Iron Man

Being a lesser known superhero, I knew nothing of the history or back story of Iron Man going into the movie. Usually only the big name superhero's turn into big screen hits, ala Batman, Spiderman, Superman, XMen. Lesser known's such as Dare Devil, The Punisher, Ghost Rider, etc, usually aren't well recieved. Iron Man reverses the trend. "Iron Man", much like the first Spiderman and Batman Begins, explains how the hero came to be super, although Iron Man is much like Batman in that he has no superpowers, but instead a lot of money and a purpose for protecting the people. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect actor for the role given his own history. Tony Stark, our hero is a very wealthy, very intelligent man that runs his fathers company that bascially supplies the world with weapons of destruction. Stark loves what he does and loves to party and doesn't care much for the adverse effects of his company, only the profits it gives him. Events are set in motion that effectivley change Starks views.

The special effects are well done and unnoticeable, aka you don't step out of the movie and say "Cool special fx", it's just "Cool scene" "Cool movie". Very important in cinema fx. The only complaints I would have are that we don't actually see Iron Man in action for quite a big chunk of the movie, but that actually adds to the character development and you're never bored. The other would be the climax needed to be a little more, oh what's the word.....epic? But I think that feeling comes from not knowing the franchise, the villains, etc. The ending is very fun. It definitely takes a different twist on superhero identity and anonymity. Oh, and stay after the credits, you'll see a little setup for Marvel's three recently announced films; Iron Man 2 (April 2009), Captain America (2010) and The Avengers (2011). Which apparently all tie into one another, The Avengers being the sequel to Captain America. The summer blockbuster season, my favorite time of the year, kicks off with a bang! Hopefully it continues. Next up...Speed Racer...


***1/2