Iron Man : Last American Hero "It's good to be back"
By reviving the flamboyance of the classical Hollywood, Iron Man also updated and re-enchanted image of America. The existential crisis, and political tragedy that crosses Tony Stark in Jon Favreau's film is an objective need to reinstall the program's identity and American aesthetics. Not by domination, world of its power, but evidence its values with an obligation arising from power. Tony Stark is a fragile receptacle catalyzes the strengths and weaknesses of his country. He is wanting to "privatize peace" ultimate demonstration of arrogance not relaxed, but a utopia is just naive and willfully playing liberalism. Iron Man and Iron Man 2 may not be as well as films of transparency and consistent implementation of this equation generic problem that Stark is the vector individualized and conceptual. Hence the amazing fluidity of their issues and the ease with which constantly unfolds Robert Downey Jr., in spite, or precisely because of them, the phases of his character is going through torment. Little genius, sexy geek, wonderboy intelligent, charming elegant, chaste romantic, adult melancholy, narcissistic generous, fallible heroes, Stark begins to equal values her self and the world. Logically, he assumed his role as military shield, personal advocate of universal peace, where the army, U.S. defends its borders first, its objectives, its economy. In this he is the ultimate guarantor of an idealistic utopia that the policies of his country are no longer able to promote. He survived the dream of a unilateral power and justice because indisputable placed in the hands of one man (he substitutes an aberration to be obvious before putting any system). In opposing the U.S. government rules, Iron Man does not break with his Democratic roots, he returns to the sources emancipatory and revolutionary theory reconciles Jefferson with Adams. Stark is the individual freedom and an America distant aristocrat who returns to the front of the stage. Its horizon? Beyond the origins, it is emerging around the 80's (money, myth of the golden boy, glowing images) and the 50's: not for the taste polarities (East / West resurrected with the character of Mickey Rourke), but the idea that America is triumphant and happy, confident and values, continued to pour on the world cinema that will be a dream factory and whose films are based. Not patriotic Iron Man creates the image of a hero enjoying unhindered defeated material constraints and all materialistic tendencies: his personal wealth of the least square alongside capitalist billionaire heirs of a royal family (in this it is also a figure both contradictory and consistent American). He is a wounded prince in search of absolute freedom in seeing technology as a way to uplift humanity by neutralizing its barbarity. When, in the first episode, Robert Downey Jr demand after escaping a terrorist "American cheeseburger" must see, even in this application, the symbol or symptom of what passes through the film and his character. The sandwich is not an object of convenience identity, but a guarantor of ethical identity. America reduced to a cliché, is the assurance of a return to simple, obvious, transparent, with grounds to bury the trauma of weapons that Stark sold indiscriminately. A simple pattern, and simultaneously practical idealist who turns into metal armor: either according to his wishes, the latest weapon of humanity, the ultimate weapon, in which world peace would be possible (it becomes almost a demi-god) . Iron Man 2 jeopardizes the program tries too easy and, falsely, to reconcile with the army Stark (claiming to nationalize his armor), while creating a nemesis to him to shake his throne. But one knows or likes to think that this agreement and jeopardized are impossible, and the films speak for themselves: Robert Downey Jr remains central, it overwrites casting, dominates the script takes control of the images. Stark / Iron Man remains in the spotlight, it is magnetic and illuminates. Whatever he gives up the same way to an accomplice (Rodhey), he is the king, he radiates undivided (Justin Hammer, double negative, in fact, free). This set comes finally Nitescence films, which spread their parts like a ray of light, with a crisp clarity constant whose staging is the relay.
Jérôme Dittmar
