Superheroes hit the multiplex: Iron Man

Break out the popcorn, the superheroes of summer have arrived. First out of the box: Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, a supremely intelligent, extraordinarily wealthy, world class playboy. Sort of like James Bond, without any English gentility. Tony runs a high-tech weapons manufacturing firm, kind of a family business, but he experiences a crisis of conscience when he goes to Afghanistan on a sort of sales call and gets ambushed by evildoers using Stark brand weapons. Apparently he thought only the good guys were getting his stuff. The menacing Afghanis throw Tony into a cave (that’s where they always put their prisoners, right?) and insist that he build them a high tech bomb. They tell Tony, once the bomb is built, he can go home. Tony doesn’t buy it; he uses the supplies they give him for bomb building to create an iron flying suit, and then he busts out of there. After a few months, that is, and also after his Afghan prisoner buddy gives up his life so Tony can escape. A chastened Stark returns to America and tries to get out of the weapons game, but all the folks making money off of him don’t like the plan; mayhem ensues.


In the world of superhero, comic book based movies, this one stands out. Robert Downey Jr. is great in the Tony Stark role, deftly balancing the smooth operator with the computer geek. He is ably supported by Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Stark’s extremely competent, but slightly awkward assistant. Jeff Bridges is also fine as a kind of mentor colleague to Tony; he boasts a completely shaved head for the role, and some of the folks who came with me couldn’t figure out who he was. It’s tough to avoid pointing out (I choose not to try) that the man has a big head – but it fits the character. Terrance Howard, Oscar nominated for Hustle and Flow, plays Tony’s only real friend, and he is charming, managing to appreciate Stark’s genius while showing gentle exasperation with his idiosyncrasies. Kind of like Wilson and House. There are also a bunch of R2D2 like machines that surround Tony like eager metal pets. Cool, amusing stuff. If you like superhero movies, I recommend this one; if you don’t, you’ll still have a pretty good time. Remember the popcorn.