Iron Man

Une imbécilité sympathique qui, bien qu'elle ne tire pas de son siège la dynamique et la grandeur des X-Men ou de Spider-Man, divertit agréablement avec l'exhibition de Robert Downey (le film repose entièrement sur lui) et surprend avec un casting d'acteurs intéressant. Jeff Bridges en tant que méchant chauve et Gwen Paltrow en tant qu'assistante du super-héros, ça ne se voit pas tous les jours. Sinon, Iron Man est ennuyeusement inoffensif, familial, voire enfantin. Il aurait besoin de plus de cynisme et de recul adulte. (02/05/2008)

Je ne comprends absolument pas l’engouement démesuré suscité par Iron Man. Cette adaptation de bande dessinée apparemment réussie a fortement attisé ma curiosité, mais tout ce que j’ai vu, c’est une merde américaine de plus jetée en pâture à des spectateurs avides d’action aux quatre coins de la planète. Et en matière d’action, c’était maigre, très maigre. Un début ennuyeux, un milieu ennuyeux, une fin pas trop mauvaise. Un récit américain sur l’épiphanie d’un type riche et arrogant qui décide de se battre en Afghanistan pour un avenir meilleur… Je ne comprends pas qu’un délire aussi insensé puisse intéresser qui que ce soit ! Je mets une étoile pour Gwyneth et Bridges. Downey, je l’ai vu dans de bien meilleurs rôles que ça. Pfff, je crois que c’est le pire des films que j’ai vus cette année ! J’espère vraiment qu’ils ne comptent pas ternir le personnage assez cool de Hulk avec Iron Man. (30/11/2008)

Iron Man isn’t any dumb B-movie, but it lags a good couple of miles behind being a quality movie. The screenplay aren’t so awful, the genre, but the dialogs are simply terrible. I’m not expecting a second Shakespeare from this uncomplicated popcorn movie, but this is really too much. Some tongue in cheek could have saved it. But somehow they forgot about that option and all we get is a couple of family jokes, which just don’t do it. We get no proper action, effects don’t count (but aren’t bad, come to think of it) and so the whole thing rests on the wide shoulders of a “Rambo-like" Downey who operates more with his charisma than doing any acting (and basically he just plays himself anyhow). However, his charisma is so enormous that it manages to carry the whole movie from start to finish. As for Iron Man becoming a timeless classic like the Black Sabbath “version", or even a flagship of the genre, it’s unthinkable, although with a little imagination you can picture it happening. Someday. (04/05/2008)

Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. Without him, this film would really be just routine scrap metal, but thanks to Downey, Gwynneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges, it's a surprisingly catchy and likeable film. Of course, it's hard not to see Favreau et al. behind Downey with all those action scenes that lack decent ideas. Nevertheless, except for the ending, I had more fun with this stupid thing than I have had for a long time. Marvel should perhaps find better directors and better screenplays, but even the first X-Men feels a bit cumbersome... I’m happy to wait for Stark's next arrival. (04/05/2008)

That intro in Afghanistan, along with the snide remarks on American foreign policy today, is a little off from the rest of the film, which is deep in the waters of comic-book hyperbole thanks to its flamboyance. Yet as much as I didn't want to believe it myself, the film ultimately works beautifully without Favreau pulling off any flashy action or uncompromisingly innovative ideas. The film is built on the actors (yes, Downey could have taken a drink with him into the film) and the fast pace that races through the simple dialogue, which is a joy to listen to thanks to life’s bon mots and (once again) the actors. The standard genre archetypes of heroes are unexpectedly subverted (who is it that gives Stark his heart after all?) and it still manages to be sympathetically intrusive in the circle of a family spectacle for an evening, all whilst winking at those who have already made some films. I have a feeling that nobody will take the title of "most pleasant surprise of the year" away from Iron Man. 4 ½. (18/09/2008)