Well executed; Downey Jr. and Favreau shine

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2008)

Going into the 4:30 showing of "Iron Man," I tried to keep my expectations reasonable. I had heard from countless critics that it was worth watching, as well as reading similar positive comment from IMDb users. Thanksully, I was not let down watching this movie. This film is well directed with great performances from all of the actors, most especially Robert Downey Jr. as the lead. The material backing up this movie is strong and well presented. John Favreau's direction reminded me of Christopher Nolan's for "Batman Begins." It is of a very high level.
I won't give away too much of the plot; if you've seen the trailers that should be enough. Needless to say, the trailers are a bit misleading; this film is a bit darker and more complex than it seems. This is more than just a story of a changed man looking to protect the world from evil. He must also have to make tough decisions involving the weapons company he owns, his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his unstable partner Obadiah Stone (Jeff Bridges), his military friend Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard), and his own personal image. The complexity of the story is the movie's greatest strength. Tony Stark cannot simply go around saving the world without annoying (or downright insulting) some people in the process. The journey ahead is not easy, and Stark knows it.
As far as the acting goes, Downey Jr. is excellent as the anti-hero Stark. He pulls of the role of Stark with a weird sense of humor, an occasional sarcastic wit, yet with enough intelligence to make us side with him. Downey Jr. does not simply wink at the camera here; he embodies the role and makes Tony Stark/Iron Man a reality. The script also helps here; by the end of the film, Tony Stark/Iron Man is a fully fledged and developed character. My fullest compliments to Robert Downey Jr. Gwyneth Paltrow also does very well as the female lead Pepper Potts, with a strong sense of loyalty to Tony. Jeff Bridges and Terrance Howard have had bigger roles and more fleshed performances, but they are more than capable with the material they have here as Obadiah Stone and Jim Rhodes. Leslie Bibb also has a minor role as a reporter with an interest in Tony Stark.
The visuals work well, and the film has a very good look to it. I absolutely loved the assembling of Iron Man, and the first time he kicks ass in the Afghan desert is worth a second watch. But the visuals and production design of Iron Man aren't what's important here, it's the characters and story and direction. Indeed, Favreau executes this movie near perfectly. He delves into the life of Tony Stark, developing him to the point of where he is neither good nor evil, but simply a well-rounded 3-dimensional guy. He also makes us get highly invested into the story as well, which is a good thing, as it is rich with complexity and occasional twists. Finally, he develops suspense well, and makes the film have a great sense of humor throughout (actually, on that latter statement, most of the credit should be given to Downey Jr. there).
Minor quibbles occur in the climax, which had some very far fetched parts within, and with the motives Obadiah Stone. The ending is also very sudden. But that's okay, because the material as a whole is more than strong enough to make you think highly of the film. This is a great film and one of the more mature comic book blockbusters out there. It is a film for the intelligent film viewer, and the best start we've gotten to a summer season since 2000's "Gladiator." Thank you Robert Downey Jr. and John Favreau for this fine work.
P.S. Stay tuned for the credits. There's a little scene afterwards that you don't want to miss.