Iron Man: As Badass As You Hoped

Of all superheroes, Iron Man is the one everyone wants to be. Superman has all those powers, but has to disguise himself as a clumsy oaf; Batman has so many issues that psychic majors would want to lock him in an insane asylum; Spider-Man can be a bit whiny at times. As for the X-Men, you can only take so much discrimination.

On the other hand, Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., is a prodigy and weapon manufacturer that would rather drink liquor and bang models than attend an award ceremony recognizing his achievements. When asked about the ethics of his profession by a female journalist, he winds up taking her to bed and ditching her the next morning to work in his lab. But, Tony’s luck is about to run out.

While conducting a demonstration in Afghanistan, he is attacked and abducted by a group of terrorists called The Ten Fingers. The terrorists want Tony to build them a missile. Instead he builds a suit of armor, which he uses to dispatch his abductors like killer-flies. When he finds out people in his company are arming terrorists with his weapons, Tony upgrades his armor and becomes Iron Man to hunt down anyone using his technology to harm others.

Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man (pun intended). He has every facet of Tony–the hard drinking womanizer, technological genius, and conflicted hero–down pat. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts who, in addition to being eye candy, is the one person Tony can’t live without.

In addition to taking care of Tony’s schedule and getting rid of one night stands, Pepper is Tony’s anchor to the real world–and the only person he can be genuine around, which is why he falls for her. But don’t worry this is not a Peter Parker/Mary Jane, Clark Kent/Lois Lane love story. It’s told subtly, which fits the characters. “The Dude” himself, Jeff Bridges, plays Obadiah Stane who is literally planning a hostile takeover of Stark Enterprises.

The action scenes fit their situation. When Tony unveils his first Iron Man armor it is clunky and clumsy, yet when he upgrades the armor is fluid and graceful. And the heavy metal score befits the action. And don’t worry Black Sabbath’s Iron Man makes an appearance. (We won’t reveal where.)

“Iron Man” is a great opening salvo for what looks to be a summer of blockbusters. An action movie in every sense yet also has a heart. The beginning of what will hopefully be a lucrative franchise.