Iron Man, Review

Iron Man is the latest superhero movie based on the Marvel comic books. It is a futuristic movie centered on fantastic high-tech innovations and gadgets. The show is striking in terms of special skills: it is indeed the epitome of cinematic visual effects combined with real time acting. The computer animation techniques joint with other special effects help creating an spectacular realistic fantasy.

A most fascinating futuristic aspect of the movie is the high- tech 3 Dimensional visual interface of the computer ( a next generation workstation) where the design comes into real-time 3 Dimensional reality enabling the user to interact manually with virtual objects through the 3D screen while being able to edit them.

The plot of the story, like all other superhero stories, is based on the struggle between good and evil.

Tony Stark, son of a great scientist who created the atomic bomb, is a brilliant wealthy industrialist who continues on his father’s path in designing and manufacturing ground-breaking military equipments.

After his capture by terrorists he is asked to build a missile system in exchange for his freedom. He apparently accepts the deal while starting to make an arc reactor energy-based armor with firing ability and flying power. He destroys the camp and is rescued by the US army but upon his return home his character has changed (he realizes that the weapons they produce are being used by both sides to kill people) and declares that his company will no longer manufacture weapons. His move is blocked by his mentor and partner Obadiah Stane.

Later on Stark discovers through his assistant Pepper that Stane was indeed supplying both the US army and the terrorists with the deadly missile systems and that Stane had planned his death. Stark then starts remodeling his fantastic ironman armor with the full flying and firing power. Stane in turn finds the old version of the ironman armor and through reverse engineering builds his own version to combat Stark.

The final battle between Stark and Stane starts in the Stark’s Industries culminating in Stane’s destruction after a fierce combat.

The underlying themes are open to discussion. The plain good versus evil imagery is being realistically challenged by the events. At the beginning it is clear who is good and who is bad but as the plot develops it becomes clear that the terrorists were in fact fed, supplied and finally destroyed by Stane himself – Stark’s mentor and business partner. Also, the double-edged utility of advanced scientific and technological instruments is implied : They could be used for or against humanity likewise. It all depends on 'who' uses them and for 'what' purposes.

Overall, the film is a dazzling gallery of human endeavor for acquiring power and its subsequent ethical outcomes.