Iron Man

 

Iron Man 2008

• Director: Jon Favreau
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Lelsie Bibb, Shaun Taub, Faran Tahir, Clark Gregg, Sayed Badreya
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Robert Downey Jr – Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, The Soloist, Zodiac, Fur, A Scanner Darkly, Good Night and Good Luck, Richard III
• Gwyneth Paltrow – Mortdecai, Thanks for Sharing, Avengers, Contagion, Two Lovers, Proof, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Shakespeare in Love, Sliding Doors
• Terrence Howard – The Ledge, The Butler, Ray, Crash, Dead Presidents
• Jeff Bridges – True Grit, The Men Who Stare at Goats, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Sea Biscuit, The Big Lebowski, The Fabulous Baker Boys
• Clark Gregg-  Much Ado about Nothing, Avengers, Thor, 500 Days of Summer, The Human Stain, AI,
• Why? My addiction to superheroes
• Seen: 4 August 2023      

       Tony Stark (Downey Jr) is a smug sexist playboy who inherited his father’s weapon industry. He’s a great patriot and airily pleased with creating, manufacturing and selling murder machines, and with being a zillionaire.

       They have to make him this awful to show the contrast when, after a visit to Afghanistan and realising that his weapons actually kill people, he has a change of heart. He himself is injured and… insert desired details here… he becomes Iron Man, fighting evil, saving Afghan children from being killed by his weapons.

       Far too many details and silly story (ahem, this is about a superhero…) but Downey Jr pulls it off with aplomb. 

3* of 5