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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR28009  (2008), PG-13 [Ultra-lite R-13*] (1hr 17min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1200 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Dark Blades Films, Fairview Entertainment, Marvel Enterprises, Road Rebel Distribution (US): Paramount Pictures Director(s): Jon Favreau Producer(s): Victoria Alonso, Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Peter Billingsley, Louis D'Esposito, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Eric Heffron, Michael A. Helfant, Jeremy Latcham, Stan Lee Written by: Mark Fergus Screnplay: Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Characters: Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby Cinematography/Camera: Matthew Libatique Music: Ramin Djawadi Film Editing: Dan Lebental Casting: Sarah Finn Production Design: J. Michael Riva Art Direction: David F. Klassen, Suzan WexlerViewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 With a final score of 54, Iron Man (PG-13) is an ultra-lite R-13 positioned at the very top of the scoring range earned by R-rated films in the comparative baseline database (54 and below out of 100). Put another way, it is positioned just one point of 100 below the very bottom of the scoring range earned by PG-13 films (55 to 67). The final score of 54 is mainly due to violence and booze/drinking. The film is refreshingly lite for a PG-13 in sexually immoral behaviors and imagery and in foul language (only four uses). While it is "refreshingly lite" for a PG-13 in sexually immoral behaviors, it still presents a woman (a reporter whom the lead character picked up) in her underwear atop him making out in bed then seeing her sit up nude under a sheet then prance about in only a shirt over her underwear the morning after spending the night together. I will say for the film that some top-notch CGI and techno-imagery make the sometimes boring 117-minute story tolerable. And it would have been just as powerful if the writers left out the sex and foul language and other ignominies. On his way to Afghanistan to demonstrate his latest invention for mass killing, billionaire genus weapons-maker Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and the US troop convoy escorting him are attacked. All are killed except for Tony who is seriously wounded. Through life-flashing-before-my-eyes flashbacks we learn that the devil-may-care playboy Tony can build just about anything he wants to build. By the way, to give substance to Tony's image as a playboy, a characterization of Hugh Hefner of Playboy(tm) magazine, played by the Marvel(tm) master Stan Lee himself, is included with a few female toys flittering about, apparently to lead the audience to think Tony knows Hefner well. NOTE: Preveiously, I had thought the Hefner charcter to actually be Hefner but some readers (one with the typical "PG-13" mentality -- y'know, a hateful know-it-all attitude) let me know that it was Stan Lee playing Hefner. An honsest mistake since I have not seen Hefner in decades and having only seen him with a gaggle of gals, a smoking jacket and a pipe -- just like the Hefner image in Ironman -- I made a bad assumption that it was Hefner, not just a characterization of him. My bad. Thanks to our readers for their feedback. Leading the direction for Tony's genius was his father's influence. Tony is the worldwide leader in making weapons of mass destruction plus a few philanthropic ventures to counterbalance the weight of his weapon-making. In the flashbacks we find Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is Tony's strangely loyal "girl Friday", Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) is his no-punches-pulled business partner and Col. James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) is his best friend. When Tony wakes up he is in a cave. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) is fussing over Tony. We are told that shrapnel in his chest cannot be removed under the circumstances and that the shrapnel keeps digging deeper and deeper. Eventually the shrapnel will reach Tony's heart and kill him. To prevent this, Yinsen installed an electromagnet into Tony's chest to halt the progression of the shrapnel. The problem with this is that Tony must carry with him at all times a car battery to power the electromagnet. The reason for the guerrillas abducting Tony? Guerrilla leader Raza (Faran Tahir) wants Tony's new mass killing missile and wants Tony to make it right there in the cave. Instead, out of the materials he is supposed to build the missile with Tony fashions a bullet-proof armor suit that enables Tony to fly. The suit also has a number of assault gadgets. Tony escapes. Now that Tony has seen with his own eyes that or which his weapons are used he has a change of heart. He terminates the weapons division of Stark Industries. That causes the Stark stocks to plummet. Undaunted, Tony concentrates on refining the suit of armor he built in Afghanistan. But someone in the midst, truly an unexpected bad guy that does not follow the instructions in the Bad Guy Manual, is not at all happy with Tony's change of heart and tries to kill him. This sequel-ready production stands to add another dimension to the super hero genre. While it mimics some from other films, such as Batman with Miss Potts as Alfred, Tony as Bruce and a rich man turning his wealth to crime fighting, it does not appear to be a copycat production just to capitalize on the super hero box office dollars. It is, aside from the little nips of what might seem to be "plagiarism", a stand-alone production ready to take its place in the annals of cinematic escapism. A sequel is quite probably unavoidable. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 This film is wrought with violence of varying intensities. Enough violence was found to cause the loss of all the starting 100 points in this investigation area. Some of the violence was brutal and graphic. Just like in many R-rated movies. Lots of gunfire, most of it to kill. A number of deaths. Assaults. Abduction with brutality. Torture and threat of it with a burning coal. Episodes of multiple killings. The use of human shields. And more. Much more. The listing in the Findings/Scoring section gives a a line-by-line accounting of the violence content of Iron Man. [Prov. 16:29] Impudence/Hate (I) - 66 out of 100 Atypical of most PG-13 films, Iron Man is "lite" in foul language. Only four times was the three/four letter word vocabulary noted. The content causing the biggest reason for the loss of a full third of the starting 100 points in this Impudence/Hate investigation area was all the lies. God warns us strongly about lying and gives no room for the "intensity" or "seriousness" mortals assign to lies and lying, no room for even "little white lies" since He condemns "all [unforgiven] liars." [Rev. 21:8] Sexual Immorality (S) - 74 out of 100 As noted above at the beginning of the Summary/Commentary section, Iron Man is atypically lite for a PG-13 film in sexually immoral behaviors and imagery. But that it is lite in the demonstration of such sin does not make it "clean." The viewer is exposed to a woman atop a man engaged in frantic making out while she, at least, is in her underwear plus she prancing around the morning after in only a shirt covering her underwear, implying overnight cohabitation for sex. In the same verse that God warns us about lying He warns us of sexually immoral behaviors. His warning about [unforgiven] sexually immoral behaviors carries the same consequence as for liars -- "...their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." [Rev. 21:8] And this is just one verse against sexually immoral choices. Let's try Col. 3:5. And maybe 1 Cor. 6:9-10. How about Jude 1:7? And maybe ... Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 23 out of 100 The American College of Physicians (ACP) reported in a 2002 study that viewing of drinking alcoholic beverages in and as entertainment inarguably emboldens youth, in particular the middle school age stratum -- the PG and PG-13 age stratum -- to conjure contempt for the law and abuse alcoholic beverages. The ACP used R-rated films in their study since they assumed that R-rated movies typically contain more drinking than other movie classifications. We have found this assumption to not be true. The researchers were not aware of the matter of "R-13" proven by this ministry in 2000 (see R-13) and as the "ratings creep" by Harvard University scientists four years after us (see Harvard Agrees With Us. Iron man is a perfect example of our finding that R-rated films do not, by the nature of their classification and thus the "approved" audience, present more drinking than less severely rated films. Iron Man earned an area score of 23 out of 100 due to frequent drinking and showing of alcoholic beverages. Films rated R in the comparative baseline database earned final scores of 54 and below out of 100. The assumption that R-rated films typically present the most drinking is simply no longer sound if it ever has been. Within the ACP study population of 4544 middle school students (90% were under fourteen years old - the "PG-13 crowd"), the prevalence of having tried alcohol without parental knowledge was Rather revealing of the influences of the entertainment industry wouldn't you say? And emboldening children to sin with drink in and as entertainment screams of violating Luke 17:2. The bottom line? The influence of adolescent exposure to drinking (and smoking) in and as entertainment is undeniable and is irrespective of the MPAA classification. [Eph. 5:18] I can add to the ACP study. I submit that it is not so much the presence of alcohol in films that embolden youth to abuse alcohol, but is rather the attitude portrayed: the attitude of freedom from authority, freedom from accountability and freedom from consequences; the "It ain't good enough no matter what 'it' is" attitude. PG-13 and R-rated films and often lesser rated films are typically heavy with attitude. Our report on this, ATTITUDE: In Perspective -- Investigation Area Scoring and Trend in CAP Entertainment Industry Investigations, Special Report-001 may provide more understanding of the point. Offense to God (O) - 77 out of 100 God further warns us of abusing His name. [Deut. 5:11] With or without the four letter expletive, the use of God's name in any way other than respect, reverence or responsible discussion is in vain. That includes the popular three syllable sentence with His name trailing it AND the misuse of Jesus' name or title. Murder/Suicide (M) - 86 out of 100 Murder demonstrated in this film includes murder by assault and by multiple execution (unseen) as the guerrillas mow down people hidden by structures. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D) Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
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