Iron Man

  • 2008-05-01
  • By Tim ochser

Downey Syndrome: Iron man shows off his super powers

Just when I thought I couldn't take another superhero film, along comes the hugely enjoyable "Iron Man." Unlike many recent superhero films, "Iron Man" doesn't try and conceal its adolescent nature beneath a pseudo-intellectual veneer. There is nothing remotely dark, tortured or allegorical about this latest Marvel adaptation. It is simply good, mindless fun.

The unlikely casting of Robert Downey Jr. in the main role even brings a touch of panache to the film. True, this hugely talented actor looks a little uncomfortable at times playing a superhero, but he pulls it off with his customary deadpan wit and even puts his well-publicized personal flaws to good comic use.

Downey plays Tony Stark, a wealthy and brilliant arms inventor who lives a playboy lifestyle, when he's not busy inventing some deadly new weapon for the U.S. Army. While visiting Afghanistan to give a demonstration of his latest model of missile, Stark is kidnapped by a terrorist group which keeps him locked up so that he can build the same missile for them.

While in captivity, Stark undergoes a life-changing transformation when he realizes, rather ridiculously, that his line of business is a rather evil one. He secretly builds himself an elaborate iron coat of armor while pretending to work on the missile, busts out of captivity, and on his return to the United States announces that his company will stop making weapons.

His partner Obadiah (Jeff Bridges) is horrified and manages to edge him out of the picture. Stark, meanwhile, sets about building a hi-tech model of the iron armor that he used in Afghanistan, which effectively enables him to take on an entire army  unscathed.

"Iron Man" has an unusually good sense of humor for a superhero film, mostly thanks to Robert Downey Jr., although Gwyneth Paltrow also puts in an amusing turn as Stark's personal assistant, Virginia Potts.
The computerized and robotic outfit that Stark creates provides some satisfyingly big-budget thrills, such as when Iron Man comes under attack from two U.S. fighter planes, or when he pops over to Afghanistan to deliver some rough justice to the terrorists who kidnapped him.

I read somewhere that "Iron Man" has been "interpreted" as a symbol of the United Nations and a counterpoint to U.S. foreign policy. This is sheer nonsense, of course, but the one subtext I did find interesting is the reverence, bordering on fetishism, that "Iron Man" displays for technology.

Opens May 1 in Estonia, Apr 30 in Latvia and Apr 29 in Lithuania
 

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