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I am Iron Man

Added on 09/05/2008

Stephen Hopkinson asks if Marvel Studios' first release is cinematic gold...

With The Dark Knight's release still distant, fans of idiosyncratic billionaire playboys-cum-superheroes must be suffering a palpable agitation. Luckily, relief is at hand, and Christian Bale's nowhere in sight; Iron Man has landed.

For years, attempts at cinematic comic book adaptations produced little more than gems of mediocrity starring people with claims to fame so dubious that even John Virgo donning the spandex would have failed to provoke a raised eyebrow. It was Marvel that turned this around in the 21^st century with the Spider-Man and X-Men series: these were big budget films, well scripted efforts backed by established acting talent and special effects finally capable of doing justice to the heroes' fantastic exploits. Now the superhero genre is among the most fertile of box office soils, with Spider-Man 3 alone grossing nearly $900,000,000 worldwide. Yet with both Spider-Man and X-Men in cinematic limbo following critically panned third installments, and attempts to bring lesser known characters to the big screen ending - at best - in ambitious failure, it was questionable whether Marvel would be able to capitalize on the very genre it revitalized.

It's no surprise, then, that Marvel have armed Iron Man to the teeth with cinematic ordinance, recruiting a cast and production team from the heart of the A-list. Performances are strong across the board, from Gwyneth Paltrow's role as alliterative love interest Pepper Potts, to Jeff Bridges' charismatic portrayal of antagonist Obadiah Stane; so charismatic, in fact, that Stane's questionable motives for villainy are easily overlooked. The greatest casting choice, however, is that of Robert Downey Jr. as protagonist Tony Stark. Downey's performance is undoubtedly one of the greatest in the history of the genre, presenting every nuance of Stark's character - Hefnerian charm to aspergian technophilia - with equal conviction. Downey's superheroic alter ego, the titular Iron Man, is brought to life spectacularly by industry giant Industrial Light and Magic. The story is compelling; fears of excessive jingoism provoked both by Stark’s role as a weapon designer and the quantity of scenes involving Afghan terrorists are thankfully allayed at an early stage, and on the whole Iron Man treats such issues with a remarkable even-handedness. The romantic subplot never detracts from the film’s focus, nor does it ever feel forced or arbitrary. Downey’s Stark is ever at the centre of things, dynamic and gripping, and the action scenes are consistently exhilarating.

This isn't to say Iron Man is without its flaws. The plot of the second half of the movie is so neatly set up in the first that elements of the story seem less to unfold than to drop like pegs into their correspondingly shaped holes (disconcertingly literally, in one scene). The ambitious decision to buck the use of an 'epic' orchestral score in favour of a more thematic heavy metal soundtrack is only partially successful, placing a regrettable aural handicap on some of the most visually impressive scenes. It is also unfortunate that for all Downey's charisma as Stark, he spends much of the film facially and vocally obscured by the Iron Man suit, creating a sense of disconnection from the character that's particularly jarring in the film's climactic confrontation.

Yet Iron Man's shortcomings are overwhelmed by its strengths. The presentation is spectacularly polished, and the film exudes an honesty and humanity that's uncommon among superhero films. But it is not merely an isolated example of a genre executed well; rather, it is the first product of a company that appears reinvigorated to push the boundaries of the superhero genre to breaking point. Marvel Studios recently announced releases planned for the next three years, and among these are concepts as disparate as Captain America: The First Avenger, currently rumoured to be set in World War II; and Ant-Man, a superheroic comedy with Edgar Wright at the helm. For those short on patience, this summer sees the release of The Incredible Hulk; fronted by Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, which will be the first test of whether such quality is sustainable. For now, however, see Iron Man: whatever your stance on spandex, it’s a great way to spend an evening.

Stephen Hopkinson

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