Iron Man: Grade B

B
Iron Man (2008)
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terence Howard, Jeff Bridges. Director Jon Favreau.

The wealthy, irresponsible head of a weapons company (Downey), invents a suit of armor with rockets that enable him to fly (jet around, really). It is also outfitted with flame throwers, RPG's, and other weapons. With this suit he vows to “fight evil,” as anybody would, of course.

The first evil he identifies is a Middle Eastern tribe that uses his company’s weapons. How that makes them evil is unclear, although there is a background report that they have killed women and children (just as American forces have done). Nevertheless, the evil Arabs are dispatched with flame throwers and explosions, which emotionally wipes out the hero's dissolute past so he can now concentrate on being a do-gooder.

Iron Man’s second evil adversary is an executive of his own weapons company, Jeff Bridges, who wears a bad bald cap that makes his head look like Dr. Phil’s, though his sleazy character reminded me more of Steve Ballmer. He develops a rival iron man suit so we can have a Manichean showdown. The plot is recycled stuff, but it is from a comic book, so what do you expect. The CGI effects are pretty good and fun to watch, but the gizmos are not as imaginative as those used by Batman or Spiderman.

The strength of the movie is RDJ’s acting which is wonderful, as is the performance of his personal assistant, Paltrow. The relationship between the two comes through – romantic but coy, as it was between 007 and Miss Moneypenny. The script is strong, with droll humor to keep adults engaged. There are plenty of visual allusions to other action pictures, including the Incredible Hulk, Batman, Spiderman, Robocop, The Terminator, and even Mission Impossible, but I don’t know what the point of those references is except to invite comparison, which is risky. This is a good introduction to Iron Man, who will definitely be back.

Superhero Movie: Grade B

B
Superhero Movie (2008)
Drake Bell, Sarah Paxton, with Leslie Nielsen and Tracy Morgan. Writer & Director Craig Mazin.

This spoof of the superhero movies has tons of laughs, most of them broad and obvious. The opening sequence, in which the young protagonist Bell gets banged on the head and knocked down three times in quick succession, fairly sets the tone. Still, if you like slapstick, and I do, you have to admit that these stunts were done perfectly.

Bell is bitten by a radioactive dragonfly and acquires super powers. The Spider Man references are played to the hilt, but there are also good spoofs of Batman, Superman, some of the X-men, and even Mission Impossible and that scene in The Firm, where Tom Cruise hides on the ceiling, dripping sweat as Gene Hackman hunts him just below. Of course, in puerile form, it’s not sweat but another bodily fluid in this parody. My favorite joke was the dragonfly explaining what he was doing on a rooftop. “Why I’m just perching here on this gargoyle, gazing meaningfully out over the city,” he answers, as if that were the standard and customary behavior of a superhero, which it was, for Batman and Spider Man at least. This film is not as funny as The Naked Gun or Scary Movie, but good writing makes it just a cut above average.