the movieGOOMBA

3 GOOMBAS

As the season's first slated blockbuster, it's no wonder the hype for the summer movie line up has been minimal. Cheesy advertisements and a seemingly misfit role for Downey Jr. didn't sure give Iron Man a leg up, that's for sure. It's hard to believe summer has arrived without such a large bang at the box office, and I'm surprised to see how differently the critics feel about the latest super hero flick when many would rather stay at home to their beloved TV set.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a multi-billionaire and a bona fide genius, owns and runs the leading military weapons industry in the United States. However, after an unfortunate hostage situation in Afghanistan where he played the part of the hostage, he realizes that his weapons are being used against the the great US of A and vows to shut down production and focus the company's energy toward something more hero-ish. Afghanistan (if you hadn't already guessed) and someone close to home are the bad guys. Gwyneth Paltrow also stars as his beautiful, yet timid assistant.

Blatantly patriotic but generally entertaining, this movie wasn't nearly as cheesy it could have been. It was sleek and realistic, just like the Iron Man suit, and it struck the right balance between superhero archetypal themes and realism. It doesn't look comic-bookish, like its Spider-Man counterpart, but it isn't as stark as Batman Begins. Overall, I thought Robert Downey Jr. did an excellent job transitioning his character from a selfish and indifferent billionaire to a selfless superhero. I did have some issues with logical aspects of the film. How, for example, does Stark survive thousand foot drops in his suit? Brilliant and intelligent, he doesn't have super human padding. Also, I'm also sensitive to the fact that he shut down his weapons company only to make himself a weapon. Granted, he trusts himself to do greater good, my impression was that he would eventually create suits for others. How is that different from creating missiles?

This film has all the typical things you'd expect in a film of this caliber; crazy good CG, excellent explosions, interesting technology, and a decent character arch. I'd take the time to see it . . . until the Dark Knight hits the silver screen. I have a feeling that Iron Man will fall like an iron anvil short in that comparison.

On the side: Stay until after the credits. There's an extra scene that you might find interesting.
On the side: I hate how adding scenes after the credits have started becoming trendy. Its like the filmmakers are trying to pre-define a film as a cult flick.