"Give me a scotch. I'm starving."

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2014)

Outstanding movie and possibly the best Marvel's done to date, at least as far as their shared universe films go. Let's cut right to the chase: Robert Downey, Jr. makes this movie work. I'm not going to say he's the perfect Tony Stark because Downey's Stark is really very different from how he has always been in the comics. But it works far better this way and is a huge point in favor of deviating from the source material, which is the eternal struggle between Hollywood and anything it adapts. This is one case where the changes they made worked out great. The rest of the cast is terrific, all following Downey's lead very well. His enthusiastic performance is a joy to watch. I'm sure it must have been a ball for Paltrow, Bridges, and the rest to act with him as they all seem to be having a great time in their scenes together. Jon Favreau does a praiseworthy job of directing, especially when he hadn't really done this type of movie before. The action and special effects are great. The script is smart and funny, though a lot of the humor comes from the ad-libbing of Downey and co-stars, so I'm not sure how much credit I can give the script for that. It's really a wonderful piece of entertainment without being mindless or crude. One of the best superhero films ever made.