Summer-blockbuster season kicks off adequately and predictably with Iron Man, a perfectly entertaining superhero movie that fulfills all the requirements of its genre admirably, but never rises beyond the level of baseline satisfaction. It certainly has a lot going for it compared to the bloated, ugly and often incomprehensible messes that pass for entertainment at the multiplex during the summer, but it’s never able to transcend its familiar trappings and become something more than a way to pleasantly pass the time indoors while it’s hot outside.
That’s not something to be devalued, though, and director Jon Favreau has clearly studied up both on past superhero movies and the comic books on which Iron Man is based, so that he can deliver maximum fan-pleasing results. He starts by assembling a strong cast for the kind of movie that doesn’t generally require exceptional acting, but almost always benefits from it. Robert Downey Jr. brings a great balance of snark and vulnerability to insanely rich industrialist Tony Stark, a weapons manufacturer whose life is forever changed when he’s kidnapped by terrorists after a product demonstration in Afghanistan.
Forced to assemble one of his own deadly weapons for the bad guys’ use, Stark instead builds himself a suit of armor powered by some sort of mini-reactor (which he’s also using to keep shrapnel from piercing his heart). He busts out of captivity a changed man, determined to make the world a better place (although he’s still snarky and prone to bedding hot women). Stark’s decision to abandon weapons production doesn’t exactly go over well with his business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), or his military-colonel best buddy, James Rhodes (Terrence Howard). Eventually, as Stark improves his armor and takes on the life of a superhero, the former will become his arch-nemesis, while the latter will become his sidekick.
There’s also Gwyneth Paltrow as the awesomely named Pepper Potts, Stark’s personal assistant and nascent love interest. Their relationship never quite gets off the ground, and that underdevelopment also applies to Bridges’ villain, who takes nearly the entire movie to finally become a real enough physical threat to engage Iron Man in combat (before that, he’s perhaps the first action-movie villain to ride a Segway). Even if those threads are less than compelling, though, Stark’s character arc holds the movie together, thanks mostly to Downey’s breezy, engaging performance. Like most recent superhero movies (or at least the franchise-starters), Iron Man spends far too much time on the origin of its title character, but since Stark’s personal evolution is so central to the story, it’s easily forgivable. By the time he builds the iconic suit and actually engages some bad guys, though, it’s inevitably a bit of a letdown.
Favreau and his four screenwriters don’t really have anything on their minds beyond giving the audience a good time, but there is a definite strain of political commentary running through the movie, with Stark’s clear stance against war profiteering contrasted with Stane’s greed. Would someone like Dick Cheney build a deadly suit of super-powered armor and then don it to take down a prominent peace activist? Probably not, but the movie throws in enough real-world resonance to make the scenario relatable. It’s also one of the first action movies since 9/11 to use Middle Eastern terrorists as bad guys, and it does so without drawing attention to itself, fitting them into the story seamlessly (the character’s comic-book origin, back in the 1960s, took place in Vietnam).
That smooth, seamless style marks the entire movie, ensuring that it’s fun to watch but also mostly forgettable. The requisite set-ups for the sequel are there, and in a few years it’ll no doubt be another nice two-hour diversion—and not much more.
Iron Man
***
Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by Jon Favreau
Rated PG-13