Iron Man Review

We all know the story. A billionaire suffers a life-changing trauma and decides to reinvent himself as a crime-fighting superhero.

Still, the "Batman" movie doesn't come out for a few months.

Until then, "Iron Man", the adaptation of Marvel Comic's slightly lesser-known character should enjoy a healthy run in theatres, seeing as it's just unofficially kicked off the summer movie season. It also stands as one of the best superhero movies I've seen.

Of course, a lot of that is due to the recent trend of casting good actors in key roles (Christian Bale as Batman, Tobey Maguire as Spiderman, etc.) as opposed to people who simply look the part.

"Iron Man" is no exception, giving us the obscenely-talented Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Stark is a fun-loving, brilliant billionaire industrialist and the role suits Downey so well and makes so much sense, that it's hard to remember his casting was ever risky. You can't help but think of Downey's own personal struggles as he plays up Stark's hard-partying lifestyle. However, you also buy the character's evolution into do-gooder — after being seriously injured and captured in Afghanistan by his own weapons — because Downey is a good actor, but you root for Stark because Downey has similarly been able to turn his life around (at least I do).

Director Jon Favreau is smart to allow Downey to cut loose in what seem like plenty of improvised riffs with the rest of the cast. Favreau also does a good job of taking his time developing the character of Stark and, as in the terrific "Batman Begins", showing us how a man becomes a superhero (the construction of Stark's costumes), though I still don't exactly get how average people just automatically know how to fight with martial-artsy skill when they become superheroes (the exception was Batman, who we saw train).

Still, that's a minor quibble because Favreau keeps things moving for the most part by sprinkling in clever and exciting action sequences in between all of the scenes developing Stark's character (instead of the other way around).

Downey is far from the only accomplished actor in the cast. Academy Award-winner Gwyneth Paltrow gives her most winning performance in a while (she usually leaves me a bit cold) as Stark's ultra-dedicated assistant Pepper Potts. There's really not too much to the role, but Downey and Paltrow have very good chemistry, creating a spark in their funny, romantic and serious scenes.

Oscar nominees Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard round out the rest of the main cast, and, while they weren't bad at all, I thought they were probably the movie's weaker links. In fact, I enjoyed Shaun Toub's role as Yinsen, who helps Stark build his first Iron Man suit, more than Bridges and Howard.

Bridges is Stark's corporate partner Obadiah Stone and, while his character is a fine and interesting foil to Stark's, Bridges appeared to mostly take the role so he could shave his head and grow an awesome beard. Howard, on the other hand, DOES have some amusing moments with Downey as his friend Jim Rhodes, but he honestly didn't have much to do other than to act like a dork. However, it feels like his character is going to have more to do in the sequels. I also would've liked to have seen a bit of a stronger main villain, but, since the first movie in a series has to spend a significant amount of time developing its hero, the lack of a great villain is very forgiveable.

Oh yeah, there WILL be sequels. On top of the boatload of money the movie made on its opening weekend, Favreau, Downey and company have established the groundwork for what should be an interesting and entertaining franchise.

(Also, in case you haven't seen the movie yet —and judging by the first weekend grosses, you probably have — stick around until after the closing credits.)

Iron Man...B+