Hey terrorists, terrorise this

Rating: 9/10 (17 May 2008)

Given that over the past eight years or so we've seen three X-Men movies, three Spiderman movies, two Fantastic Four movies, Batman, Superman and the Punisher, it's not hard to imagine a few people rolling their eyes as Iron Man, the latest superhero franchise turns up this Spring. Cast all those aspersions aside though folks, years from now people will be talking about the first time they saw Iron Man with the sense of wistful nostalgia usually reserved for the likes of Jaws. This is one of those movies that reminds you why you keep going to the cinema: pure escapist entertainment that for two hours provides the perfect break from Council tax, mortgage repayments and neighbours throwing four month old watermelon slices at your conservatory windows.
The somewhat familiar story revolves around Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), a billionaire weapons dealer with a penchant for fast cars and loose women. His self-absorbed life comes to sudden end though when he gets captured by Afghan rebels after demonstrating his latest super missile, goodbye California Condo, hello dusty pit of hell. Tasked with building them a missile, Stark turns the tables on his captors by fashioning a formidable armoured suit Macguyver style out of their weapon supplies and smacking them into oblivion. A free man again, he returns to America and brings a burning desire to correct some of the wrongs he's helped to engineer with him. That and a massive great hole in his chest.
From here the story follows typical superhero-origin archetypes but is still constantly watchable thanks to Downey Junior's charismatic performance. His Tony Stark is a walking charm offensive without any nauseating smarm (thank the lord Tom Cruise did not get it) and manages to exude chemistry out of everyone he comes into contact with. Nailing every single one-liner, it is abundantly clear why his GI bodyguards in the opening scene are so starstruck; if you're in this man's presence for more than a few seconds you will want to be him. Heck, even the anthropomorphic robots in his lab enjoy his company.
Granted, by the time the first hour has gone by and our hero still hasn't put on his iconic red and yellow suit, some of the ankle biters might get a bit impatient but the payoff is well worth it. His brawls with the Afghan militia are eye-popping enough but his closing battle with the Iron Monger (think over-sized alter-ego) is the real clincher. It's a barnstorming highway smash 'em up which puts the ADD camera of Transformers to shame. Parents need not fear though, this is not violence, it's action. There is no blood to speak of and even the potentially harrowing scenes of villages being raided or young American soldiers getting machine gunned fail to put a downer on the colourful escapism.
The film also boasts the strongest supporting cast since Batman Begins and they all do their best, but despite Terrence Howard's matey military liaison and Jeff Bridges oozing menace, this is still very much the lead's show. His star quality practically drips off the screen and combined with the outstanding set pieces, turns what could have been yet another production line origin movie into the best blockbuster of the year so far. And make sure you stay to the end of the credits, it's well worth it.