I love how you start your critique by assuming that the Iron Man's intention was to be some politically relevant commentary about the war in Afghanistan. Obviously on that front it failed, but what you fail to understand is that this wasn't the point of the movie at all. This movie was a flight of fancy, of imagination: made to stir the same emotions that you get when you read your first comic book at 4 years old (could you read then.. or is that a recent development?).. it is not a political-social commentary. Stan Lee created many fantastic characters in his time.. all of them reflecting the internal struggle and the search for ones place in a world that defies perception. Iron Man is no different. I think Jon Favreau has done justice to the imaginations of many of us who grew up loving these characters and relating to their basic struggles, strengths and character flaws. Yes, the concept is fairly hard to swallow if all you can appreciate in life is the complexity fed to you from the liberal arts morons who strive only to complicate art.. but if you like plain and simple wonder and beauty and imagination come to life. Iron Man was excellent. The critical praise that this movie has received is further proof that America is finished. This movie was just another idiotic origin movie with decent special effects.We finally have the special effects to make great super hero movies, but unfortunately comics have gone so far beyond what movies can do in terms of story and art that theatrical representations will inevitably be unsatisfying.There will always be those fanboys who will put up with anything just to see superheros on the big screen. I however am not so forgiving. Iron Man was marginally o.k. I suspect most of the fanboys making such comments are either too young to drive and/or have a BMI of 40 themselves. However, after reading the review I didn't need to go beyond the opening paragraphs to discount Ms. Hoffman's opinion.
First: The assumption that Iron Man was making a statement about "the military-industrial complex". If you want that, go see stop loss, or Lambs for Lions. Notice how poorly such films do at the box office. That dog does not hunt.
Second: Anti-hero? No. Flawed, yes. Falstaff and Richard III are anti-heroes. Tony Soprano, Batman, and Dr. House are anti-heroes. People that you know you should not be rooting for, that you know you should not endorse their actions, behaivors and often their motivations, but you still root for in the privacy of a dark theater, these are anti-heroes.
Third: And this was the straw...
"Toe the line", not "tow the line" is the correct figure of speech. High school english composition should be mastered before one is given a job at any newspaper. How is that even possible in a Superhero movie like Iron Man? If anything, it followed all of the archetypes and came full-circle with the comic book.
You have poor taste in movies, and you're a terrible critic -- not for disliking Iron Man, but for making a bad excuse to dislike it. First of all, the uniqueness of Tony Stark is that he's a reluctant superhero. That was evidently portrayed quite well and very naturally for that matter. So what gave you the idea that all superheroes should start off as dedicated? The next time you go watch a movie or read a book, leave your stereotypes and biases at the door, enjoy the experience by expecting the unexpected. Maybe you were expecting something that you have watched before. As far as movie reviews go, yours was a "cliche" of sorts. I enjoyed the realistic setting and above all the characters. It was well written, well directed and above all well cast. Robert Downey was phenonmenal, and thoroughly enjoyed the acting of Howard and Paltrow. When is the sequel? Before posting reviews of subject matter that you obviously have no frame of reference to, you should take the time to understand the original work by the great Stan Lee. If you reviewers would understand where these movies are coming from (A COMIC BOOK, or graphic novel if you prefer) then you might get a better understanding of Iron Man. Instead of trying to take an obvious COMIC BOOK Character and trying to make him conform to reality. And if you would rather not understand the origins of these COMIC BOOK Characters then I would suggest you take your review and save them for something that you truly have feelings for.
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