Movie Review: Iron Man

Iron Man
rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content
Movie rating: 41/2 out of 5 stars
Moral rating: Better than Average

Iron Man is the first comic book movie to be released this summer and is the film that critics claim "will kick off the summer movie season." After making over 100 million dollars in the first 3 days, it is safe to say that the critics were right! And it is easy to see why!

Iron Man is in my opinion one of the best movies that Marvel Studios has produced yet. Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, Iron Man tells the story of millionaire inventor Tony Stark, who is captured as a hostage by a band of Afghan terrorists known as 'The Ten Rings' and forced to build weapons for them. The rest is well known, however, as Stark secretly builds a suit made of iron to escape in. After returning to America, he vows to shut down his weapons factories and builds a new and advanced suit to use to help fight the injustice going on in the world.

Downey, Jr. is in my opinion the reason why Iron Man excelled. He gave a solid and memorable performance as Stark and had a great witty personality that is easy to love. The supporting cast was not as great, though far from forgettable. Gwyneth Paltrow returns to the big screen for the first time in 4 years to take on the role of Starks' handy assistant, Pepper Potts. Terrence Howard plays Starks good friend James Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges is Obadiah Stane- Starks former mentor/current enemy.

Jon Favreau has definitely made a name for himself, as his previous movies include Elf and Zathura. Iron Man was superbly directed and paves the way for future comic book movies including The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Captain America, and Thor. Be sure to stay during the credits for a sneak peek reference at the Avengers movie.

Morally speaking, Iron Man was actually pretty decent. During the first 30 minutes there is a bit of innuendo and some brief sexual content, but this type of behavior leaves Stark after he returns from Afghanistan and vows to change. Language was fairly mild, only featuring a few uses of h***, d*** and b****. The only other potentially problematic thing was Starks constant use of alcoholic beverages. Both before and after he is constantly seen drinking..both publicly and at his office.

Overall, I was very impressed with Iron Man. I enjoyed it more than the first Spider-man, and in my opinion, it is the best comic book movie kick-off film to date. Apparently America agrees with me, hence the 100 million dollar opening and the go ahead for Iron Man 2, set to hit theaters in 2o10.

Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler.