i saw iron man with my parents this past weekend. and for those keeping up with the mushroom, this viewing went better than when we went to see rambo (refer to older blog rambo and the racist).
for those who don't speak marvel and geekspeak, iron man is the alter ego/persona of tony stark, genius and CEO of Stark Industries, manufacturer of weapons of destruction. anyhow, similar to batman/bruce wayne, stark's parents are killed. here, a car accident, failed brakes. he doesn't witness his parents' demise, like bruce wayne did though. both are rich men with dark secrets and failed relationships and in the end, they are alone. money can't buy happiness. trite, but true. anyhow, stark is a flamboyant international playboy. stan lee based stark on hugh, the original playboy himself. if this is obvious, which i thought this was common knowledge, but i figured i would just say it just to say it.
iron man has always been an interesting superhero to me since he is an ordinary man, so to speak, aside from the genius level doogie howser MIT level, stark is a rich party boy. his power is extreme intelligence. no utility belt. no xray vision. an invincible metal suit that gone through an array of colour changes, all grey, all gold, black, red and gold. stark's heart condition is his weakness, which later in comics get fixed through a transplant.
iron man is a cool superhero because it is a man inside an iron suit blowing things up. he destroys his weapons. then puts on his business suit and destroys other weapon companies through buyouts and mergers.
tony stark wears two suits, both strong. the powerful CEO corporate leader and the iron metal suit that soars him through the air and shoots at stuff.
knowing all of this, i went to see iron man with my parents. a quick scan of the audience made me feel relief since i didn't sense any racists in the audience. the movie was fun. it did not disappoint. RDJ was perfect as tony stark. stark in the comics is a smart ass guy who does some horrible things, but you still find yourself liking him. this is pure RDJ. paltrow was good in her role and i am no fan. her lines were minimal and funny. i do admire her moxie in herpower pin stripe suits and stiletto heels. women in heels. power. terrence howard was good. i like how he looked at the iron man mold and says, "next time," which foreshadows later on in iron man comics how rhodes later takes over the role of iron man for awhile. nice work hollywood. i did enjoy the obligatory stan lee cameo.
i like how the movie was action and action. the story line was kept simple. good guys v. bad guys. but, iron man later becomes more complicated. i heard this is a 3 movie deal. i hope so since iron man deserves to be explained and the character of stark needs to be explored. stark is not just a playboy, but one who suffers from losing his wealth, to unreturned love, to losing his life and losing his trust in friends. iron man is one of the comics i put aside for awhile and now as i write this, i remember why i loved it.
i better brush off the dust off my issues and fall back in love with stark.
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