternal figure with a few ideas of his own, Jeff Bridges plays a perfect foil to his most beloved Dude character from “The Big Lebowski,” and his role is just about as memorable. But the real star of the show is… well, the real star of the show. Downey Jr. plays rebel with and without a cause with equal fervor and believability, cracking you up and drawing you in without breaking a sweat. By the time that he brings Stark full circle, as a man with both demons and needs, you know that what you’re watching is career-defining work.
For all that Iron Man has going for it, it still sets its course remarkably close to that of just about every other superhero movie. It occasionally suffers from roll-your-eyes plot contrivances, over-baring music, and over-written dialogue. But what sets it apart isn’t its basic structure; it’s the focus and class that it fills that structure with. It’s (dare I say it) a thinking man’s superhero movie, boasting of decidedly older and more mature performers, a screenplay that alternates between hilarity and adrenaline, and a generally more serious vibe than we’re used to. And when it’s all said and done, stuff still blows up real well. It’s with great honor that the 2008 summer movie season introduces you to the next great movie franchise: “Iron Man.”