Review: Iron Man

Today, we went to the mall to see the new Iron Man movie. Before the actual review, I'd like to give a shout out to Kyle, the guy who sold us popcorn. He went the extra mile (almost literally) to make sure that our popcorn dripped buttery goodness from every kernel. So much so that it almost made us sick--but that's our fault for not buying sufficient beverages. Thanks Kyle! 

Let me start by saying that, although I was a comic book fan for many years--and more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy--Iron Man was never one of the titles I read. Sure, a few issues here and there when there was a crossover, but mostly I was a mutant guy, plus Spider Man and the occasional Hulk comic. My view of the movie, then, has nothing to do with how faithful it is or isn't to the original. 

So, just taking it on its own terms: I thought it was very good. It aspired to be more than just an action flick, and it mostly succeeds in doing so. The cast was pretty amazing, especially considering that this isn't an ensemble piece. Even the supporting roles are stocked with very talented actors and actresses.

Fair warning: here there be spoilers. Tony Stark is a selfish, youngish genius who's financed a lavish playboy lifestyle as the wunderkind of the weapons company his father created and left to him. He's selfish, hedonistic, and blithe in his role as the "death merchant."

All of that changes when he is kidnapped by Afghani freedom fighters who lock him up, torture him a bit, and insist that he build for them his newest missile system. He only escapes them by instead covertly building a metal suit that can take just about anything they can dish out and give back as good as it gets. And, for a short time, it can fly too.

After his escape, Stark is a changed man. He is determined to take his company out of the arms business, meanwhile redesigning his high-tech armor, becoming a sort of super hero devoted to cleaning up the mess that his own company has helped make of the world.

And that's just for starters; I won't give away the rest of the film. It's a story of a fairly awful--but very casually awful--man coming to terms with the self and the world that he has created, and trying to make both better. Up to this point, it's not only been a fairly compelling movie, but it's been dealing with some interesting issues. Not, I should add, dealing with them all that thoroughly or thoughtfully, but it's at least aspiring to something more. Pretty much from this point on out it's a straight-up action flick, and it does competently well at that--the CGI looks very good, the action was strong, the plot good enough.

It's not destined to become a classic of 21st-century cinema and won't win the big awards of 2008, but it was a very good super hero movie, in an era now that's been rather full of good super hero movies. I would say that Iron Man stands with the best of them.

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