Light Vs. Dark

2) (or Iron Man [May 13] and The Dark Knight [July 29])

I like my superhero flicks to have quality filmmaking - but I also want them to have an element of fun. That’s why I respect The Dark Knight, but I came away from Iron Man positively alive.

The essence of Iron Man, my favorite feature of this genre since the first two Spider-Man movies, comes when Tony Stark (the treat that is Robert Downey Jr.) tries on his amped-up suit of armor for the first time. Tony may be a billionaire inventor with women and toys galore, but put him in a shiny red gadget-laden suit, and his giddiness while zooming airborne crosses all economic classes. In those moments, Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau have created pure movie magic. Iron Man isn’t just about dazzling special effects: Stark has a definable arc, going from a pro-military, Bush-like weapons designer to a world savior of a different model, and Downey Jr.’s wit and smarts complement his character. Only the climactic battle with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) disappoints, two robots clanking together clumsily like some outtake from a Star Wars movie.

While Iron Man proves you can make a summer movie with both playfulness and a point, The Dark Knight seems to know only ponderousness. The sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins brings director Christopher Nolan and Caped Crusader Christian Bale back to Gotham (a sleek-looking Chicago) for an increased dose of mayhem and malevolence, this time led by the Joker (the late Heath Ledger, as much of an evil marvel as you’ve heard). Nolan said he wanted to create a crime epic, and The Dark Knight has psychology and political-science lessons to spare: on vigilantism and copycats, on the search for the person to “save” us - if this is even attainable. It’s almost Shakespearian in its approach to tragedy, yet it’s so black it’s draining, with none of the poetry of the Bard to ease the message. In fact, what I remember most fondly about the film is Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score, its incessant foreboding and distant sirens literally making me bolt up in nervous anticipation.

Yes, Ledger deserves an Oscar nomination - but you know? So does Downey Jr. He IS Iron Man, and I can’t wait to see what he and Favreau come up with next. As for Batman, wake me up when he’s obtained some antidepressants.