Tony Stark (Downey) is the wealthy, charismatic and
hedonistic inheritor of a business specialising in weapons manufacturing.
Whilst in the Middle East, demonstrating a new weapon, he is ambushed and
captured by terrorists; the shrapnel from his fire-fight capture, lodging near
his heart. A scientist (Shaun Toub), working against the terrorists from the
inside, fits Stark with an electro-magnet, holding the shrapnel in place. It
also allows Stark to design, create and use a mechanical suit of armour which effectively
gives him superpowers.
The film that essentially sounded the bugle call for the
Avengers Marvel film franchise, Iron Man in no small part, rests on the performance
of Robert Downey Jr. Not the most popular or best known of superheroes, the
concept of Iron Man makes him interesting and unique (the nearest parallel to
my mind is Batman; and even then, they still don’t have much in common). Downey
is charming and entertaining to watch, being convincing both as a likable good
guy and as a selfish playboy whilst still keeping the same character.
Elsewhere, Gwyneth Paltrow makes an equally agreeable (sort of) love interest
with the distinctly Stan Lee-styled name of Pepper Potts and Terrence Howard
fits in with his role as Stark’s US military contact. Fitting within this is
Jeff Bridges, playing nicely against type, even if it is, at times, a little
too much of an alien territory for him (and never quite lives up to the promise
of a character who is, in reality, a cross between Jeff ‘The Dude’ Lebowski and
Lex Luthor) This isn’t deep, thought-provoking cinema. It’s all-out
smash-bang-wallop blockbuster fare; and in that, it succeeds quite admirably.
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