marvel Superhero scores as kung-fu epic stumbles

He never had legendary comic book artist Frank Frazetta embellish his battles as Daredevil did and he did not have the badass attitude that made Blade memorable.

But, with the help of Robert Downey Jr, "Iron Man" is one of this year's box-office champions.

It is all Downey's work, with help from a solid back-up cast including Jeff Bridges as a sinister partner, Terrence Howard as a trusted friend and Gwyneth Paltrow as a faithful secretary who occasionally "tosses out the garbage".

The film made an instant connection with Thai audiences this weekend.

No one missed the jokes and it works much better than other Marvel flicks because it seems warmer.

Iron Man may be the most disarming of Marvel heroes, with Downey playing Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor of war weapons who blows his fortune on drinks, one-night stands and rolling dices. The action starts when he discovers his deadly arms being sold to terrorists to slaughter innocents and American troops.

In his attempt to make things right, he creates "Iron Man". The hero comes across as a new generation "Robocop" who can fly vast distances and exude nutty humour.

The dialogue is also unlike that of other Marvel superheroes, with no corny lines such as "Its clobbering time" or "'Nuff said".

Stark's character is far more complex - the fast-talking genius with a high tolerance for pain, desperately disguising his drunken state with jokes.

When the 126-minute action-packed saga comes to an end, it leaves audiences hungry for more.

The secret of the movie's success is that it is the first by Marvel Studios, recently set up to make movies that are more true to its original comic

creations.

Other new films will include a sequel to "Hulk" and two "Avengers" movies. Like "X-Men", the Avengers comprise oddballs headed by Captain America with members that include Iron Man.

Also coming on-screen is "Thor", the Nordic god and his family from Valhalla.

But Hanuman suspects the surprises will come from lesser-known quarters such as "Sergeant Fury" who heads Shield, which plays a small part in "Iron Man".

Ironically, "Forbidden Kingdom", the kung-fu extravaganza that was expected to sweep Asian theatres, fell flat and was removed from most cinemas after a two-week run.

The movie, which combines Asian icons Jackie Chan and Jet Li, should have set off a stampede for the cinemas but did not.

The problem is that director Rob Minkof is wrong for the film because he understands little about Chinese folklore and legends.

While "Kingdom" has scored well in the United States, Asian viewers were critical of the delivery because it shows no notion of the basic story of "Journey West", which tells of the Monkey King's adventures and origins. The epic is known by every Chinese, so anything connected with it should require care and discretion, both of which are sorely absent here.

The Monkey King is turned to stone in "Forbidden Kingdom" and can only be rescued when a hero returns his magic staff to its master.

The problem with the film is anyone can wield the staff. In the legend, the only one who can only wield it is the Monkey King himself. Just like Excalibur, only its rightful owner can brandish it. It is mistakes like this and a weak effort to establish the characters that ultimately killed the film's chances in Asia.

The third blockbuster to release this summer, "Street Kings", received an equally dull reaction.

Considering Keanu Reeves packed movie halls with "Matrix" films, one would have thought "Street Kings" would pull in more people.

The thriller does not disappoint. Still, the film failed to meet box-office expectations.

To be sure, the Bangkok movie scene has been devastated by the heavy censorship of "Sweeney Todd" and "American Gangster" earlier this year. The mindless defacing by censors was the worst since Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Emperor". The two butchered releases emptied halls for almost five months.

If not for "Iron Man", the demise of many local cinemas could have been imminent.