Photo: Getty Images
Sometimes you crave comfort food. All the ingredients might be artificially flavored with little nutritional value, but when combined it makes for a wholly satisfying experience. (Well, until you're clutching your stomach an hour later.)
Iron Man executes all the necessary parts of a superhero mythology: a setting that mirrors our social and political climate; a plot that appeals to our sense of heart and ethics; solutions to our hopelessness about a seemingly insurmountable problem; and Robert Downey Jr. looking good in tight shirts (or straight-up shirtless). OK, maybe this last trope is my own personal superhero movie requirement. The movie also features the naive but loyal Sidekick (Terrence Howard), corrupt capitalist Nemesis (Jeff Bridges), and sassy Girl Friday (Gwyneth Paltrow), who possesses infinite patience, a heart of gold, and the inexplicable ability to sprint in six-inch heels.
The updated Iron Man is Robocop and Batman thrown in a blender, then seasoned with Downey's crass and charismatic style. He was perhaps born to play the part of Tony Stark, since the images we have in our minds of the real-life actor snorting blow off the rumps of supermodels actually help the movie rather then prove a liability. The disillusioned Stark turned superhero plays perfectly into audiences who mean well in the world and want their problems solved quickly, easily, and without any complicated philosophical or cultural questions -- in other words, a perfect summer escape. Just plan on needing a little detox when re-entering the real world afterwards.
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-- A. RAYMOND JOHNSON
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