|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The razzle-dazzle in Iron Man has a dulling effect, writes Ervell E. Menezes
GUESS it all started with Zorro, the masked cowboy whose exploits thrilled us as kids. His black horse rode like the wind and the good old hero did all kinds of dubious things, that is his other self or alter ego. May be the original concept was our own "din mein`A0fakir, rat mein`A0 chor" (fakir by day, robber by night) but as we know Hollywood had any number of masked heroes — Lone Ranger, Superman, Spiderman, Batman and they have provided fodder for action movies. There was also the delightful Leonardo De Caprio’s Man in the Iron Mask about a decade ago. The latest one is Iron Man, based on the long-running Marvel comic-book series where weapons-manufacturing mogul Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr) has a change of heart after being captured by terrorists and finding out how effective his weapons are. Not surprisingly, he escapes his captors by building a robotic suit and once safely home refines the design to become a near-indestructible, well-armed rocket-propelled superhero Iron Man. But the Iron Man, impressive though it may be with FX et al, detracts from the humanity of the story and as our hero shuttles from his two personas there is much to absorb the viewer but the action is more physical than cerebral. The story chugs from pillar to post and in a way even goes round in circles as most of its predecessors did — Superman, Batman, Spiderman etc. It is the visuals that catch the eye. Apart from the dual hero Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark and Iron Man, there’s Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, Gwyneth Paltrow as Virginia Pepper Potts and Terrence Howard as Lt Col. James Rhodes. They may not be well fleshed out characters but the artistes playing them do their utmost to make them believable. The rest is action, action and more action and this overdoze has a dulling effect. While director Jon Favreau does well to create the right ambience he seems to go to town on the subject. What is required in action films of this kind is restraint and this would provide the real good blend which would be its unique selling point. But in the absence of that quality it is razzle-dazzle that dominates and one really has to look for the soul. It may not be missing but one has to look real hard and if and when one finds it, you may feel it is not worth the effort.
|
|||
|
|
|||
