An excellent film, much better than expected

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2008)

Iron Man hits just about every note nearly perfectly. The tone is light but not saccharine, look is fresh, visuals beautiful without drawing attention to themselves, acting fine, writing very good, plot way better than the usual comic-inspired film. Much better than I was expecting. If this is an example of what Marvel Comics can do when it has full ownership of the movie making process, then I hope they make many more. Very, very well done in all aspects.
Downey's character had a change of heart in the film, but stayed true to character. His performance was funny, touching, tough, gentle and human. Paltrow created a nuanced character with fragility, wit, grace, charm, self-doubt, perseverance. Terrence Howard played an excellent sidekick with dignity, foibles, incredulity. Jeff Bridges had the only really "comic book" bad guy role, and I found his version lacked nuance. Maybe that's appropriate for the type of character as written, but I found it to be the least convincing. His deviousness and double-crossing nature were present, but his badness was hammy.