I have finally watched Iron Man. I have to say Robert Downey Jr.’s talent is impeccable. Granted the character of Tony Stark is not that challenging but the manner in which Robert Downey played the part added a little bit of trueness to an otherwise 2 dimensional character.
Okay maybe he’s not that 2 dimensional but Tony Stark is pretty much the stereotype wealthy guy who is a ladies’ man as well. The only difference is that he’s a geek. He has been called a child protégé and in his adulthood he has created numerous technologies especially in the field of weaponry. Furthermore, later on in his Iron Man career he becomes an alcoholic. So much so that he loses Stark Industries, Iron Man and becomes a vagrant in the streets. But like all heroes he will eventually get back on his feet and get back everything that he owned.
Iron Man in the comic book has had so many adaptations to meet the different issues of the world. Initially, Iron Man was battling the communists in Vietnam, then the plot revolved around the Gulf War then Afghanistan.
The movie was made as a combination of both the Old Iron Man and the new ones. The only problem I find in this movie is the length of time that they dedicated to the origin of Iron Man. More than half of the story focused on how Tony Stark was a playboy and was captured by the enemy. This experience made him see the error of his ways and in captivity he creates the Iron Man suit to escape.
Maybe I’m such a comic snob in that sense that if you’re going to watch a show like this, wouldn’t it be better to acquaint yourself with the origin of the character so that the producers can just move on and go to the juicier, action filled story of Iron Man. No… this will never happen. They did this even with the remake of Superman and honestly the Christopher Reeves version should have been enough as a backgrounder. Granted this was made more than 20 years ago, but still…. Too much time is dedicated to the origins that the excitement of the adventures of these comic book characters is not properly portrayed. I bet the same thing will happen with Batman (the origin of Joker) and The Incredible Hulk.
Be that as it may, I still think that Iron Man is one of the better superheroes in the comic book world – the best being Batman. As you can see these characters are normal people who used their intelligence and resources to become a super hero. It’s not like Superman or Wonder woman who are like supernaturals. The fact that Tony Stark is a human makes Iron Man far more admirable and inspirational.
Initially I was surprised that Robert Downey Jr. chose a project like Iron Man – Iron Man being a show for kids and of that o a comic book character. I mean, Robert Downey is a very choosy actor. He normally chooses projects that would challenge his talent and here he is all of a sudden doing Iron Man. But then as I mentioned earlier, Tony Stark loses his path and becomes an alcoholic, something similar to the real life problems of Downey. So I can only assume this is not the last we’ll see of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. I believe there will be sequels. I hope so. How exciting!
