Robert Downey Jr. Is Tony Stark

Yesterday unofficially (or officially, I don’t know… I’m not allowed into the proceedings) began summer. Well, the summer movie bonanza. Iron Man pretty much released nationwide four hours early. Paramount allowed movie chains to start showing Iron Man at 8PM the day before the official release instead of 12:01AM the day of the official release as is normal for a film like this. Kudos for them.

First thing first: Robert Downey Jr. owned this role. He is Tony Stark.

Now let me say I’m not a big Iron Man fan. It’s not that I dislike him, not at all, I’ve just never read much about the guy. The most exposure I had to Iron Man was when I was veraciously collecting every Marvel Civil War issue (including every crossover and side title) that was coming out a year or so back. Previous to this event I’d stopped reading Marvel for years but every few weeks I’d ask my local comic book shop employees, “Is Marvel doing anything worth reading yet?” As of yesterday I can report they still shake their head in the negative. Though, they did say that Marvel is doing a new thing with the Skrull that is kinda neat but I think the Skrull are dumb so there ya go.

Anyway, during Marvel Civil War they tried setting up a dynamic that would have been awesome if the writers at Marvel weren’t all liberals at heart. They tried setting up a Tony Stark vs. Captain America thing. Each side got their time in the limelight but it was clear who had the better articulated (if illogical – We have a civil right to wear tights and beat up criminals? What?) arguments and who Marvel wanted you to root for. So, Tony Stark was boned before the thing ever began.

This was the most exposure I had to Mr. Stark and I took a shine to the fellow. Captain America was supposed to be the underdog but it was clear who the real underdog was in the offices of Marvel Comics.

Back to the movie; it was wall to wall entertainment. I didn’t feel the 129 minutes I sat there. There wasn’t a single frame of footage, in my opinion, that was superfluous and needed to go. This film was a tight machine. The transition of Tony Stark from real billionaire playboy (unlike a certain fake billionaire playboy from Gotham) to crusader was picture perfect. You couldn’t help but like Stark when he was a pompous ass because of just how damned cocksure he was with everything around him, how comfortable he was in who and what he was, and already hooked by that charm you are drawn into his change.

Wow. That is a mighty run on sentence. Anyway…

What really surprised me was how much I enjoyed Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Going into the film I had no idea who Potts was. I don’t recall her ever coming up in Marvel Civil War. Unlike Rachel Dawes (Batman Begins) or Mary Jane (Spider-Man), Pepper Potts is a great love interest/foil for Tony Stark. She’s equally confident about herself as Stark is about himself and, well, she’s just a joy to watch onscreen. She doesn’t demure in Stark’s presence and will stand up to him if she needs to. The banter between them both is fantastic and something Ms. Dawes or Ms. Jane could gain a lot from.

And I think I should really impress the banter bit. There is a lot of it between various characters and it works every time. I think every joke in the film fired on time and felt completely natural for the characters that spoke them.

Which I think might be part of the reason I enjoyed this film in a different way than I enjoyed a similar origin story film called Batman Begins. Tony Stark will tell a joke. I get that Bruce Wayne is supposed to be brooding but that gets old after a few years. You can be a crusader for justice and have a sense of humor.

The movie ends in a way that was initially unexpected, then I remembered that Stark did do something like that in the comic. A couple of times if I recall. It certainly provided a launching platform for a sequel.

Also, I’ve been told that there’s some additional footage at the end of the credits. It was a scene I heard was cut and might appear in The Incredible Hulk but I guess it’s here. If it’s there, and my friend wasn’t yanking my chain, it should be a pleasant surprise.