A surprisingly great super hero movie

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2008)

Iron Man was one of the first super heroes that Stan Lee came up in the early sixties. He also was one of the original Avengers, Marvel's answer to DC's Justice League which of itself updated version of the Justice Society that began in the forties. He never was a particular favorite of mine. He seemed too much like a robot. In that, his suit contained all the super powers he could have. His alter ego, Tony Stark, stripped of his suit, had no super powers of his own except for his genius for making such a suit. With a weakened heart, he couldn't even be match for his counterpart in DC, Bruce Wayne. a.k.a. Batman. There's actually a precursor of Iron Man in cinema though in comics, he came first. That precursor was RoboCap, a supercop who became for robot than man. In fact, there's a least two scenes that directly the earlier superhero but done differently enough. John Favreau has made successes in making comedies. He does show a great comedic touch is directing the script written by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, the later who's from India, assuring the Aghanistan are treated as people and their plight of villagers shown. But it's the casting that really works here. Robert Downey, Jr., plays Tony Stark as a spoiled playboy millionaire who's able to deadpan the most chauvinistic lines with a straight face. Gyneth Paltrow is also very good as Pepper Potts (what a name!) who plays his assistant, which includes taking out the trash, meaning some beautiful woman that Stark beds then instantly forgets. Actually, why she would any interest in him at all is a problem with the script, not her performance as she does come across as very smart even when she's playing the damsel in distress. The main antagonist is played by Jeff Bridges, who's obviously enjoying himself and even looking a bit like Bruce Willis with his shaved head and goatee. The BBF (Black Best Friend) falls on Terrance Howard's shoulders who at one point sees an outfit and says to himself "Not this time." Well, there's no secret as of this writing that there is going to be an Iron Man 2. What was really unexpected was if one said a few years ago that Downey would helm one of the best super heros made, that would have seemed impossible. He has the rare quality to be likable when he's doing the most rude things. How he ends the movie almost makes one stand up and cheer. The movie also gives an interesting question. Can peace be achieved by using the military correctly? As this is 2008, creating war weapons is big business and that is actually the business Tony Stark is in to make his billions. Will he find the heart to do what's right? To even have such a question come up is not bad for a comic book movie.