Damned with faint praise

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2008)

First things first - I have never had an Iron Man comic, I don't think - Iron Man is simply an incidental character in other comics I've read. Kind of like Marvel's Aquaman (although I have at least had some Aquaman comics from time to time). So I'm pretty unfamiliar with Iron Man's mythology, origin, supporting cast etc., and I'm therefore not in a position to say whether the movie is faithful to its origins or not. I'm simply approaching it as a generic super-hero movie.
There is much to like in this film, although I came out entertained but not jazzed. Downey is great, the effects are mostly fine, Bridges is a very good duplicitous villain, the chemistry between Downey and Paltrow is good, and there are some nice moments in the script. And I was surprised to find it was 2 hours, it felt more like 90 minutes as it whizzed by.
But it left me curiously unmoved, unengaged. I didn't care that much about these characters. On an overall entertainment level I would put it on a par with the FF movies, with the key distinction that the relationship between the FF meant that you did care about them. Not so here.
Having said that, the "first night out" in the revamped suit is GREAT - really fun and exhilarating.