Iron Meh

The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Iron Man.

Subtitle: "Or, the Article Title I Wish I Could Use But Can't But Am Going to Use Anyway Because Screw You". That's right, Iron Man was fucking awesome. I was a little worried during the first 20 minutes or so -- the POW I was expecting just wasn't manifesting itself like I'd hoped. Perhaps it was the (almost always inadvisable) way the film starts In Media Res and then does a "36 Hours Earlier" jump just when things are getting good. It took me a while to recover from that. Would I have enjoyed the first bits any more without the time shift? Hard to say. Either way, all that is totally excusable because as soon as Tony Stark begins his Terrorist Deforestation Project, the movie just keeps getting better.

Admittedly, there is a real hunk of we've-seen-this-before-ed-ness to Iron Man -- deny it if you want, but if you didn't predict Jeff Bridges was the bad guy as soon as you saw he'd shaved his head, then you don't watch enough movies. This is not important, however, when weighed against that sweet beard he's sporting. Man I love The Dude. But we have seen the "trusted adviser / friend / parent sells out hero and becomes the enemy" a ton of times over the past fifty years of cinema; I was actually reminded a little of Ang Lee's Hulk during the final battle between Stark and Stane... but that might be the fault of the kickass Incredible Hulk trailer that played just before the feature. That was pretty Wow itself. Is Marvel making the right moves lately or what? I don't know all the ins and outs of their decision to take a more active role in producing their movies, but it seems to have been a good one.

But listen, Robert Downey Jr. is the star here, and it's nice to see an actor of his ability donning the Stark Suit with such enthusiasm. What's not to love? He's got looks, charm, and gravitas. But enough has been said about this elsewhere. I want to focus on Gwyneth. What is she doing in this movie? I'm not upset about it, she's as breathtaking as always, but like both Bridges and Downey she is just not meant for Comic Book Movies. Maybe that's why she (and they) work so well. We were all afraid for Superman when rumors surfaced that a name actor would take on the tights -- but if Iron Man proves anything, it's that this is not something we should fear. Embracing Oscar-caliber performers is a bona fide good idea.

Ms. Paltrow's (ridiculously named) Pepper Pots provides the film its emotional center. While Terrence Howard isn't given anything more to do than stand around looking concerned, Paltrow becomes the essence of the movie's humanity, and though her "turn off all the things and press the thing when I say" bit at the end is a little silly (turn off the whats?), it's easy to see from the start what Stark finally sees as the film barrels toward its close -- Pepper Pots is his rock. And Paltrow is as good here as she's been in anything. Which is to say, very.

One major gripe -- and I'm going to go see this again to verify that I didn't miss something: There's a moment during the jet chase sequence where the tone shifts without warning from "shoot that thing down" to "yay the day is saved". One moment the commander is yelling for the last plane to "engage" and the next everyone is cheering. It was really jarring to me, and I couldn't help feel like I missed five or ten seconds of something... I'll post an update if that's the case.

Lastly: If you haven't heard there's a short cameo from Samuel L. Jackson at the end of the closing credits, as Nick Fury -- basically this is Mace Windu with an eyepatch. Is Quentin Tarantino the only director who can get a real performance out of Sam Jackson? Let's hope not. "Wow, I'm in a comic book movie!" is not the right sort of attitude you want to see, but we've known since the Prequels that Jackson isn't quite up to the task of hiding those particular emotions. This doesn't detract from Iron Man at all, I was just a bit disappointed that I waited through all those credits for something with so little substance. Great, great movie film.

Oh, and: Stan Lee cameos haven't been this much fun since Mallrats. "Looking good, Hef!" Classic.