'Iron Man' is one of a number of films which on the one hand generate no overwhelmingly bad moral messages, yet neither on the other hand do they generate any clear positive moral messages. And I believe the latter is more significant than the former since it can tend towards an attitude of moral indifference. So, on the plus side, Iron Man does have a story that kept me interested for most of its two-hour length and there are also several small but not insignificant moral messages that are dropped in throughout the screenplay (such as "so you are a man who has everything and has nothing" in response to Tony being asked if he has a family or not). Another big moral positive is the simple fact of Tony being willing to admit to the fact that he was wrong about his former decisions - no big hoo ha is made of this; he simply realises he was wrong and sets about changing his ways with immediate effect, which was good to see. There are also some good moments of humour throughout, and though somewhat ambiguous there is also the suggestion that a relationship with a woman Tony is friends with first (Miss Pepper Potts as played by Gwyneth Paltrow), is more appropriate than a 'relationship' based upon more superficial and sexual attractions; however more of that later.

The main moral conundrum in Iron Man is the message being communicated with respect to warfare. There is a strong message that weapons of mass destruction are wrong, and even an acknowledgment that the companies that make such things are unethical. However, this realisation only comes about through Tony witnessing American soldiers being killed close up. On this there are two points to be made - first, is it realistic that he was really that naive with respect to the effects his weapons would have on people?, and second, why did it take seeing an American soldier for him to change his mind? There would have been more moral gravity had he have seen a foreign, or enemy, soldier being killed, and then changed his mind in an acknowledgement that killing is a bad thing irrespective of who it is that dies. However, this is clearly not the message the producers wanted to communicate since Iron Man has no qualms about killing many other people throughout the film. The point could be made, quite pertinently at this time, that the moral message is aimed mainly against those wishing to make money out of armaments, which has some resonance, but then if the film is to take an anti-avarice stance why the omnipresent sports cars throughout the film? I'm sure there exists more than handful of young men that watched this film that came out of the cinema wanting a fast sports car more than they did when they went in.

Going back to the relationship side of things, though I'll try not to dwell too long here, the messages were also very mixed. As attested to above there could well be taken the message that to have a relationship with a woman one is friends with first, is more appropriate than a 'relationship' based upon more superficial, and even sexual, attractions. However the words 'more appropriate' are very relevant here, for the former is not denounced as being morally wrong, just implicitly portrayed as being in some way morally inferior. In fact throughout the film Tony's playboy image is leant on to give him some kind of street credibility, at one point he even gives an acknowledgement to a Hugh Hefner look-a-like before entering the charity ball. And once in the ball Christine Everhart (a former one night stand of Tony's) takes the moral high ground with Tony over his unethical stance on military weapons, yet says nothing of the sordid encounter she had with him previously. Finally, on this subject, though it is commendable that Miss Pepper Potts and Tony are able to find, and recognise, their attraction together through the simple act of dancing (as opposed to something of a more physical nature), their relationship generates little chemistry for the sheer fact that sexual innuendo and flirting are present from their very first scene together. Had Tony have asked Miss Pepper Potts on a date at the beginning of the film there is little doubt she would have said yes just as fast as she would be willing to say yes come the end of the film. My point is that there is no build up in their relationship and no real tensions to overcome. Further to this, Miss Pepper Potts wearing a cocktail dress and high heels to work, along with her blouse/shirt being undone in a very risqué manner earlier on in the film, did not lend to the innocent persona I think the film makers were trying to convey through her character. There are other more genuine ways to make a woman 'sexy'. Miss Moneypenny she was not.

There are also issues with respect to the overall message of Iron Man (perhaps I have finally identified it), which is similar to that of 'Batman Begins'; and that is the message that ultimately it takes brute force, weapons and brawn to defeat evil, as opposed to deference to a higher power or the genuine adoption of one or more of the seven virtues (prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, love/charity). Added to this, the Iron Man suit in itself, though said to look cool by the characters on screen, looks more like a 21st century red Robocop with a menacing sulk, than anything I would advise children to look at for too long.

But to finish on a positive point, the conclusion to 'Iron Man' is quite commendable in the fact that it doesn't take the character too seriously. There are too many comic book adaptations that veer into a geeky seriousness which give the overall impression that the screenwriters and/or producers were thinking "ah yes I know it's just fantasy, but, and this is just a but; what if..." Thankfully, Iron Man spared us that.