Iron Man

As a comic book fan, I was a little nervous about the new Marvel production, Iron Man. I mean, Spider-Man 3 was poor (too many villains and a bad plot), Ghost Rider was weak, and I heard rumors that Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer and X-Men: The Last Stand were very, very bad (which is why I stayed away from them). And Elektra? Woof! To be fair, the first movies in those particular franchises were excellent (Ghost Rider excluded). And this movie, Iron Man, is the first movie in what I hope to be a successful and long running franchise.

Iron Man was an outstanding example of Marvel Comics' ability to create a fantastic superhero movie. It had everything that a fan could want: great characters, great character interaction, superhero action, alter ego character development, great special effects, funny lines, solid plot, and the hope of a sequel(s). I could not ask for anything more.

More importantly, Iron Man had everything that a non-fan could want: great characters, great plot, easy origin explanation, explosive action, funny lines, and hot babes (Gwyneth Paltrow was super hot ... and she should really consider keeping her hair red). Why is it more important, in my book, to keep the non-fans happy? Because there are more non-fans than there are fans, and those non-fans are out significant others and our friends: the more they enjoy comic book movies, the happier we fans will be.

Let's talk about casting, shall we? Perfect. Having Robert Downey Jr. play the role of Tony Stark was a stroke of genius. He was perfect in that role, better, even, than Toby Maguire, who was the best Peter Parker to date. Gwyneth Paltrow was perfect in the role of Pepper Potts, lending her topnotch acting skills and her heavenly appearance to the part. Terrence Howard was perfect as James "Rhodey" Rhodes. He was a very deep and well played out character (I loved the private jet scene that was the drunken "I love you, man" episode that is common between modern day male friends who drink a lot). And Jeff Bridges was perfect as the opportunistic and heartless Obadiah Stane, who becomes the super-villain Iron Monger (He looks good bald; very distinguished; although, I'm a big fan of Bridges as the Dude from the Big Lebowski).

Kids movie? I would say no. There is a lot of violence in this movie. People are shot and killed a lot, especially in the beginning. There are a lot of intense moments that could scare younger viewers.

Date movie? I would say yes. There is nothing that would embarrass a dating couple, and the movie is sprinkled with good laughs to keep things light.

I give Iron Man ten rings of the Mandarin out of ten.

(Below is the first Iron Man comic book I ever bought, The Invincible Iron Man #104 from 1977...)