Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man

Rating: 10/10 (23 August 2012)

After a couple of almost-flops by Marvel Studios, I was worried that this film would not be as good as the X-Men Franchise or the Spider-Man Franchise. But that is all it was, worry. From the very first scene, I was convinced that Robert Downey JR was Tony Stark.
This being set in a decade far from the Vietnam War years where Iron Man had his birth, they altered the origin story just enough to fit into the 2008 time-frame of this film. That, and the emergence of Computer Technology that he Original stories did not have access to. Other than those slight changes, this film chronicles the Origin of Iron Man in almost the same way the original comic book stories had been written.
Rather than being captured by Vietnamese, Stark is caught by a group called "The Ten Rings" - Which refers to Iron Man's ultimate nemesis, The Mandarin. And although he does not appear in this film, we do feel his presence hidden deep in the story.
Faran Tahir (The Captain of "The USS Kelvin" from 2009's "Star Trek") is Raza, one of the Mandarin's Hands who has been collecting Stark's weapons in the Middle East. Shaun Taub is "Yinsen"-A Kind man from the city of Gulmira, who has saved Stark from that piece of Shrapnel hanging poised to enter his heart.
Just as in the Comic, Stark uses his own weapons to build the first Iron Man suit and he kicks his captor's arses, and the way this was filmed, was that the director Jon Favreau re-created some of the most notable frames and poses from that first Origin Story.
What makes this film remarkable, is the perfect marriage of CGI and Practical effects. This was done so well, that it is impossible to tell where the elements actually switch.
Even Stark's Malibu Home is a CGI creation, but as Christine Everhart (Leslie Bibb) looks out toward the ocean from Stark's home, the CGI aspects of the shot are totally invisible.
Jeff Bridges is Jeremiah Stane, who has an agenda that we only learn about toward the end of the film. Terence Howard created "Rhody" who would later become War Machine. This role was taken over by Don Cheadle in Iron Man II and he played it as Terence had laid down.
Favreau had to put over 30 years of Iron Man into a two-hour movie, choosing just what to include must have been difficult. This film ends with an epic fight between Iron Man and WarMonger, something which happens much later in the comic book stories.
Stark's Butler "Jarvis" is actually an A.I. built into his home, this is another difference between the classic comics and this film.
The main tension is between Stark and "Pepper Potts" (Gwyneth Paltrow). This is also the first appearance of "Agent Coulson" (Clark Gregg), a SHIELD agent who appears in several more of these Movies. Favreau himself plays "Happy Hogan," Stark's Chauffeur.
And all trough this film are little hints that The Avengers are going to Assemble, soon.