The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : An unpretentious formula film review

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

An unpretentious formula film review

The Iron Man

Film: The Iron Man

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow

Director: Jon Favreau

Formula reigns supreme. Director Jon Favreau sticks to the tried and the tested in this sci-fi bonanza that delivers a decent but not a knock-out punch.

Though replete with political undercurrents, Favreau plays it almost by rote: his hero, actually a superhero – played with professional poise and restrained relish by Robert Downey Jr – flexes his muscles. His heroine – the likeable Gwyneth Paltrow – gets her dainty finger on the button to avoid a calamity! She gets to smile, sulk and slide. The hero’s friend is a good natured Black guy, his enemy is lean and mean; he glowers and scowls.

There is a tough fight between the hero who manufactures arms and dreams of peace, and the villain who dreams bombs, and believes war is the only way to peace. Yes, there is the predictable victory of the good man but alongside there are little barbs at war mongers in the U.S: remember the film starts off in Afghanistan where the billionaire arms manufacturer is held captive, being asked to make similar weapons for the war-torn, desultory State by local warlords.

Little twist

There is a nice little twist here; the man instead makes himself an iron suit, one that cannot be penetrated by bullets, and enables him to defy gravity. That in turn gives the cinematographer an opportunity to explore the earth and the sky, evoke sighs of awe with special effects that one has come to expect in a film of this genre.

Identifiable factor

The kidnap in Afghanistan, and the smart pull-out appear more than incidental similarities, but add an identifiable factor to a film that otherwise operates in the realms of make-believe. Here as Downey’s Tony says farewell to arms, there is a little sermon at the climax, one that gives more length, less teeth to the film.

Be that as it may. ‘The Iron Man’ may not carry a deadly punch but it has enough steel to last at the box office. The director was able to weave in a story of science fiction with a dash of contemporary politics. It is politically correct cinema. It is unpretentious, not too serious and quite enjoyable as long as it lasts.

ZIYA US SALAM

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh