Iron Man (2008)

November 28, 2008

On Demand, Seattle, WA

*** / ****

By Scott Muoio

Holy superhero hype, Batman! Ladies and gentlemen, this year’s award for most overrated film of the year is Iron Man. From the top critics to the common theatergoer, everyone is singing the praises of the latest superhero extravaganza. Don’t get me wrong, Iron Man is pretty good, but The Dark Knight this ain’t.

With an unconventionally excellent performance by Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man Tony Stark and understatedly awesome supporting help from Gwyneth Paltrow and Terence Stamp as his assistant and best buddy, respectively, it’s no wonder Iron Man has been hyped to the heavens. The truth, however, is that Iron Man is a lesson in casting over concept, hardly revolutionary, and not much more storywise than your typical Marvel Comics screen adaptation.

The plot involves billionaire playboy Tony Stark trapped in Afghanistan by a ruthless terrorist organization. Knowing that Stark is the head of top American military supplier, Stark Industries the outfit puts him to work building them some firepower while holding him in captivity. What they don’t expect is for Stark to instead create a suit of iron complete with an array of gadgets and gizmos with which he plans to escape his confinement. Woah. Throw in a confidante turned arch-nemesis, some high flyin’, ass kickin’ action scenes, and a few winks and nudges for the comic book crowd and you’ve got an entertaining though by-the-book superhero action film.

It’s interesting that director John Favreau sets the story in a realistic environment and lets Downey, Jr. take his character well outside the usual repertoire we’ve come to expect from superhero alter egos. It’s unfortunate, however, that the film de-evolves from that lofty space to the typical rock ‘em, sock ‘em good guy versus bad guy confrontation ending and overall general hokeyness. The cast is awesome, Favreau is nimble enough to let his actors do their thing, but with a script that repeatedly stumbles, Iron Man is like Academy Award winners working on a lousy situation comedy: good for what it is yet nowhere near what could have been.

Director: Jon Favreau

Producer: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige

Writer: Matt Holloway, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb