As a comic book fan, I look forward to summer movie season with both excitement and dread. It is always exciting to see a hero make the transition from the page to the screen, yet you always know that much like a ride in Seth Brundle’s teleporters, the process won’t be without its complications. (Remember nipples on the bat suit?) As an Avengers nerd since the mid-80’s, I was happy to see that Iron Man made the journey in beautiful shape.
I do not think there is any secret to making a comic book film work. Fans can bitch about uniforms, looks, and origin stories, but the only thing that matters is whether or not they get the character that’s underneath the suit. Preening and posing in your colorful outfit is something every kid that grew up with Underoos has practiced for years. The hard part is making us believe that the man behind the mask is a fully developed character and worth rooting for. This is precisely why we all owe our gratitude to Jon Favreau and whomever he had to bribe, beg, and blow to get Robert Downey Jr. cast as Tony Stark.
Tony Stark is a billionaire. Tony Stark is a genius. Tony Stark is a military industrialist. Tony Stark is a man whore. Tony Stark is a drunk. Sounds like someone you can really identify with and pull for doesn’t it? Even in the comic books, Stark can come off as a know-it-all, and a bit of a prick. Despite all that, he is still a character that is driven to be a hero, and one of the few heroes that does it through his own intelligence and not via some accident or mutation. Downey takes a character that could easily come off as a jerk, and makes him amazingly likable. He has taken over this character to the point where comic book readers will picture him when reading about Tony Stark.
The story isn’t anything too complex and does what it does quite nicely. The origin story, despite being adapted to more modern times, is quite faithful to the original material. The rest of the movie is basically a set of vignettes of youthful dreams rolled into one character. We dream of being a knight in cool looking armor (why else would a throwaway character like Boba Fett still be so popular?) We dream of flight and soaring through the skies. We dream of bringing justice to those that prey on the helpless and fill our television with a never-ending stream of sorrow. And of course… the house, the car, the money, and the women make for nice dreams as well.
There are some minor issues with the film. The villain isn’t terribly menacing, but to his credit, Jeff Bridges does the best he can with the somewhat limited screen time he has. Having to tell the origin story hurt the ability to create a more substantial villain. You most likely wouldn’t even know that the giant suit of mechanical death was known as Iron Monger.
I also thought that Gwenyth Paltrow’s portrayal of Pepper Potts was a little inconsistent. At times she would appear to be a loyal and strong-willed assistant to Tony Stark. While at other times, especially during the 3rd act, she seemed to get a little too girly, or dainty.
These are just minor quibbles in a movie that succeeds in everything that it set out to do. Add in some references to S.H.I.E.L.D, foreshadowing of The Mandarin, and a post-credits appearance by Nick Fury, and you have enough geek references to keep us comic book nerds hyped up for Marvel Studios future onslaught of films.