May 13, 2008 12:14 PM
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Spare a thought for incurable heart conditions and those of us who don't have time for the National Health Service to react to our immediate problem. That's what happened to poor Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr). Happy go lucky Tony, the centre of the party, some may say irresponsible but he has charm(if a little laddish). He has it all(seemingly) but really doesn't care too much as all this'having it all' just fuels a lifestyle of constant partying. You see he WAS a child prodigy and banks on the PR that brings but these days he can rely on the arms business inherited by his father and his dad's old mate to run the show(Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane). And what a grim old business it is this arms production caper? What with producing hardware capable of blowing the US army's enemies from here to out the other side of Nirvana's eternal walls, it's best to hid behind those sun glasses, Gucci suits, the crap table, pole dancing girls and single malt scotch. And the odd wench that gets persuaded under the silk sheets can be whisked away to the exit(out with the trash) by a faithful, if not despairing, assistant(Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts). So why EVER wake-up to the sombre realities of real life?
Well poor, poor, Tony once in a while has to come good as the PR wing of dead-dad's company but it has it's plus's. I mean think of the theatrics in a pyrotechnic display of a new cluster bomb technology(the Jericho missile)? Nothing like the concussion of the blast blowing through your hair and covering your audience(albeit dull military types) with half the Afghan wilderness's sand! Cool! Problem is that being a profile boy means that those with not such'noble' sentiments as the good ole' US army could be watching. Maybe they could purchase some of Stark Industries impressive hardware? Or maybe they can kidnap the brain child CEO(and if only it was that simple a motive and I won't reveal that)? And thus dawn's the day when beloved Tony is confronted with the harsh reality of what his business thrives on… war, death and combat.
Tony's army customers get ambushed, killed to a man and our fun loving PR boy is left dying in the wilderness with a chest full of shrapnel, ironically from the very merchandise that keeps him in party vogue. Lucky those terrorist types have a surgeon in one of their prisoners! Lucky he's seen injuries like Tony's before! Lucky he's got an Electromagnet(that can be implanted into a chest without the side effects of infection)! And lucky a car battery is all you need to fire the thing up! But why?'Cos Tony has got shards of shrapnel travelling slowly towards his damaged heart and a strong magnet(as every school boy knows) can pull big iron filings away from things. Simple!
Oh look! I could go on in this whimsical way for hours and bore you to tears with it. I'll only go this far. The fact is that'sans alcool', Tony has a clear mind and he has the chance to build himself a better'heart-protection-unit' using a ring of Rhodium from some missiles he's dismantling under the guise of making a'Jericho Missile' for his new terrorist fans. Some how he and his surgeon mate work together on an Iron suit(with all mod-cons) under the noses of their captors and fights his way to freedom(poor surgeon friend sacrificing himself for the greater good of Tony).
This whole experience opens his eyes to the reality of his business and the opportunity to put Stark Industries on a humanitarian track. And if you watch the film you'll see he has enemies against this plan and they've been enemies for quite sometime….
And this is where I want to stop with the plot spoiling because it's not helpful. I loved the film. I loved the film because it didn't take itself too seriously. Also it wasn't a typical super hero film; there were no capes big fanfares etc… although incredibly unbelievable it didn't rely on emphasising superhuman powers and it had bucket loads of sideways humour. Yes, it does have a humanitarian message although it doesn't rub it in your face. Was I surprised by that political slant? Not really, even materialistic Hollywood loves to play the Left-Wing card! I also liked Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of an older party boy with a depth to his character. The effects were good, the filming and action scenes were full of life and the music really complimented the film.
I was impressed and my mates all had smiles on their faces as we left. If that's the response to watching a film then it must have been a good film. It's a thumb's up from me.
