The Frame

I had no anticipation for this whatsoever. I’m not a comic book person, so I wasn’t familiar with the character, and the trailers didn’t attract me much at all. But the outstanding reviews overcame my apathy and I checked it out, and they were right. This is one comic book/superhero movie done right. Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark, a second-generation arms contractor who’s captured in the Middle East and sees firsthand the inhuman use of his weapons by terrorists. To escape, he builds a metal suit, the design of which he perfects later and uses for good. The reason I like Batman the best of all major superheroes is that he’s a self-made hero, not genetically enhanced or an alien or anything – Iron Man is the same, so yay! Specific things the film does well: it stays focused on a single plot progression, rather than having Iron Man just go do random good deeds; Downey brings his signature sardonic wit to Stark, keeping the film from getting too message-heavy; it’s really well paced, balanced between plot and action; and, well, the suit is frakking awesome. My only quibble might be the treatment of Pepper Potts, who never really felt as fully realized as she could’ve been, and spent most of her time being a faithful lapdog helper for the somewhat chauvinistic Stark. I felt like they were trying to give her a stronger role, but didn’t quite make it all the way. Maybe in the inevitable sequel. But Paltrow didn’t totally annoy me, as she has tended to recently, so there’s that.
Well Above Average