{"id":787,"date":"2008-05-04T21:19:26","date_gmt":"2008-05-05T01:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=787"},"modified":"2022-10-10T11:21:53","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T15:21:53","slug":"iron-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/iron-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Downey Jr.’s got a bum ticker in Jon Favreau’s Iron Man"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jon Favreau’s Iron Man<\/em> finds just the right tone for a superhero movie, pitched somewhere in the sweet spot between Spider-Man’s emotional melodrama and Batman’s grim vengeance. This blogger, a former lover of comic books (that stopped keeping up with them partly out of frugality, and partly lack of brain bandwidth), sees two high water marks in the recent surge of superhero-themed Hollywood feature films:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sam Raimi’s first two Spider-Man movies captured the key themes that made Spider-Man such a popular and lasting character in the first place (seriously, find me a kid in the English-speaking world who couldn’t tell you all about Peter Parker). The comic book on its simplest level was a parable of the sometimes unwelcome changes that come with adolescence. Also key to Peter Parker’s teen psyche was his constant negotiation between his own happiness and responsibilities towards friends, family, and society. Please, let’s not discuss the painfully awful Spider-Man 3<\/em><\/a>; those bitter wounds of disappointment are still raw, oozing, and infected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Robert
Talk to the… nah, that’s too easy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The other comic book superhero franchise to translate well to the screen in recent years is, of course, Batman. Helmed by such mature, serious artists as director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale, Batman Begins<\/em> perhaps could not help but to turn out as well as it did. The comic book character was originally conceived as a lone vigilante avenger in the 1930s, descended into camp self-parody in the 60s, then reverted back to grim form in the 70s. The character followed a parallel arc in his movie incarnations: Tim Burton’s Batman films are dark and weirdly wonderful, Joel Schumacher’s are tacky and cheesy, and now Christopher Nolan has restored the franchise back to its gothic roots. Note that Heath Ledger as the Joker in the upcoming sequel The Dark Knight<\/em> doesn’t actually smile!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iron Man<\/em> was heavily marketed as Robert Downey Jr.’s redemption after decades of louche behavior led to him becoming unhirable (or more accurately, uninsurable). Was Downey perfectly cast, or was the role tailored to suit him? If anything, from what little I know of the comics, the filmmakers may have actually toned Iron Man’s alter-ego Tony Stark down. Physical disability is a long-established theme in Marvel Comics’ stable of characters, take for example the blind Daredevil. Stark’s distinguishing characteristic was his bum ticker, but he was also famously an alcoholic prick. Do you think, perhaps, there’s a metaphor to be found in the character of a soulless munitions dealer who loses his literal heart but finds his conscience? Hmmm…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Terrance
Djay da Pimp, Viola De Lesseps, Charlie Chaplin, and The Dude star in Iron Man<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jeff Bridges totally rocks a bald pate, and blessedly underplays his role as chief baddie Obadiah Stane. He’s the mellow voice of reason, sounding for all the world like The Dude<\/a> with an M.B.A. That is, until he raises his voice for the first time, and the good times are over, man. Unfortunately, Gwyneth Paltrow (as the alliterative Pepper Potts) and Terrence Howard (Jim Rhodes) don’t fare as well. Paltrow, with little experience in the sci-fi effects blockbuster genre, is hysterically unconvincing at running away from fireballs in high heels (you can imagine her pouting “But Harvey said I don’t have<\/em> to run from fireballs!”). Howard is just plain boring, with little to say or do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iron Man<\/em> is quite enjoyable, provided you try to ignore the rather conservative gung-ho attitude toward the war on terror. It only disappoints at the very end, when it devolves into a CGI rock ’em sock ’em robot battle. It was inevitable according to the genre, and the natural trajectory of the plot, but still…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jon Favreau’s Iron Man finds just the right tone for a superhero movie, pitched somewhere in the sweet spot between Spider-Man’s emotional melodrama and Batman’s grim vengeance. This blogger, a former lover of comic books (that stopped keeping up with them partly out of frugality, and partly lack of brain bandwidth), sees two high water […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1516,384,293,997,1206,50,1483,385,1305,870,1484],"class_list":["post-787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-1516","tag-comic-books","tag-comics","tag-gwyneth-paltrow","tag-iron-man","tag-jeff-bridges","tag-jon-favreau","tag-marvel-comics","tag-robert-downey-jr","tag-superhero","tag-terrence-howard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/iron-man-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-cH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5121,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/avengers-infinity-war-2018-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":0},"title":"Avengers: Infinity War collapses under the weight of its own continuity","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Like a teeter-tottering pile of mint-condition, unread, bagged & boarded collector's edition comic books, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is quickly collapsing under the weight of its accumulating continuity. Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War may be an edifying experience for the dedicated fan who's seen all 19 or so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Avengers Infinity War","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/avengers-infinity-war.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/avengers-infinity-war.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/avengers-infinity-war.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/avengers-infinity-war.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/avengers-infinity-war.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/fantastic-four\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":1},"title":"Fantastic Four","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 19, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Did they learn nothing from Spider-Man 2, clearly the pinnacle of the superhero genre (and I will fight a Marvel Team-Up with anybody that dares disagree with me)? Fantastic Four is an aggressively stupid series of one missed opportunity after another. It just narrowly escapes one star by making me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fantastic Four","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/12\/fantastic-four.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/12\/fantastic-four.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/12\/fantastic-four.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/12\/fantastic-four.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/12\/fantastic-four.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5331,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/avengers-endgame-2019-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":2},"title":"No escape from the tyranny of continuity, in Avengers: Endgame","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"There is no escape from the tyranny of continuity. Like daytime soaps, superhero comics exist in a quantum state of constant churn and perpetual stasis. Characters are introduced and die and un-die, relationships form and split and reform, villains are defeated and rally and are defeated again. Excelsior, and collect\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Avengers: Endgame","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/avengers-endgame.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/avengers-endgame.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/avengers-endgame.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/avengers-endgame.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/avengers-endgame.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5804,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/james-mangolds-the-wolverine-is-the-right-kind-of-serious\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":3},"title":"James Mangold’s The Wolverine is the right kind of “serious”","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I was very pleasantly surprised by James Mangold's The Wolverine. Everybody involved did the right thing by simply pretending that the appallingly awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine was never made. Marvel Comics continues their (mostly) winning streak, showing everyone how superhero movies should be done. Hopefully soon we will be rid\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hugh Jackman in The Wolverine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/wolverine-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/wolverine-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/wolverine-2013.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/wolverine-2013.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/wolverine-2013.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":303,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/superman-returns\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":4},"title":"A god walks among us in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"It's probably my own fault for buying into the hype, but Superman Returns left me cold. There's not a lot of drama implicit in the story of an omnipotent alien from another planet, and I just can't buy the \"god walks among us\" metaphors. Spider-Man is a real, troubled human\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Superman Returns","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/superman-returns-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/superman-returns-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/superman-returns-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/superman-returns-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/06\/superman-returns-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3476,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/xmen-origins-wolverine\/","url_meta":{"origin":787,"position":5},"title":"Rewind & Reboot: X-Men Origins: Wolverine","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Much of what's wrong with X-Men Origins: Wolverine can be traced right back to its confused conception, indeed beginning with its clumsy title. 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