Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures [Click to enlarge]

Last year in May I remember seeing "Spider-Man 3" and being so utterly disappointed that I could not even admit it to myself. I was so stoked to see Venom and Sandman and there was so much ridiculous hype. Then I saw it and it was complete garbage. But this isn't about "Spider-Man 3," it's about a different Marvel comic book franchise.

"Iron Man" is that first official summer blockbuster this year and it comes with almost as much hype. So let's get it out of the way - it does not suck. In fact, it's everything you expect from a summer blockbuster. It has the requisite action scenes, lots of awesome and realistic special effects and plenty of actually funny one-liners.

For those who have never read an Iron Man comic, it's about Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and weapons manufacturer. He goes to Afghanistan to show off his new "Jericho" missile system to the military. After the demonstration his humvee is attacked and a terrorist group kidnaps him. They force Stark to build the weapon again for them while he tries to keep his injured heart from killing him.

With the help of another captured scientist (Shaun Toub) he builds a robotic suit instead and escapes. When he returns to the United States he decides to change the aim of Stark Industries from weapons manufacturing to something less destructive. This is not something his partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) likes.

Terrence Howard also star as Stark's buddy Jim Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow as the billionaire's love interest Pepper Potts.

One of the first things anyone will notice about the movie is that Robert Downey Jr. owns the role and the movie. He steals scenes that only he is in if that's even possible. Downey mixes the right amount of swagger, arrogance and charm to make you love Tony Stark and cheer for him throughout the whole picture.

Another equally important thing for a blockbuster is the special effects. The insane wizards at Industrial Light & Magic have done it again. After tackling last year's "Transformers" there should have been no doubt about them making Stark's Mark III armor look dazzling as it whisks through the sky being chased by two F-22 Raptors. Now there is no doubt.

Of course the movie would not flow the way it does without Jon Favreau, who directs like a man who makes blockbusters every year. He appropriately balances comedy with action and drama.

There are a lot of great one-liners and gags that don't ever feel cheap. The action scenes are breathtaking also. When something important or heavy goes on, the weight is felt and no one in the audience is smiling. Favreau should definitely direct the almost inevitable sequels.

There are a couple slight problems though. The first is debatable. It's the issue of product placement, which is fairly common in "Iron Man." I saw Burger King, Audi, several magazines and there's even a Nintendo Wii if you look closely. Product placement is shameless a lot of the time, like when they zoom in on the Audi logo of Stark's car. But it can be a neat tool to make a fictional superhero like Iron Man fit into our world. When you see Tony Stark on "Wired" magazine, it's not hard to imagine that sitting on the rack of a newsstand. It makes the fanboys happy.

The other problem, and it's minor also, is Tony Stark comes out of some ridiculous crashes and testing accidents with just a couple of cuts and bruises. That's fine - it's a comic book movie - but it might annoy some people who see the flick.

Really though, "Iron Man" is an excellent way to start the summer. It's a huge relief that they didn't screw this up because Iron Man is such a cool superhero. Go see this and have a ridiculously good time.

Luke Soin can be reached at lsoin@statehornet.com

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