Movie Review: Iron Man

Who better to play an egotistical, alcoholic playboy than Robert Downey, Jr? Okay, maybe Charlie Sheen, but Downey excelled at playing Tony Stark, billionaire/inventor/playboy/genius, with both the arrogance and the vulnerability required to make this story really engrossing.

For non-Fanboys, Tony Stark owns a weapons company and he himself is a robotics expert who personally invents many of the devices. He drinks, he philanders, he gambles, he skips meetings and events, he tinkers with his high tech "toys" while leaving all the real work to his faithful assistant Pepper (Gwenyth Paltrow). On a trip to Afgahnistan (modified from the original comic's Vietnam), Stark is captured by cave-dwelling rebels led by an evil warlord. Seeing that they have managed to get his weapons, Stark creates his Iron Man suit and sets out to defend the world from the weapons which have fallen into the wrong hands.

Not just a movie for comic book guys, it's filled with action, comedy and very light romance (very, very light). I thought the foreshadowing of the "true" bad guy made it a little too obvious, so there is no big shock when his deeds are revealed. I missed one obvious clue, so had a bit of a "duh" moment, but that's just me. Overall, great casting, great effects, good story, good humor. And of course, a hilarious and brief cameo by Stan the Man, himself.

Five out of five stars and stick around through the credits, especially if you know Fury :D