Antonio Hernandez
Hollywood is mad with superhero fever. Last year, audiences saw the final installment of the “Spiderman” trilogy, possibly the most successful comic book adaptation yet. Hoping to ride off the success of their web-slinger, Marvel has opened the summer movie season with their Swiss Army knife of a superhero: “Iron Man.”The movie is just as flashy as the iron suit it glorifies. Complete with action and an overabundance of computer graphics, “Iron Man” is definitely a summer movie. And it’s actually pretty good.”Iron Man” is the story of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a multimillionaire weapons dealer, who comes to terms with himself when he transforms into Iron Man.The movie begins with Stark riding in a convoy of trucks with U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Stark is full of wit, and rattles off funny one-liners until insurgents attack the convoy. In a blaze of fire, he is captured and held in a cave deep in the mountains.His captors demand that he creates a deadly missile, which is the trademark of his company, Stark Industries. His arrogant nature, present in the earlier convoy scene, quickly vanishes as he realizes the potential catastrophes his weapons may fuel in the hands of terrorists. At this point, the movie breaks away from the generic summer format. The captivity segment is rather long. Instead of injecting random bouts of action, it forces the audience to peer into the character of Tony Stark. While bonding with other prisoners and trying to find a way to escape, the audience watches as Stark evolves into a man bound by principles and conviction.Building the tin-can version of the Iron Man suit, Stark escapes the caves in a glorious action sequence, filled with plenty of explosions to satisfy the most skeptic prepubescent male.He returns home with his newly acquired principles and creates the infamous gold-and-red suit. During this time, we see Stark bond with his assistant, Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), the movie’s token love interest.Paltrow’s character does more than just gawk at Stark; she also stands very well on her own. Some of her lines fall flat, but the awkward relationship between her and Stark is interesting enough to overshadow the lady-in-distress dialogue.Another supporting role is filled by the character Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard). Rhodes is the military liaison to Stark Industries, and much more tame than Tony and his playboy antics. Howard plays it safe with the role, while still managing to have fun. The love-hate relationship between these two is always enjoyable.However, as good as Paltrow and Howard are, the movie is centered on Robert Downey Jr. Backed by a well-written script, Downey delivers excellent humor with a few slapstick moments. He also covers the spectrum of emotions well, and has the audience caring not just for his high-flying suit, but for the character himself.Let’s not forget: This is a film geared toward 20-year-old comic book geeks. As such, there is enough action to go around.Even though the action sequences are scattered throughout the movie, they are just as excellent as the acting and script. The computer graphics are stunning, and the suit truly takes the spotlight.A sequence where Iron Man skirmishes with U.S. Air Force jets is impressive and very realistic. These moments serve to remind the audience that this is the kickoff to the summer movie season.All is not lost to comic book fans, either. The movie manages to fit in many references that comic geeks will appreciate.This film has set the bar for the summer season and the oncoming avalanche of superhero flicks. Hopefully, “Iron Man” is only a peek into the character of Tony Stark, and he continues to fly through theaters in the coming years.