The credit goes to Robert Downey Jr., clearly

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2008)

"I am not the heroic type, clearly", says Tony Stark in a press conference at the end of the movie. Robert Downey Jr., however, is clearly the best man for the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, a comic book character that is at once simple and complex. Genius, multi-billionaire, flamboyant, flippant  RDJ can do that in his sleep. It's when it comes to the complete recklessness of flying to the outer whatever-sphere on a whim that you really love the man.
But the movie is not all whims. They have taken their good time in developing the first sequence of captivity and escape. Sure, being able to manufacture the first version of Iron Man in the cave under constantly CCTV surveillance taxes credibility to the limit but you tend to forgive and forget when your attention is drawn to the effective script, neat direction and excellent acting.
The dialogue is one cut above the usual Marvel Comic genre, for example, Stark's retort when confronted by a challenging reporter at the beginning of the movie. There are of course also the expected snappy lines such as Stark to bartender, "Give me a scotch, I'm starving". Best though is devoted personal assistant Pepper Potts' (Gwyneth Paltrow) claws-out exchange with the sexy reporter in the morning after the latter's sojourning in Stark's apartment, the bit about taking out the trash.
Paltrow's role brings to mind immediately Amy Adams' in "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007). While both are devoted personal assistants to a womanizing boss, Adams' character is strictly business while with Peltrow, there is a tantalizing romantic touch, played just right.
The special effects are just fine, which is quite a complimentary assessment as it is very difficult today to impress an audience in that department, an audience that has seen everything. "Iron man" stands above most others in the genre by offering and telling a good story, playing every card just right and, above all, having Robert Downey Jr.