Iron Man Suit Fits Robert Downey Jr. Just Right
Iron Man brings a fresh take on the classic superhero movie that is sure to please any audience. As is the norm with superhero movies these days, a normal human being is prompted to take on the responsibilities of a superhero by some life changing experience. In Batman, Bruce Wayne’s father gets shot dead; in Iron Man, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is kidnapped by terrorists. In each case, these individuals decided to take personal responsibility for these crimes, but Tony Stark’s Iron Man does it with a fresh perspective. Instead of the usual dark and heavy take on superheroes, Iron Man is very upbeat and humorous while still managing to maintain a strong plot.
Robert Downey Jr. jumps right into the role of Iron Man, adding his own flair to keep the movie fresh and humorous. He fills the movie with quick witty remarks to fill in any gaps in the movie that aren’t filled with action and explosions. When blasting off to test his prototype Iron Man suit, Tony says “Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk,” which seems to be a theme of the fast-paced movie that is always one step ahead of the audience. While the movie does have a good plot, strong special effects, good acting, and a well-done script, it is ultimately Robert Downey Jr. who carries most of the movie along, picking up any slack and turning what would have been a decent action movie into an outstanding summer blockbuster.
The movie begins by depicting Tony Stark as just a rich jerk, who is too busy gambling to attend his own awards party. He is a brilliant scientist who has earned billions of dollars selling weapons and explosives to the military, and is now living a life of luxury as a billionaire playboy. However, on a trip to Afghanistan, terrorists kidnap him and tell him to build them a missile from parts of the weapons that he makes his living selling. Instead, Tony decides to build a metal suit, complete with rocket boosters and a flame-thrower. He busts out of his cave and blasts off in his Iron Man suit, before crashing and burning in the desert, where he is rescued and brought back to America. Tony returns to America a changed man. He decides he no longer wants his company selling weapons, and begins refining his Iron Man suit to combat terrorism. However, his business partner, Obadiah Stane, has different plans for the future of Tony’s company, Stark Industries.
The director, Jon Favreau, does an excellent job of keeping the plot focused and moving along. Although Iron Man doesn’t have very many plot twists, the plot does build up throughout the movie, before climaxing with a classic superhero fight scene at the end. Also, the plot incorporates current global issues like terrorism, rather then relying on silly comic book villains such as Superman Return’s evil Lex Luther. This makes the plot feel much more realistic and relevant to a modern American audience.
If there is something the movie does lack, it is more fighting scenes with Iron Man. Much of the movie is concentrated on how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man and builds his suit, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for him to actually use his new suit. There are only a few short actions scenes involving Iron Man spread throughout the movie, so fans that are expecting to see extensive Iron Man action may be disappointed. Iron Man is a superhero with the potential to have a wide variety of different powers. In the movie, however, only a few of his most basic powers are used, and the action sequences may have been more entertaining if the Iron Man suit had been used more extensively and creatively.
Overall, Iron Man has everything that one could hope for from a new superhero blockbuster. Complete with intense action, a driving plot, and new gadgets, Iron Man has all the elements needed to meet the standard set by previous superhero movies such as Batman Begins and Superman Returns. However, the added humor and wit of Robert Downey Jr. is what really sets this movie apart from past superhero films and give it the uniqueness that make it worth watching for any audience, rather then just another typical superhero movie.
Filed by efsw18 at May 27th, 2009 under Essays
