“Iron Man”: brave the lines, or give it a miss?
While I lost about 10 geek points by not going to the midnight showing last night, I did recoup at least 5 by hitting the first showing today. I wasn’t the only one missing work, either, because the theater was about half full, and it wasn’t even noon yet.
I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as I can, though a few things will slip. Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man” - brought to you by Stan Lee and Marvel Comics - starts with a bang and then some.
What’s wrong with it: It failed the infamous Feminist Movie Rule test. Here’s the test: (1) two women have to (2) have a conversation with each other about (3) something other than a man. “Iron Man” gets an F. Next, no geek chicks in the film. (Sigh. I hold out hope for the next great geek film.) Lastly, The Dude is in the movie, and he’s definitely not The Dude. I mean, he doesn’t have a white russian at all!
That’s all I could find wrong with this movie.
What’s right: the tech is frickin’ cool, and there are great gizmoes and cars galore. In most cases, the tech is correct or at least believable (though there are some altitude questions I’ve got to go research now, but I can’t get into that without coughing up spoilers) and in one case, better than I’ve seen in other films. (If a guy is stuck in a cave with only basic tools and older systems, he shouldn’t have a computer system that looks like this. “Iron Man” avoids that particular trap. Wish that had been true for “Transformers”.) The plot unfolds very well, even if you can see one particular twist coming, and not once did I find myself thinking, “You’re kidding me, right?” It was paced very well, without a great deal of gratuitous filler of explosions, car chase, explosions, etc. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
Confession time: I never read the comic. I wasn’t one for superheroes of any kind in print, except for maybe Matt Wagner’s Mage, and prefer my heroes to be human with a leaning towards supertech. (Big surprise, isn’t it?) That kind of criteria leads straight to Batman and Bruce Wayne.
At the risk of changing my religion, however, I have to say that Tony Stark’s Iron Man is a better story about the human experience than Bruce Wayne’s Batman. Bruce is damaged goods, whereas Tony is just an emotional screw-up. Being a screw-up is normal. Hell, being a screw-up is more “guy next door” than Peter Parker ever was, because *everyone* screws up. (And having Downey Jr. play the character is the best casting since Nicholson’s Joker.)
Go now? Wait for DVD? Skip it altogether? Go now. Pay full price, watch it, then walk out of the theater, buy tickets for the next showing, and watch it again.
If you’ve got any comments about “Iron Man” the movie, the comic, or wanna kick me for disparaging The Bat, drop me a line at ubergeeke@dotfiveone.com.
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