Iron Man Review

*****

Tony Stark, AKA the Invincible Iron Man, makes a great poster boy for self-enhancement and transhumanism; he is a man who decided he wanted to improve himself and so set his intellect to the task. He's also a man who has an awesome suite that can fly and shoot missiles.
That's why he's always been my favourite super-hero, and that's why it was with bated breath that I went to see the new film. As a fan I was both predisposed to like it and hypercritical incase they'd ruined something I'd grown up with. I could only hope that this was going to be more Spider-man 2 than Cat Woman.

Fortunately I needn't have worried as Iron Man surpasses both of those films by a long shot, and all other super-hero flicks as well for that matter, and has perfectly captured the spirit of the comics. Whereas others have tried to shy away from their geeky heritage, Iron Man has completely embraced it, probably a result of being produced in-house by Marvel. There's more 'nerdgasms' in this film than there would be in a orgy at a sci-fi convention (one line from Terrence Howard in particular will really get the marvelites going).
You don't have to be a geek to enjoy the film though (or so I've been told) and there is much to enjoy for the average film-goer too. The casting for example is spot on, with Downey Jr bringing particular swagger and charisma to the titular hero and Gwyneth Paltrow nicely grounding the film and supplying the one-liners as Pepper Potts. The CGI, handled by the same guys as Transformers and Pirate of the Caribbean, is spot on and the direction by John Favrau is top notch. Even the sets are outstanding, with focus here on Tony's amazingly cool pad with waterfall feature and inbuilt computer. The film oozes class and polish, fitting for a film with a millionaire playboy for the protagonist.
Iron Man stands out from the crowd though because the source material stands out from other comic books. The main difference lies in the fact that Tony Stark doesn't have any special powers which makes the whole fair much more believable. It also makes the character far more interesting - here is a guy who is self-made. Using his genius and his resources he's transformed himself into a weapon; a mesh of man and machine, like an extropian's wet-dream. The film has made the bold choice of focussing heavily on this aspect with a good quarter of the action taking place in Stark's lab as he tinkers and experiments with his designs. It's the thrill of creation and the drive to rebuild that fuels the plot and provides the protagonist's motivation. It's a drive that all bodybuilders understand.
One reviewer even compared the film to Rocky, in that the hero spends the majority of the film training and preparing for his one big fight, and I can see where they are coming from. The only difference here is that the main character is taxing his brain rather than his brawn (here's a film Iron Man vs Rocky, any directors reading feel free to get in touch). By the end Tony has transformed himself physically, mentally and even morally, and is ready to go toe to toe in a Super Ultimate Final Showdown.
In conclusion then, Iron Man is the real Iron Warrior.