I've heard complaints, but...

Rating: 10/10 (11 May 2008)

I kept asking myself, "why Robert Downey Jr." for this role? The movie answers the question. Literate, urban, and sardonic IS an area Downey can project well. I should never have had a doubt.
I went to see this with trepidation. A lot of it frankly. Clearly RDJr. has been working out and taking care of himself. Gweneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts was a good idea too (despite the silly olde skool name* her character had) and she played it beautifully.
But what really impressed me was two things. A Stan Lee inspired film that stuck very close to the original story line. The biggest major change was in the locale of Tony's injury from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Necessary since there is nothing dangerous to American military going on in Vietnam these days. Beyond that the story was very very close to that envisioned by Lee and Lieberman. Right down to the multiple suit designs.
The second was the very excellent use of CGI. It wasn't overpowering. It was designed to WORK with the plot and characters. It was just enough provide the suspension of disbelief that this movie requires.
The suit exists...even the idea (new) that certain parts of the suits design acted as control surfaces in flight...and it's an awesome source of power seemed real.
It was very well done.
There will be a sequel. There's no doubt about that. Downey is the perfect choice for a flawed industry mogul who slips into alcoholism.
* A pepper pot was a term for a hot women who enjoyed having fun and acted out her wildest fantasies. This is a term from the thirties. A time that predates even the comic book.