April 19, 2008

2008: Robert Downey Jr's Year

"Fifteen years after he was nominated for an Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of Charlie Chaplin and seven years after his last of several well-publicized trips to either rehab or jail, [Robert Downey Jr], 43, is finally claiming the career he was always meant to have, one befitting a fiercely talented, eccentric and magnetic leading man." A profile for Time from Rebecca Winters Keegan.

Robert Downey Jr

"Look at him standing there," writes David Carr in the New York Times, "a great big movie star in a great big movie, the Iron Man with nary a trace of human frailty. A scant five years ago the only time you saw Robert Downey Jr getting big play in your newspaper came when he was on a perp walk." Slide show: "The Faces of Robert Downey Jr."

Updated through 4/21.

"Downey has a vision of the world that is darker and more grown up than is available to most actors," writes David Thomson in the Guardian. "He is someone who might be the engine in a great film one of these days, if it could harness all of his own demons."

The Los Angeles Times' Patrick Goldstein is cheered somewhat to see a movie being shot with a newspaper columnist as a hero. The columnist is the LAT's Steve Lopez, played by, yes, Robert Downey Jr in The Soloist. More on the shoot as its moved to Cleveland from Julie E Washington in the Plain Dealer.

"I've seen Tropic Thunder and as I've been telling anyone who will listen since, Robert Downey Jr's performance is absolutely one of the funniest I have seen in years," writes Josh Horowitz for MTV. Earlier: Neely Tucker in the Washington Post: "Hollywood's About-Face On Blackface."

"Iron Man doesn't do much wrong - it's got some great action sequences, some amazing special effects, is pretty loyal to the comic, and most of all, features an insanely terrific performance by Robert Downey Jr," writes Clint Morris at Moviehole. Even so, the movie "ain't quite as good as X-Men, Spider-Man and Batman Begins."

"Since they were born on the eve of the second world war, America's superheroes have been enlisted for all sorts of undercover propaganda duties, from promoting patriotism, war bonds and recycling (even of comics themselves) to warning about health, drugs and landmines," writes Paul Gravett in the Guardian. "So it's nothing new that Iron Man, the latest in Marvel's pop-icon pantheon to hit the big screen, is coming to the rescue of the United Nations."

Another profile: Gill Pringle in the London Times.

Update, 4/21: The Playlist plucks the highlights from Carr's profile and Matthew Klam's cover story for GQ.



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Posted by dwhudson at April 19, 2008 5:10 AM

Comments

Congrats to Downey on cleaning up. But it's a little surprising to see critics so enthusiastic because he's playing a superhero now. Is that how success is judged in the critical community?

Posted by: Lonely Long Distance Runner at April 19, 2008 6:23 AM

My guess is that many critics have been enthusiastic about Downey for quite a while; more than a few have been enthusiastic for, oh, 15 years. But it's now, with Iron Man out soon, that editors are getting enthusiastic about allowing those critics to express their enthusiasm.

Posted by: David Hudson at April 19, 2008 6:50 AM

To me, last year's "Zodiac" was definite proof of Downey jr.'s return. But yeah, I've dug him since "Less than zero" - so... it is about time.

Posted by: Karsten at April 19, 2008 9:00 AM

I adore Downey. He is one of my all time fave raves and I wish and wonder when we'll get to talk.

Posted by: Maya at April 19, 2008 11:08 AM

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang marked the return of RDJr...for me, anyway. I now feel about him the way that I used to feel about Johnny Depp: I will seek out any film that he is in, if for nothing more than his grinning, giggling, giddiness.

Posted by: Ju-osh at April 20, 2008 7:03 AM