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Iron Man (2008)

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard Director: Jon Favreau Screenwriter: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matthew Holloway Composer: Ramin Djawadi Cinematographer: Matthew Libatique DVD, Rs. 599

Director Jon Favreau describes the film best when he says “Iron Man” is “a kind of independent film-espionage thriller crossbreed; a Robert Altman-directed ‘Superman’, with shades of Tom Clancy novels, James Bond films, ‘RoboCop’, and ‘Batman Begins’.”

Each superhero film has to offer something distinct to earn a place in the superhero hall of fame. If it is “same old, same old” as that fedora wearing whip wielding archaeologist wearily commented, then it just falls by the wayside like, say, “Dare Devil” or is hooted off the screens like the execrable “Cat Woman.”

The ones that made it to cult status have done the honourable thing and built on the mythology zealously guarded by fans world over. So when “Superman” with its all-American Christopher Reeves turned on his x-ray vision with his bright blue eyes, movie goers were enthralled. When Tim Burton directed Batman, Gotham city came alive in all its wonderful weirdness while Jack Nicholson as the Joker and Danny De Vito as Penguin seemed suitably gothic villains.

And so it is with “Iron Man”, the smartest, brightest comic book adaptation in the longest time. Last year also saw the release of “The Dark Knight”, the sequel to Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” which was dark as night.

“Iron Man” works as a brilliant counterpoint to all that angst and psycho-babble. While “Batman” is set in a world of tortured imagination and within no specific timeframe, “Iron Man” is rooted in the here and now. It is the post 9/11 world, and Iron Man is forged in Afghanistan and not in Vietnam like the Marvel comic book original.

Billionaire industrialist and weapon’s manufacturer Tony Stark (supposedly modelled on Howard Hughes) is slip sliding through life happily with a girl on each arm and his life faultlessly arranged by his hyper-correct secretary, Pepper Pots. All changes when he arranges for a demonstration of his latest weapon, Jericho, in Afghanistan.

While charming the soldiers with an easy mix of cool and suavity, the convoy is attacked and Stark is kidnapped by a terrorist organisation called the Ten Rings who want him to build Jericho for them. Stark is horrified that the weapons he was supposedly building to protect Americans and the American way is being used by terrorists. He builds an iron suit and escapes and decides to use the suit to fight evil doers.

The fact that “Iron Man” is a different superhero film starts with the casting. Robert Downey Jr is hardly the first name you would come up with when thinking of an actor to play a superhero, but how he has made the character his own! He has created a mercurial Tony Stark who is a millionaire, womaniser, weapons manufacturer and also a good friend, brilliant creator, and best of all does not take himself too seriously.

Gwyneth Paltrow is cool as ice as the proper Ms Pots, Terrence Howard is constant as Stark’s buddy Rhodey while Jeff Bridges is unctuous as Stark’s right hand man Obadiah Stane. Composer Ramin Djawadi has stuck to Favreau’s brief of keeping the music guitar-centric to create a thrumming sound track. The colours are bright and happy while the look and feel is industrial without being grungy. The action is inspired and creative — especially Iron Man’s first flight and the climatic battle.

Extras include deleted scenes, which, save for a couple, make sense to stay deleted. The news of “Iron Man 2” coming out next year can only fill our hearts with joy to once again watch the crackling chemistry between Stark and Ms Pots. Ah the joy of it!

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