The spring season of movie suckiness, like Santa Fe's clinging winter-chill, has been an eternal darkness that seemed as if it would never lift. But the summer solstice has been made superfluous this year because
Iron Man
, a top-notch superhero adventure, begins the season with style.
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The film, based on the Marvel Comics character first introduced in 1963, is directed by Jon Favreau (
Elf)
, who is best known for his starring role as pudgy Mike in 1996's Swingers. That
Iron Man
is directed by a comedian is both evident and welcome.
The heart of
Iron Man
's success belongs to its central star, Robert Downey Jr., who raises glib murmuring to an art form and serves as a reminder that true charisma is a rare gift indeed. Downey is, moreover, a sort of Magic Johnson of the theatrical craft-someone who brings out the best in the actors around him through perfectly timed, no-look repartee.
Downey stars as gazillionaire weapons manufacturer and charming playboy Tony Starks. After a quick jaunt on Starks' private jet we find him in the Afghan desert (the original story was set in Vietnam), sipping scotch on the rocks in the back of a Humvee. Starks is there to demonstrate his new "Freedom Line" of military technology to a bunch of generals (the type of generals that retire to serve as unbiased NBC military "analysts"). But the fun and unabashed war-profiteering doesn't last long as Starks' convoy is hit first with an IED and then a deluge of his own weapons.
An unconscious Starks is then dragged to an Afghan cave by some al-Qaida-esque warlords who are bent on Central Asian domination. Starks awakens to the realization that his shrapnel-filled heart now only functions with the aid a car battery and, if that weren't bad enough, the terrorists-led by a baddy (Faran Tahir) whose visage is so stereotypically sinister it gets constant laughs-want Starks to build them***image2*** one of his patented missiles. A bit of rudimentary waterboarding convinces Starks to try.
Luckily, the al-Qaida stunt doubles are complete idiots. They leave Starks to his own devices-as if he were in an old episode of the
A-Team
-in a cave full of material perfect for the building of advanced weaponry. Starks builds a bulky grey prototype of his armored getup and blasts his way out of the cave.
This whole traumatizing experience has given Starks a change of heart, both literally and figuratively. Upon returning to his Malibu mansion he begins work on a snazzier suit and further adventures ensue. His efforts are aided by Jarvis-the cheeky, artificial intelligence butler that controls all of Starks' gadgets as if he were an omnipresent version of Kit from
Nightrider
-and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)-a woman who isequal parts Miss Moneypenny from Bond movies and Alfred Pennyworth from
Batman
. Jeff Bridges turns in a nice performance as Starks' business partner, Obadiah Stane,whose shadiness is telegraphed by his tonsured skull and his Segway scooter.
Iron Man
is driven by the desire for omnipotence and wish fulfillment that drives all superhero movies. But its version is one that seems particularly suited to the impotence of America's current
imbroglios
: Its bombs really are smart. They really don't kill innocent civilians. Good old-fashioned American ingenuity and good intentions really can solve the world's ills. C'mon, it's the season of escapism; let's enjoy it while it lasts.
