Movie Review: Iron Man

The word "niiice" comes to mind when describing "Iron Man." Not "nice" as in "oh, she's a nice girl" or "ice cream would be nice right now." The intonation is that of a buddy opening his new Mac Book Pro or unveiling a new 48-inch flat screen TV, or draining a really unlikely three pointer in a game of pick up basketball. Every piece of Iron Man - the casting, the acting, the direction, the story, the relationships, the effects, the battles - they are all very very niiiice.

In fact, save the score which is wholly unremarkable, there isn't a component of Iron Man that doesn't deliver. From the beginning, when Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark is ambushed in Afghanistan after showing off his new CNN-ready cluster bomb (appropriately named The Jericho), to the very end, way after the credits when Sam Jackson shows up as Nick Fury (to talk about The Avenger initiative), every thing is solid.

The plot - Tony Stark, playboy functioning alcoholic genius weapons designer (in that order) is captured by a secret group of terrorists calling themselves the 10 Rings, and escapes by building a large mechanical suit that shoots flames and flies. The suit comes free with a conscious, and before you know it, Stark is upgrading and responding to BBC America reports of refugee crisis in Afghanistan. He flies in, blows up the warlords and flies out. Meanwhile his business partner, Jedediah "The Dude" Stane (Jeff Bridges) is actually in cahoots with the 10 rings and steals the prototype suit for himself leading to a suit versus shoot showdown in the middle of Los Angeles traffic.

But the plot really isn't the joy of Iron Man. It's more in the characters and they're very pithy and telling interactions. Nothing feels forced even though I'm sure some of it read terrible on the page. For example, when Stark loads up his first Iron Man suit to escape the 10 Rings, he blows up all the weapons they've stolen from his company. The subtext is a man with a conscious has been born out of the fire of the old. Hammy as hell, right? In Iron Man, they don't overplay it, they couple it with big booms and the sonufabitch works. It's good, solid, quality filmmaking.

Critics have raved about Downey Jr. and they should. He's fantastic and it's not only his baggage that aids in the creation of Tony Stark, it's the dude's resolve. He wants this part to work so bad, almost like a kid unwrapping a bike-shaped present on Christmas morning. He's a wonder, and when he's on screen you don't need digital effects. To my surprise, they gave Gwyneth Paltrow a lot to do, and she has a couple scenes with Downey Jr. that are spot on great. Same goes Terrance Howard and Jeff Bridges. They each have their moments in the Robert Downey Jr. Show.

The fluorescent beating heart of Iron Man, however, is character. Tony Stark gets so many little throwaways that work so damn well toward building a full picture of a man (albeit a man in a cartoony super hero kind of way), it's almost a shame when he puts on the suit. The suit, don't get me wrong, is a great thing - sleek and fast and constantly un pealing new layers of cool shit it can do. But the movie doesn't bog down in tech, but stays light and interesting the whole way.

It's an excellent time at the movies, and a niiiice entr in the Marvel Universe.