Marvel-ous

Iron Man

(PG-13)

originally published May 7, 2008

When Stan Lee created billionaire industrialist/playboy Tony Stark (played superbly by Robert Downey Jr.), sculpted in the image of a young Howard Hughes, in 1963, the comic book legend could not have imagined how relevant he would remain in 2008.

The head of Stark Industries - a weapons company started by his father - beds models, downs Scotch, and trots the globe pimping his technological marvels to the U.S. military and, unbeknownst to him, international terrorists. When one of those terrorist organizations captures Stark in Afghanistan and forces him to build a version of his latest destructive wonder, the genius instead constructs a robotic suit of armor to enable his escape. Once back in the U.S., Stark, realizing the folly of his youth, vows to save the world by closing the weapons division of Stark Industries. Outfitted with superhuman strength and durability, Stark becomes Iron Man, a superhero bent on ridding the world of Stark Industries weaponry, which includes a bigger, badder version of Stark’s original metal armor.

One of Marvel’s greatest heroes, Iron Man lacks the celebrity quotient of Spider-Man or D.C.’s big two, Batman and Superman. Iron Man director Jon Favreau (Elf) and its stable of writers take shrewd advantage of Iron Man’s relative anonymity to play with his origins - the site of Stark’s capture is retconned from Vietnam to Afghanistan - and allow Downey generous leeway. Downey makes the most of a screenplay that never takes itself too seriously without ever making its metal-clad superhero a joke, a balance unstruck by either the super-serious Superman Returns or the super-silly Fantastic Four. Unlike Spider-Man, Iron Man lacks a certain cinematically credible opponent.

Comic book movies, like the heroes they portray, depend as heavily on their sidekicks as they do their adversary. As Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow reemerges from the charmlessness of her last half dozen or so performances, and while I doubt a War Machine spinoff is in the works, Terrence Howard’s Jim Rhodes is a swell associate. Iron Man opens the summer season with the ideal bang of effects, brawn and brains.

Drew Wheeler