At one or more points in any given person's life, they'll have a change of heart about someone, something, or themselves. More often than not, such a switcheroo usually occurs on some sort of small scale -- such as deciding to eat broccoli after claiming to hate it -- but occasionally it involves something a bit grander, such as changing one's religious or political affiliation.
Sometimes those big ones just occur out of the blue (although that's often a culmination of many smaller things eventually adding up), while others require some sort of traumatic event to open one's eyes. For mega-wealthy inventor turned industrialist Tony Stark, that latter catalyst arrived in the form of being held captive by Afghani insurgents bent on using his various military weapon inventions for their own nefarious ends. After experiencing that and extricating himself from that situation, he experiences the change of heart epiphany and decides to try to right his wrongs.
If that name isn't familiar, it's because he isn't as well known as some of his contemporary counterparts, among them the likes of Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. Yes, Tony Stark is a superhero character born in the comic book world and is now following his brethren onto the big screen. While Iron Man might not be as well known as Superman, Batman and/or Spider-Man, the movie of the same name is about to change all of that.
For "Iron Man" is a refreshing breath of fresh air in a genre that was beginning to stagnate under the weight of countless sequels and remakes featuring the aforementioned three mainstays of the superhero world. Born back in 1963 to proud Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee (along with Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby), the character, according to Lee, was loosely based on Howard Hughes, and was different from his comic book brethren in that his super powers stemmed from his armored suit rather than something within his biological and/or molecular makeup.
All of which doesn't make any sort of difference to readers or, in this case, viewers, if the character isn't interesting on other levels or if the action is rote or substandard in comparison to what's already preceded it. For diehard "Iron Man" fans and "virgins" alike, such concerns quickly evaporate, thanks to the work of those in front of and behind the camera.
With a filmmaking trajectory taking him being a reluctant Vegas swinger to overseeing elves and then an outer space adventure, director Jon Favreau has seemingly positioned himself as the right man for the job here, and he easily proves his worth. Working from a smart script by screenwriters Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, the star of "Swingers" and director of "Elf" and "Zathura" delivers his first surefire blockbuster that should easily entertain audiences with its deft mix of action, humor, cool special effects, and, most importantly, engaging characters.
And the filmmaker's big win is easily the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as the title character. Like Michael Keaton in the first "Batman" film initially drawing question marks and concern, the gifted actor with the previously troubled personal life might not be most anyone's first choice for a superhero role. Yet, just like Keaton delivered the pitch perfect nuances that made him the best of the many who've played that particular hero, after seeing Downey at work here, it's next to impossible to think of anyone else who could have done the part any better.
It certainly doesn't hurt that he's surrounded by an excellent cast, including Jeff Bridges (bald and bearded and seemingly channeling William Hurt) as his all-business mentor; Terrence Howard as his best friend and military liaison; and Gwyneth Paltrow as his curiously named personal assistant, Pepper Potts.
The only place where the film falters is with its villains, Afghan insurgents who never transcend their typical character trappings. As their leader, Faran Tahir is appropriately menacing, but beyond reminding one of Arnold Vosloo's villain in "The Mummy," he's otherwise instantly forgettable.
Thankfully, Downey manages to do enough with his role to transcend the old "hero is only as good as the villain" movie construct. Granted, another villain emerges from the proceedings and is a bit more interesting, but the film could have used a more charismatic bad guy as they're what usually help make the best of these sorts of films so much fun to watch.
The rest of that obviously comes from the action and special effects, and this offering won't disappoint on either level. While it starts to feel a bit like "Transformers" in the third act when Iron Man must battle the much larger Iron Monger creation, for the most part the bang-around, rough and tumble material delivers.
The factor that will certainly make the film a big hit -- beyond all of those qualities -- is that it plays equally well to viewers on either side of the political fence. Those on the right will enjoy the American military might material, while those on the left will likely enjoy the protagonist's change of heart (not so subtly symbolized by the electromagnetic device permanently implanted in the hero's chest), both of which constantly deliver all of the necessary and expected, "kick-butt" action.
And with Downey imbuing the character with a lively heartbeat and other fun character touches, this version of "Iron Man" smartly avoids being leaden and instead comes off as a spritely, often fairly funny, and nearly always entertaining offering. The film rates as a 7 out of 10.
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