Robert Downey Jr. was born to play Tony Stark.
They share so many similarities:
Alcoholic?
Check.
Rich?
Check.
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Egotistical?
Check.
Runs around in a suit of powered battle armor?
Check - Well, maybe not.
After seeing "Iron Man," it wouldn't be all that surprising to discover Downey leads a second life as a superhero. He fits Stark's character in much the same way that he fits into the Armani suits he wears throughout the film.
Gwyneth Paltrow gives an excellent performance as Stark's personal assistant, Pepper Potts - yet another victim of Marvel legend Stan Lee's penchant for alliterative names. Jeff Bridges is convincing - and rather frightening, in a big-business sort of way - as Stark's mentor-turned-megalomaniac arch-nemesis Obadiah Stane.
Terrence Howard brings Colonel James Rhodes to life with a style that only a lifelong "Iron Man" fan like Howard could muster. And there is one more perfectly cast character, but for that you need to see the movie and sit through the credits.
Besides the brilliant casting, "Iron Man" has another thing going for it - it's an excellent movie. The main character actually develops. The villain is believable. The best part is "Iron Man" does not make the usual concessions superhero movies are forced to make.
Stark's origin does not vary much from the original - in fact, only the war is changed. There is no drawn-out fight in the middle of the movie in which he gets his shiny metal ass handed to him. There aren't any sudden and unexplained losses of his powers. He does not run unpowered into any burning buildings. He pretty much just kicks butt - on both an intellectual and physical level - throughout the entire movie.
The special effects in the movie are done perfectly. Industrial Light and Magic is in top form on "Iron Man," with several shots that are sure to win an award or two over the coming year.
Over the past few years, the comic-hero movie has gotten better and better, with a few spectacular stumbles in the form of "Daredevil" and its pseudo-sequel "Electra."
For the most part, they have merely been acceptable - "Spiderman 3" - or fairly impressive, though deeply flawed - "Superman Returns."
Director Jon Favreau delivered a nearly perfect movie, and he did it in a genre that is usually marred by a movie industry that still doesn't take the superhero movie seriously, in spite of the fact that it is rapidly becoming one of the biz's biggest cash cows.
There are a few touches in the movie that are reminiscent of Favreau's "Swingers" - such as the retractable stripper pole Stark has on his private jet. Stark's hard-partying ways are an apt fit for Favreau's style of filmmaking.
Besides being an excellent action movie, "Iron Man" is also quite the comedy. There are a lot of in-jokes for the traditional comic book nerd audience, and there's humor for the mainstream viewer, as well.
From start to finish, "Iron Man" is true to its source material, yet at the same time, it brings a style all its own to the table. That style is what will make this movie a classic for years to come.
Iron Man
Grade: A+
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