I was wrong. It turns out the summer of ’08 has started out with a bang
My one sentence review for Iron Man is as follows:
This is the best possible summer blockbuster you could make about a guy in a hi-tech super suit.
I suppose there could be quibbles, there always are, but it’s really an amazing movie, managing to keep to core premise and internal logic. But more than all of that the film has a tone that it stays true to as well. It has a sense of playfulness that infuses even the most serious moments, and Robert Downey is a master at the self-effacing put-down, managing to make fun of himself and everyone else around him at the same time. That means Tony Stark is kind of a jerk, but he’s our kind of jerk, an American jerk. And there’s a moment when he first appears in public as Iron Man where he proves that for all his faults he is a genuine hero. I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff, and the film really plays it up. I’m looking forward to seeing it again, and seeing if it holds up on a second viewing.
It’s a good start to the year, and sets a high water mark for the other big summer films that are following it up.
