Downey Jr. succeeds

By Tanner Boyd

Published May 6, 2008

While some might see the trailer for “Iron Man” and cast it aside into the bowels of the B-movie superhero genre along with “Daredevil,” “Elektra” and “Ghost Rider,” filmmakers should look at director Jon Favreau’s film as a blueprint for a successful comic book adaptation.

What makes “Iron Man” so strong is the casting. As a fan of the Marvel Comics universe and the character of Iron Man, I can confidently assure fanboys that Robert Downey Jr. plays war-profiteer turned humanitarian Tony Stark flawlessly.

Downey Jr. blends arrogance, cockiness and wit into a people’s champion that is just as entertaining to watch out of costume as well as in costume (a feat Tobey Maguire still can’t perfect).

Tony Stark is the playboy head of Stark Industries, a weapons manufacturer who makes his living by fueling the high-tech destruction of Western civilization. After being taken captive while doing business in Afghanistan, Stark has a change of heart and realizes that he must use his knowledge of weaponry and mechanics for good rather than evil.

When Stark learns his next generation military toys are being sold on the black market to terrorist groups, he dawns the armor of Iron Man and literally turns himself into a one-man army.

The main plot is pretty basic for an origin story, but the predictability doesn’t hurt the film because the acting and action are able to supplement it so well.

The casting of Downey Jr. as Stark gives the film a solid structure for the Favreau to then layer on the action and CGI that blockbuster fans have come to expect.

Other superhero movies have worked the opposite, striving too hard to either load the script with underdeveloped cameos to appease fans (the third “X-Men” and “Spider-Man” films) or rely too heavily on action sequences and CGI (“Ghost Rider” and the “Fantastic Four” films). Favreau works to have the characters serve as the highlight of “Iron Man,” instead of overloading the film with big budget special effects and high superhero counts like many current action movies. Favreau pokes fun at this in one scene, where Stark’s friend Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) contemplates suiting up and joining Iron Man (in the comics he does, as the hero War Machine). Instead, Rhodes offers the line “Next time,” and rushes out of the scene.

Favreau makes a brilliant discovery for any filmmaker looking to adapt a comic book by understanding that the best way to appease the fans is to cast the hero to an actor that works. That’s why Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze is the biggest casting mistake in the history of cinema. The supporting cast of Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges only bolster “Iron Man.”

As far as comic adaptations go, “Iron Man” is certainly in the upper percentile. But even if you aren’t a geek who loves comics, “Iron Man” still delivers the action, comedy and drama one searches for in a summer popcorn flick. If you are a comic buff, then I strongly encourage you to stay after the credits for an added bonus.