With great power comes great responsibility... and an equally great
temptation to abuse that power for significant personal and financial
gain.
The tug-of-war between altruism and materialism is at the heart of Iron
Man, Jon Favreau's marvellous nuts and bolts realisation of the red and
gold armoured Marvel Comics superhero.
Following the lead of the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises, Favreau
devotes the majority of the opening hour to the characters.
He fleshes out their personalities, insecurities and the underlying
tensions (attraction, jealousy, irritation) which light the fuse on an
action-oriented second half, awash with spectacular visual effects from
the technical wizards at Industrial Light & Magic.
The central role of a billionaire industrialist, whose conscience is
pricked after a brush with death, fits Robert Downey Jr like a
titanium-plated glove.
He's charming and roguish yet reckless with other people's emotions, and
he galvanizes a sizzling screen chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as the
personal assistant who barely flutters an eyelash at the endlessly array
of one-night stands who parade through her employer's cliff-side
mansion.
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Brilliant inventor and consummate playboy Tony Stark (Downey Jr) is held
hostage in Afghanistan by insurgents under the command of Raza (Tahir),
who demands that he builds a devastating Jericho missile for use against
American forces.
Instead, Tony and fellow prisoner of war Yinsen (Toub) use the time in
captivity to fashion an ultra-strong suit of armour and orchestrate a
daring escape.
Found wandering the desert by his good friend, Lieutenant Colonel James
'Rhodey' Rhodes (Howard), Tony returns to America a changed man.
IRON MAN (12A, 125 mins)
Released: May 2
"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to protect
them," he tells a crowded press conference.
He then announces the immediate shutdown of the weapons manufacturing
arm of Stark Industries, to the shock and surprise of right-hand man
Obadiah Stane (Bridges).
Unfortunately, members of the board freeze out Tony and soon he is
fighting for control of his own company, aided by his feisty assistant,
Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Paltrow).
Iron Man is terrifically entertaining, fuelled by Favreau's kinetic
direction, strong performances and some thrilling action sequences.
Downey Jr relishes the comic asides of his character before the
transformation into his eponymous alter ego.
Repartee with Paltrow promises plenty of laughs, like when Pepper
stumbles into the lab to find Tony's robots struggling to remove his
armour.
"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing," he
grins.
Bridges adds plenty of bombast but Howard is almost surplus to
requirements.
Potential for a bigger role in the sequel is made explicit when Rhodey
stares at a spare Iron Man suit and sighs, "Maybe next time."
Tony's initial tests in his laboratory are a hoot, investing his robotic
assembly line with almost human qualities (especially the fire
extinguisher).
Keep your eyes peeled too for the obligatory cameo by Marvel Comics
legend Stan Lee (who Tony mistakes for Playboy legend Hugh Hefner).
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