Movies start with ideas, which are shaped into screenplays. That the latest comic-book-turned-into-summer-blockbuster has eight credited screenwriters is usually a kiss of death. But four of these [Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby] were the creators of Marvel Comics' Iron Man in the early 1960s, and two of the others collaborated on adapting P.D. James' Children of Men to the screen two years ago, so it seems for once there weren't too many cooks in this kitchen.
Credit largely goes to director Jon Favreau [Swingers, Elf], who has brought his light, witty, hipster touch to the superhero summer blockbuster genre without seemingly missing a beat.
Helping Favreau keep Iron Man from being another dull special effects overdose is a really good cast, none of whom phoned in their performances. Robert Downey Jr. especially demonstrates how well an unpredictable choice for playing a superhero can pay off. Downey's own painfully public struggles may have helped him channel the role of Tony Stark, genius millionaire playboy arms-dealer turned genius millionaire do-gooder. Downey's abilities have never been in doubt [watch 1992's Chaplin again if you're not sure], and now that the actor has cleaned up his act and gotten down to business, it's a win-win scenario for everyone.
Gwyneth Paltrow's heels and curls work, but her wit and depth bring much more to Stark's girl Friday, Pepper Potts, than summer moviegoers might reasonably expect. Early in the film, when Tony's latest one-night stand disses Pepper's role in his life, Paltrow offers the woman a chauffered ride and the observation, "Sometimes, I even take out the trash." Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges also bring a lot to this party, Bridges in particular plays against his stereotypical roles to unsettling effect.
The summer of 2008 is off to a good start. As a friend and colleague said to me, comic books are our mythology. When they are done right, as in Iron Man, it's deeply exhilarating. Down to the last line of dialogue and opening chords of Black Sabbath's classic song, this blockbuster delivers all it promises and more, at a brisk but not headache-inducing pace. The effects serve the story and characters here, for a change, and the prospect of a future franchise is for once, as Nathan Rubin wrote in The Onion's A.V. Club, "a promise instead of a threat."
Post Script: Exceptionally good interview with Robert Downey Jr. about this role and his own life by David Carr for The New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/movies/20carr.html.
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