Iron Man
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
The history of "Iron Man" is a strange one. First, a popular song by "Black Sabbath" that became a big hit with high school pep and marching bands around the nation. And now a major motion picture. Oh, and apparently it was also a comic book at one time.
The Story
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a billionaire industrialist playboy and a tech genius. His company, Stark Enterprises, makes some of the most advanced and deadly weapons in the world. And that has made Stark a rich guy. Mostly, he uses his money and power to drink a lot and seduce beautiful women at his futuristic Malibu, California, bachelor fortress.
But while demonstrating a new weapon to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, Stark is shot and captured by terrorists. Another captive, a doctor and translator from the region, patches Stark up with an electromagnet in his chest cavity to keep shrapnel in his heart from killing him. The terrorists want Stark to build an advanced weapon for them before they'll let him go.
Stark agrees, but working with his translator, he uses the material they bring him to build a weaponized iron suit, instead. He uses the suit to blast his way through the terrorists, but comes out of the experience a changed man. He no longer wants to use his genius to build weapons that hurt people. He wants to find a way to use his company and his billions to fight evil and do good.
That's good news to his faithful and beautiful assistant Pepper Potts (Gweneth Paltrow), but his business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is not convinced. And his best friend and military liaison Colonel Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) thinks Stark needs to take some time to think things through.
Instead, Stark immediately goes to work designing a new armor suit that he intends to use to right some of his own wrongs -- if the terrorists he left behind in Afghanistan don't get him first.
The Verdict
What Works: "Iron Man" joins Batman and Spidey at the top of the short list of awesome superhero movies. Director Jon Favreau ("Elf"), of all people, dodges a lot of potential obstacles to make "Iron Man" fly and turn it into a fun and funny and even somewhat thoughtful film.
For starters, it's a good story. It's about Stark's moral transformation, as much as anything. (More on that in Worldview.) Robert Downey Jr. seemed like an iffy choice for a titanium-encased superhero, but he nails this part. He doesn't make a joke of it, but he does give Stark just the right amount of casual and smirky determination. The supporting cast is great, too. Jeff Bridges is almost unrecognizable as the bald and nasty Obadiah and Gweneth is lovely and sturdy as Pepper.
The good writing and character development give even more zing to all the impressive firepower that lights up with screen. Stark's robot-crazy lab will have future-geeks drooling. And Iron Man flies, crashes, and 'splodes stuff up convincingly. It's more than just a ride, but the ride part is worth the price.
What Doesn't Work: The film doesn't quite live up to "Batman Begins" or the first two "Spider-Man" movies. Like those, it succeeds by being about more than just flying and shooting and saving damsels. But it doesn't have the same weightiness. Somehow, you share more deeply in the suffering of Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker -- and they seem to have to work a lot harder to be heroes. They make more mistakes. As a man, Stark might be cooler than both, but building his suit and winning the day doesn't seem to cost him as much, making his story less meaty.
Content: Early in the film, Stark surrounds himself with revealingly dressed women/sex objects, including one he has sex with. We see them in bed before and her after (no nudity). Action violence is frequent, with a high body count of bad guys, villagers, and a few American soldiers. Jesus' and God's names are used for swearing several times, but there's not much other harsh language.
Worldview
Iron Man falls into the Batman camp of superheroes. Like Batman, Stark has no real superpowers beyond his own smarts and fearlessness. In the other camp, you'll find Superman, Spider-Man, and others who discover they have superpowers -- and then must decide what to do with them. Stark follows the reverse course. He discovers he has a desire to fight evil and then finds a way to do that.
The film's worldview message about taking personal responsibility for our choices is loud and clear. Stark is a genius at building weapons. His nation needs good weapons to kill bad guys. So he rationalizes the its just fine to get rich building great killing machines. But when he comes face-to-face with his own weapons -- and the reality of their destructive power in the wrong hands against innocent people -- he takes it personally. He owns his choice.
Some will complain that there's a liberal worldview message in here suggesting that nobody should profit off of making weapons of war because war itself is evil. But the film doesn't end up there. Even the reformed Stark is cool with using weapons to kill bad guys.
The bigger deal is that he decides he does not want to be the one cashing the checks for weapons of war. He takes some personal responsibility for how his products are used -- and for who they hurt. It's a compelling idea and one the Bible encourages Christians to embrace.
The message of Jesus, of course, is that all our sins can be forgiven through faith in Him. But that should make us more likely to take ownership when we do wrong things that hurt others. When corrupt little Zacchaeus came to Jesus, Jesus invited Himself to the man's house. Receiving that acceptance from the Son of God, Zach immediately felt compelled to declare he would pay back (times 4!) everyone he had cheated in his job as a tax collector. (Read the whole story in Luke 19:1-10)
Stark makes a similar resolution of his intent to find and destroy any of his weapons that have fallen into evil men's hands. He would not have to do such a thing. He wasn't the one who sold those weapons to the wrong side. But they have his name on them. Every choice we make as Christians carries our name, as well as the name of Jesus. That's reason enough to make our wrongs right and trust God to help us make fewer wrongs in the first place.
Questions:
- Better movie: "Batman Begins," "Spider-Man," "Spider-Man 2," or "Iron Man"?
- What did you think of Downey Jr.'s performance as Stark? Anyone else you might have preferred in the role?
- What did you think of Iron Man in full battle action, especially in the final showdown?
- Do you think Pepper is Miss Potts given name or a nickname?
- What did you think of Stark's resolution to take responsibility for what his weapons are used for?
- In your life, do you willingly accept responsibility for your own choices -- or do you look for ways to avoid it when the finger of blame turns to you? Why do you think we tend to do the second one?