Saturday, September 15, 2012

Iron Man

The last time I reviewed a movie it was Captain America.This time I review a different sort of patriot: Tony Stark the Iron Man. Yes, I've been on something of a Marvel streak ever since I saw The Avengers on my birthday. You'll see a review for that soon enough, but first, here's Iron Man.

First I want to say this is a thrilling movie. Being a Super Hero film one expects great fight scenes and Iron Man delivers on every occasion. The MK I is a juggernaut coming out of the Ten Rings cave and yet you can see how clunky it is and not quite invulnerable. Contrast this with the MK III against the same group and it's no contest. The climatic showdown is without a doubt the best of the lot, not only for the greatest action but for turning the plot of 'War Weapon' vs 'Peace Weapon' into walking metaphors with Iron Monger vs Iron Man. It is poigant in addition to really awesome. Super Heroics at its best.

There's a heart beneath all the action. By leaving for the unknown world Tony sets out on an archtypal Hero's Journey that is as heartwarming as his battles are awesome. After he returns from captivity one can see that there was a hero underneath his hedonistic demeanor and he becomes more heroic as he builds the Iron Man suit. By the time he completes it, he's flying to save a village from raiders.

Robert Downey jr gives a wonderful performance as Tony Stark. He's funny, he's serious, and, most important, he's so genuinely heroic (and a jerkass) that he can make you think he's not reciting from a script. In fact, he isn't; many of his lines are ad-libbed.

Finally, Iron Man is an examplary case of how to use a romantic sub-plot in a super hero movie. 1.His relationship with Petter Potts is present and it's important but the only scene to focus on it exclusively is a brief Dance of Rommance. The rest is in the background as a subtext to the hero-sidekick interactions.  2. Petter has a role beyond Tony's Love Interest; she's the only (excluding Rhodney) person with his absolute trust. This is a plot point at many occasions and she is resonsible for uncovering the Big Bad's Evil Plan.


Trickster Eric Novels gives Iron Man 1 an A+.  I plan to watch number two tomorrow.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad you gave this movie an A+ :) I saw it in theaters with my family when it came out, and it's definitely one of the best superhero movies I've seen. This one and Spiderman 2.

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