Iron Man

Rating: 9/10 (24 September 2014)

Director Jon Favreau blesses us with a masterpiece of an action packed sci-fi movie. He eloquently delivers to the viewer a movie that lives up to its expectations. Some people would go as far as to say it exceeds all expectations. In short, it is a movie any Iron Man comic fan would be proud of. Some of the notable cast members include Robert Downey Jr. who plays the role of the hot headed billionaire play boy Tony Stark who also happens to be an engineering genius, Gwyneth Paltrow who takes on the role of Pepper Potts, Terence Howard as Rhodey, air force pilot and best friend to Tony Stark and Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, Tony Starks right hand man at Stark Industries.
Tony Stark is an engineering genius who runs a tech company contracted by the United States government to produces weapons of mass destruction for its arsenal. On one of his trips to the Middle East to introduce and test one of his new weapons, Tony Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a weapon for a terrorist organization. He builds an armored suit instead and uses it to escape his captors. This suit also works to keep the shrapnel from his heart. The result of a blast he endured while being kidnapped. When he returns to the United States, Tony Stark decides to abandon his passion for creating weapons of mass destruction after experiencing firsthand, the way his weapons were being used. Instead, he dedicates his time to building a more advanced and sophisticated version of his prototype armored suit. He uses this armor to defend the less fortunate.
This story brings to light the social problems we face in today's world where an abundance of money is used by governments to fund their ridiculous defense programs rather than allocating resources to tackle the bigger problems such as famine and epidemics. One other movie that can be compared to this one is Batman. The rich philanthropist of a playboy who decides to use his riches to tackle social injustices and problems we face today.
Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent job playing the role of Tony Stark. It is not a surprise, seeing as he and the character share a lot in common in terms of personality. He is Tony Stark through and through. If that side of the story does not impress you, then fear not because the visual effects will. The lighting alone is enough. The blue lights, the glossy finish to the brilliantly designed armored suit. All the technology! Its mind boggling. The scenes have been shot in very interesting ways to deliver the perfect three-dimensional experience. You will not be disappointed. It is indeed a sci-fi lover's dream come true