Fancast Video: Is Iron Man the New Gold Standard?

Superhero movies are all over the place these days, and they’ve even inspired an unfortunate Leslie Nielsen spoof called, of course, Superhero Movie. They used to be rare events, like Christopher Reeve’s Superman or Tim Burton’s Batman, alway doubted and dismissed. It wasn’t until 1998 when Marvel Comics managed to peek into the fray with Wesley Snipes’ modest vampire-hunter Blade. Then the X-Men humbly asked to see if they were invited, which set the stage for Spider-Man to blow the doors wide open for any and all funnybook folks to get their stab at cinematic glory.

The trouble with this arises when people who don’t quite get what makes a good superhero movie take cracks at it anyway. You’ve got guys like Tim Story and Mark Steven Johnson, certified comic-book fanboys, who nonetheless have no real concept of how to put together a successful movie, which results in lackluster efforts like Fantastic Four, Daredevil, its spin-off Elektra and the more recent Ghost Rider. They all have a cool look to them, which is a crucial element, but the actual stories being told often feel too contrived, too slipshod and generally not rich enough in character. You can’t blame sub-par writing on a low budget.

Conversely, you’ve got fantastic filmmakers like Ang Lee and Christopher Nolan, who introduce revolutionary new takes on these classic superhero icons with Hulk and the great Batman Begins, coming up with very interesting dramatic results that nonetheless put all the kids and action fans right to sleep. While Nolan may well remedy that in his sequel, The Dark Knight, Johnson is likely not a good enough filmmaker to learn what not to do.

Then came Iron Man. Helmed by Jon Favreau, an avowed comic fan steeped in nerd-cred who nonetheless cut his teeth making films driven by dialog and character like Swingers, and who is billionaire industrialist playboy Tony Stark but the ultimate swinger?

This was the first trailer we saw for Favreau’s Iron Man, showcasing the undeniable talents of Robert Downey Jr. completely nailing the role of suave and cocky arms dealer Stark, but before most of the effects work had been finished. Then came the quick Super Bowl spot which gave us just a little bit more. Now, we’ve got this new, full-length trailer that shows us the armored avenger in all his glory, not to mention the big, mean bad guy who’s going to be throwing down with him.

There are no complaints from the internet crowd, who are some of the hardest people in the world to please. It’s nothing but praise and excitement, because Favreau knows just how to cater to them. He knows what they want. The action and visceral thrills look plentiful and like all sorts of fun. The effects look fantastic and flawless, to the point where you can even see Downey’s personality present behind the CG mask, as evidenced in the final scene of the new trailer.

The difference here that looks to set this film apart from not only the low-rent chaff like Ghost Rider is the casting of Downey as the lead. Inexplicably, Favreau apparently had to fight to get Downey, and the studio was only appeased when the nerd throngs cheered his announcement. Downey is a peerless actor with an effortless delivery and a magnetic presence, and that suits Stark to a T. Or perhaps an I.

Most important is the fact that Downey brings along his own comic relief, despite being the dramatic lead, because the man is hilarious and always quick on his feet. It’ll be interesting to find out how much of the final film involved his own improvisation on the dialog. The fact that there is good dialog in the first place is something of a revelation. Spider-Man in particular is an egregious failure in this regard, and it’s the one thing that’s desperately missing from those films. Spider-Man is supposed to be a hilarious jokester, rattling bad guys with taunting as much as he does with his webs. This is why I didn’t mind the Disco Pete stuff in Spider-Man 3 as much as some people did - I was just glad to finally have some comedy.

“Let’s be honest. This is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”

Downey will make this movie his own. He’s already owned the trailers, right on par with the fighty blow-up scenes, and that’s not something we can say for Tobey Maguire. There’s also the fact that Iron Man is not the story of a confused young person who has to struggle to understand his crazy powers - he’s a guy who needed to get some crap done and he built himself some superhero powers in order to do it. He’s confident, brilliant and cocky, but he’s able to be humbled enough to do the right thing. Eventually.

We haven’t seen much of the supporting cast yet, although we can guess that Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow as his steadfast right-hand woman will have some of their own crackling dialog and sharp interplay. We’ve heard nothing from Terrence Howard as Stark’s bodyguard and best friend James Rhodes, although he’s said that we might have to wait for sequels to see him climb into his own version of the armor, known as War Machine. Similarly, we’ve only seen Jeff Bridges shave his head and grow and evil gray beard to play Stark’s corporate nemesis Obadiah Stane, who blatantly rips off the Stark armor designs to build his own giant robo-monster called Iron Monger. I think the animators know they’ve got their work cut out for them after seeing Transformers last year. Big robots have to look really damn good now. Hopefully, the red and gold Iron Man armor will show Michael Bay that color does not have to detract from badass action, and maybe a little more of it will help us tell his characters apart, because we sure as shootin’ ain’t gonna be able to do it with personality.

So, as much superhero competition as it has this year with the likes of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Punisher: War Zone and The Incredible Hulk (not to mention that one flick about an old guy with a bullwhip), and much as The Dark Knight is likely to be gushed over this year, it’s still quite possible that Iron Man will firmly establish itself as the perfect balance of action, character, dialog and story that moviegoers have been starving for. It even has the potential to be the best superhero movie of all time. The fact that we’re dealing with an arms dealer who gets wounded and held prisoner in the desert means we might even be able to get that current-events drama that audiences keep avoiding to go down easy with all the ’splosions, like wrapping heartworm pills in some Snausages before feeding it to the dog.

Everything tastes better when it’s set to Black Sabbath, anyway.