An action film which doesn't put special effects ahead of character development

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2008)

I read the script and worked on this film, so I'm probably prejudiced. But I'm also not a fan of action adventure films which are low on character development and high on endless special effects. Thankfully, this isn't that kind of film. This is probably the most character driven superhero film since Christopher Reeves' "Superman". Downey was born for this role. You could see that in the original screen test (which they should include as a bonus on the DVD release). Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges are also very strong and although Terrence Howard comes off a little soft, director Jon Favreau cut out his weaker moments.
The music is great, both in the needle drops chosen and in the original score. Lots of humor peppered throughout the movie and the film makes some good moral points as well. This should be the model for every superhero movie to emulate!