From DallasVoice.com
The ‘Iron’ Age begins
By Steven Warren - Contributing Film Critic
May 1, 2008 - 5:35:28 PM
Downey Jr.’s spark and snap strengthens exhausted superhero genre
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| PECS OF STEEL: Tony Stark (Downey Jr., left) unbuttons his shirt to show Obadiah his glowing “arc reactor” heart. |
The blockbuster season gets off to a good start with “Iron Man,” another in Marvel’s inexhaustible supply of comic superheroes.
Much
of the casting is overkill, but Robert Downey Jr. earns his racing
stripes as Tony Stark — the onetime boy genius who inherited his
father’s weapons manufacturing firm. He believes Stark weapons are
protecting our country and, by extension, the world — at least the good
parts. He also believes in having a good time.
Air Force liaison,
Lt. Col. Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard), who is on good enough terms with
Tony to tell him the truth, calls him “constitutionally incapable of
being responsible.”
Before a flashback — to fill in some exposition
— we see Tony captured by rebels in Afghanistan. When we return, we see
he was on a mission to sell missiles to the good guys over there. But
now his captors, led by Faran Tahir, want him to build a missile for
them.
Yinsen (Shaun Toub), whose function in the rebel camp isn’t
quite clear, has saved Tony’s life by putting an electromagnet in his
chest to keep embedded shrapnel from reaching his heart. Now he’s
assisting Tony in building the missile.
Except that Tony’s not
building a missile. He’s perfecting his own arc reactor technology with
a device that will not only protect his heart but also power a metal
suit — literal body armor — that makes him look like RoboCop on
steroids. It’s only a prototype, but it’s enough to kick Afghan ass and
get him headed back to the States, where he arrives at the movie’s
one-third mark.
He’s a changed man. Not that we wanted him to
change. Like Nicolas Cage in “Lord of War,” as long as he had funny
things to say, we didn’t care now many people his weapons killed. But
now he cares and declares Stark Industries is getting out of the
weapons business.
This doesn’t sit well with Obadiah Stane (Jeff
Bridges), who built the company with Tony’s late father and whose
expertise is more in business than science. He ignores Tony’s orders
and continues selling weapons, but the full extent of his villainy
isn’t revealed until the third act.
In the meantime, Tony, with his
robotic sidekicks, has put the finishing touches on a polished version
of the iron suit. And after a few test drives, he returns to
Afghanistan to take care of business.
When just about everything
else in “Iron Man” has been as original as this overworked genre can
be, the climax looks like outtakes from “Transformers” and the like as
Tony and Obadiah climb into metal suits for their final face-off.
Downey’s
performance is worth seeing for its own sake. He makes the movie as
much fun between action set pieces as it is during them. This is not
one of Bridges’ best roles. Likewise, Howard doesn’t bring anything
special to Rhodey.
Gwyneth Paltrow isn’t my favorite actress but
she’s fine as Pepper Potts, Tony’s personal assistant who creates
sexual tension whenever they’re together. She’s better in a supporting
role like this than trying to carry a movie.
Jon Favreau as
director? Let’s see, he starred in “Swingers” and hosted dinner parties
on cable … He also directed “Elf,” which was a pleasant surprise. But
even if his resume doesn’t make him the obvious choice, he’s done a
terrific job, keeping the pace brisk but unhurried, filling the screen
with stuff that’s worth looking at and letting Downey be showcased to
best advantage.
Will there be more “Iron Man” movies? To paraphrase Tony Stark, “That won’t be all, Miss Potts.”
B
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Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges
Opens: May 2 in wide release.
1 hr. 26 min. PG-13
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‘ANGELS’ TAKES FLIGHT AT MODERN
Q
Cinema, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Opera
join forces to pump up the “Angels in America” hype that’s about to hit
North Texas. (“Angles” is the FW Opera’s next production beginning May
16; and Kushner is coming in for Arts & Letters Live on May 21)
On
Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m., you can check out the HBO-produced
marathon screening of “Millennium Approaches” and “Perestroika” at the
Modern.
Modern Art Museum-Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St.
817-738-9215. May 3. Free — suggested $20 donation. For reservations,
call 817-849-2154 or e-mail at tgorski@themodern.org.
These articles appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 2, 2008.
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