Warning: I have had a crush on Robert Downey Jr ever since I saw him in Air America, grew with Ally McBeal and survived the Fur. After Iron Man.blush blush blush;)
Iron Man is an out and out Downey Jr’s movie. Despite gaping holes in the script and an anorexic plot, he carries the movie on his shoulders. Hes engrossing when he’s designing his suit. He’s entertaining when he’s crafting his suit and he’s entertaining while trying it on. The scene where he makes Pepper Potts(his Jeeves) fix his heart is simply unforgettable, be it for his nonchalance or the oohs and aahs that makes it real.
The movie focusses of Tony Stark, a billionaire weapons manufacturer
who inherited his father’s genius in making smart weapons. He’s also a
charmer with a self depricating sense of humor. A ladies’ man with a
stripper pole on his private jet! But a kidnap and escape in
Afghanistan sets him thinking about his mission in life. Thus begins
his journey to be Iron Man.
Iron Man is a superhero who doesnt take himself too seriously. He flies to save lives but he also flies to moon for fun;). Director Jon Favreau has kept it breezy and humane. Though the climax is a bit slow and somewhat tough to believe, the movie is a wonderful journey of a bilionaire used to getting his way with cars, gals, gadgets and even media. It makes you feel as if he is bored of it all and when he gets a rude awakening after the kidnap-escape he is all set to be a superhero, of a different kind;)
Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts and Terrence Howard as longtime friend and pilot support Downey Jr in his performance.Jeff Bridges is a bit of a let down though, you tend to expect more of him than some badly choreographed fighting scenes. Perhaps the fact that RD Jr led a similar high life for a long time makes it easier for him to get under the skin of the character. He is so good that you believe that he is actually inside the tin suit.
This movie has set the stage for the sequel and sequel’s sequel, it goes to lengths to explain how Iron Man came into being. So now we wait for what he will do;) Also Terrence Howard is likely to join his friend in fighting evil.
recommendation: highly
trivia:
- Stan Lee, the creator of Iron Man, had originally based Tony Stark on Howard Hughes,
whom he felt was "one of the most colourful men of our time: an
inventor, an adventurer, a multimillionaire, a ladies man and finally a
nutcase.
To prepare for his role as Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. spent five days a week weight training and practiced martial arts to get into shape.
Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise were interested in playing Iron Man. Cruise in particular was going to act in and produce the film.
Gwneth paltrow accepted the role because the studio was only 15 minutes from her home!