Does whatever an iron can.
Presses cuffs, flattens clothes.
Creases pants, just like those.
Look out!
Here comes the Ironman!
Actually, Ironman, as portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr., does absolutely none of those things (he has a personal assistant who performs such functions, as well as, in one of the funniest lines of the movie, “Takes out the trash.”).
What he does do is carouse and carom wildly about the screen; trade witty barbs with assistants, friends, and robots alike; rebuild camshafts with toothbrushes; crack jokes; bed incredibly beautiful women; and basically demonstrate what a thoroughly interesting character brilliant, cool, and badass Tony Stark is.
Oh, and what he also does is blow shit up.
Ironman has gotten a lot of press and deserves every word of it. It’s a terrifically balanced movie, a great origin story about a man coming to terms with his own actions and realizing he has done some bad things but finding in himself redemption to do better. Batman saw his parents killed and, mentally, broke; Superman is just an overgrown Eagle Scout on ‘roids, and Spiderman struggles with everyman troubles while fighting rather outlandish villains.
Ironman is the first superhero movie we can believe in. For the first hour, its main villains are Middle Eastern terrorists, which is, provided, about as cliche as you get, but then it pulls a fast one, because Stark realizes that these terrorists are using the weapons he built. The whole movie is rooted in this world in ways I’ve rarely seen any movie deal with its problems, and I found it an even better meditation on the current, troubled world we live in than, say, Syriana. Sure, both movies had different tones and set to accomplish different things, but I’d argue that Ironman, for all its blow-shit-up/summer-blockbuster status, actually explored those themes more effectively than the more serious but also more ponderous and, let’s face it, more dull Syriana.
I geeked out all over the place throughout (one joke I saw coming; its repetition surprised me enough to make me giggle). There’s a silly cameo of Stan Lee as Hugh Hefner, but otherwise, it’s that rare beast: a socially and personally conscious action movie. Sure, it’s a dude with a make-uped goatee in a red-and-gold titanium alloy suit, but it works, and mainly because Downey, Jr. makes it work. This man is having a well deserved and well earned career renaissance, and it’s terrific, because all the press he ever got about being a ‘bad boy’ and passing in and out of rehab let a lot of people forget the fact that he’s one of the greatest actors ever. He doesn’t have the classic looks or personality one imagines of a leading man, but he has a rare intensity and charm that lends itself to carrying a movie (see: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang).
The trailers included previews of both The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, but, having seen them, I’m not sure either of them will become more than what they are. Sure, they look entertaining, and I’ll catch both (and Heath Ledger’s Joker so far seems brilliant), but they look like they’re going to be superhero movies, and Ironman, somehow, felt like more than that in the best possible way.
The trailer for Hancock sure looks interesting, though.
May 23, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I immediately thought of the Ozzy Osborne song, after reading this.
Heh.
I took Ethan to get his pants hemmed today (I should really take up sewing), and while I was knelt down fixing his tie, he said:
“Mom, Super raiders, SUPER RAIDERS. I looooooooove Super Raiders!” Then he twirled around in his little tuxedo and asked me if he looked like a princess.
Wow.
I’ll have to mention the movie to Chad, I’m thinking Ethan’ll be ready for the theatre this summer.
May 23, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I saw the movie the other day and was really surprised that I liked it…I wasn’t completely gung ho about the whole thing, I’ll admit. While I’ve always loved Robert Downey, Jr., he seemed a bit annoying during his press junket…and I’ve never loved Gwyneth–except for Sliding Doors, but that’s more about the geek in me than anything else.
Anyway…I really liked the film’s interpretation of weaponry and mass destruction. I thought it was really thoughtful and balanced between intelligence and the blow shit up factors. And I actually LOVED Gwyneth in it–which shocked the hell out of me. And, well, Robert Downey, Jr, made me love him again.
And I think I will have that damn Iron Man song in my head forever now. Thanks a lot, Will. 😛
May 26, 2008 at 12:35 am
Ironman was a alcholic in the comics. Robert Downey Jr. is a former drug addict. He knows how to play this character!
Apparently, the director had one of his cars in the movie and Robert downey Jr. wanted to take it apart or fix it on screen… because that’s what the character would do.
May 26, 2008 at 8:05 am
@Lisa: Ha! That’s pretty awesome. Except I don’t know what a Super Raider is. But still. So what did you tell him?
@Alma: Yeah, Downey is completely awesome.
@Gotham: Stark didn’t seem to have too much of a drinking problem in the movie, but yet, Downey nailed him.
May 26, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I don’t really know what a Super Raider is either. I just know that whenever the show comes on t.v. – he makes sure to announce it to the world. Apparently it’s his favourite show.
When he asked me if he looked like a princess, I said, “No, honey, you look… sooooo delicious!” (In my most femme accent.)
May 27, 2008 at 5:18 pm
You can’t have the guy be a alcoholic in the FIRST movie. He wasn’t a alacoholic in the first comic. Details Will. You neglect the details.