Iron Man

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Running Time: 2h 06min

Perfect casting has made a new slew of superhero films great beyond belief. A well cast role can give a film its pop, its flow, its rhythm. In Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is all this and more, as billionaire Tony Stark. He throws himself into the character, inhabiting all the facets that the role demands.

Iron Man has always been Marvel Comics' answer to DC's Batman. Like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark is a rich playboy without mutant superpowers derived from a freak accident, (albeit with a gazillion dollars--much better than any chemical spill or radioactive spider bite). Unlike Wayne, Stark has a little less moral value, gaining vast wealth through the selling of weapons of mass destruction. When he is on business in the war zone, his own source of wealth almost costs him his life, and he is forced to construct a suit of armour that would put King Arthur to shame.

What ensues is a quick paced origin story that doesn't feel like a nostalgic retelling but rather an organic exploration and development of the natural life of Tony Stark. Downey's presence instantly makes Stark a complex character, and equally enjoyable both in, and out of the armour. His dialogue exchanges with supporting players Bridges, Paltrow and Howard are as exciting and exhilarating as the flight scenes, a testament to the Oscar worthy cast as much as it is to the directorial talents of Favreau, no stranger to slick dialogue himself.

The effects work to serve the story, but it is the actors that steal the show, perhaps more due to Favreau's strengths behind the camera. The film plows ahead with the speed of Downey's quick delivery, and doesn't let up. It has a drive equal to Stark's mechanical minded genius, and turns what is essentially a B-list superhero into one of the better superhero installments we've seen. Here's to an equally enticing sequel!

Grade: B+