Respond to these rapid questions in our Iron Man quiz and we will tell you which Iron Man character you are. Play it now.
When I finally caught up with “Iron Man,” it had already been playing for three weeks due to a broken hip that I had suffered. According to what I heard at the time, a lot of people enjoyed it, and many of them were surprised by how much they enjoyed it. I also heard that Robert Downey, Jr’s performance was exceptional. Aside from that, all I knew about the film was that it was about a giant iron man of some sort. I had no idea that it was occupied by a human, and I was half-assumed that the Downey character’s brain had been transplanted into a robot, or some other equally bizarre fate had befallen him.
To be clear, it is true that I was aware that I was looking at sets and special effects—but I am referring to the reality behind the illusion, if that makes any sense. Often, when it comes to superhero movies, you only get a glimpse of the illusion’s surface. Iron Man gives you a glimpse into the depths of the human psyche. For example, you get the impression of being inside a well-run corporation. Consider the characters of Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark’s devoted aide, and Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), Stark’s business partner in the HBO series Game of Thrones. They don’t appear to have been pumped up for the occasion. They appear to have been working together for quite some time.
The chemistry between Downey, Paltrow, and Bridges is responsible for much of the atmosphere created. Even if the plot mechanics did not take them to a higher level, they appear to have relationships that are fully formed and resilient enough to last the duration of the film. There are echoes of the relationship between Howard Hughes and Noah Dietrich depicted in Martin Scorsese’s film “The Aviator” between the two men (2004). In the film, Obadiah Stane does not appear onscreen waving flags and winking at the camera to announce that he is the antagonist; instead, he is adequately explained as the voice of reason at Stark’s press conference. (Can you tell me why the word “Stark” made me think of “staring mad?” during that scene?) In the relationship between Stark and Pepper, there is the classic tension between “friends” who are aware that they may one day become lovers.
Downey’s performance is enthralling and surprising in equal measure. He doesn’t act like most superheroes because he lacks the psychic weight and gravitas that most of them have. Taking inspiration from Downey’s persona, which he has developed over a number of films, Tony Stark is irreverent, quirky, self-depreciating, and wisecracking. The fact that Downey is allowed to think and speak in the manner in which he does while sporting all of that bling represents a risky decision on the part of the director, Jon Favreau. If he hadn’t wanted that, he probably would not have hired Downey in the first place. Due to Downey’s familiarity with the dialogue of Tony Stark and how it sounds coming from him, the screenplay almost seems to have been dictated by Downey’s persona rather than the other way around.
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There are some things that actors can safely say onscreen, and there are other things that they should avoid saying. It would be difficult for the Robert Downey Jr. persona to get away with making heavy-handed, profound statements (in an “entertainment,” anyway—a more serious film like “Zodiac” is another matter). As if dictating to a copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, some superheroes speak in a kind of heightened, semi-formal prose. This isn’t Tony Stark. He could be Juno’s uncle and still speak in that manner. It appears that the makers of “Iron Man” are unaware of how seriously most superhero films take themselves. It is common for the superhero to be completely unaware of any wit present in the dialogue he is speaking. If there is broad humor, it is almost always directed at the antagonist. What happens in “Iron Man,” on the other hand, is that we are left wondering how seriously even Stark takes the situation. He’s carefree in the face of disaster, unconcerned on the verge of a catastrophe.
It’s probably a good thing that Favreau keeps the rest of the characters in a more serious tone, in my opinion. The supporting cast, wisely, refrains from attempting to outdo him. Pepper Potts is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who portrays a woman who is gravely concerned that this goofball will commit suicide. By appearing genuinely concerned about the stock price, Jeff Bridges elevates Obadiah Stane to the status of one of the great superhero villains. Terrence Howard’s Col. Rhodes is a conventional straight arrow at all times, as played by Terrence Howard. What a horror show it would have been if they had all been tuned in to Tony Stark’s sardonic wave length at the time. We’d be back in the world of “Swingers,” which was written by Favreau and released in 1996.
Iron Man Quiz
Another one of the film’s novelties is the fact that the antagonist is not a conspiracy or a spy agency. Instead, it is the reality of our own world today: armaments are escalating beyond our ability to keep up with the pace of development. The goal of most movies in this genre would be to develop weapons that were bigger and better than what was already available. What makes Tony Stark’s desire to disarm stand out. It transforms him into a superhero who is able to reason, reason critically, and draw moral conclusions, rather than a superhero who simply repeats platitudes.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Iron Man quiz.
The special effects in the film play a significant role in its success. Whenever no one is speaking, something is banging, clanging, or laying rubber on the floor. When it comes to acting, even lesser actors could compete with Downey and Bridges’ performances in the film. It is surprising how much the personalities of the men inside the armored robotic suits mirror those of the men outside of them. Of course, everything they do is absurd, but it appears that they are the ones who are doing it, rather than the suits. When Tony tests his suit to see how high it will fly, the sequence reminds me of a similar challenge in the film “The Right Stuff,” which I found to be quite impressive. The original Marvel artists served as inspiration for the art direction. Even if it doesn’t look exactly like the drawings of Jack Kirby and others, the film captures their spirit, a vision of out-of-scale enormity, seamless sleekness, and secret laboratories constructed not from bolts and nuts but rather from…vistas.
Lots of big budget f/x epics seem to abandon their stories with half an hour left to go and just sling effects at the audience in place of story. When it comes to plot, this one is so ingenious that it continues to function no matter how loud the impacts and how massive the explosions are. To provide Tony with that life-saving device is a source of inspiration; he’s vulnerable not only because Obadiah might destroy him, but also because he might simply run out of battery power.
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That leaves us with a fundamental question at the heart of the story: why is it necessary for the ultimate weapon to have a humanoid appearance to begin with? Why does it need to have two arms and two legs, and why does it matter if its face is scowling? What is the point of having two arms and two legs? Fighting machines compete in real-world competitions against one another, and all aspects of their design are evaluated solely on the basis of how well they allow the machines to attack, defend, recover, remain upright, and overturn their opponents. It makes no difference whether they have conventional eyes or if their eyes are narrowed in any way. In addition, it makes no difference whether or not they have noses, because their oxygen supply is evidently not obtained through breathing.
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The solution to such conundrums is that the armored suits are designed in the manner in which they are for entirely cinematic reasons. The bad iron man should have the appearance of a lethal machine. The good iron man should dress in the racing colors of Tony Stark’s favorite sports cars to show his support for the Avengers. It wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining to watch a fight scene between two refrigerators mixed with the remains of a boiler room’s worth of leftovers.
At the end of the day, it is Robert Downey Jr. who propels the film forward, distinguishing it from the majority of other superhero films. Downey would not be effective as a one-dimensional mighty-man, which is why you hire an actor for his strengths rather than his weaknesses. He is strong because he is intelligent, quick, and funny, and we have a sense that his public persona conceals deep personal wounds that he is hiding. Favreau found his movie by building on that foundation, and it’s a good one.
For more personality quizzes check this: Inside Out Quiz.
