Iron Man

Yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh God yes! This is a superhero movie. Iron Man is the first film that Marvel have released as a solo project, and it was a big risk. But boy, did it ever pay off.

Origin stories are often difficult in the franchise business, because the first half of the story is spent establishing the hero, very little time can be spent establishing the villain, so the story tends to feel a little rushed towards the end. If Iron Man suffers from this failing, I didn't notice because I was too blindsided about how awesome the film is. Action is never far away, with a huge number of jaw-dropping action scenes, while the whole thing looks amazing. ILM did a spectacular job with the special effects in this movie, and deserve enormous praise for them.

Robert Downey Jr says at the end of the film: "I am Iron Man." He's right. He is. Having seen the film, it's impossible to imagine anyone else coming anywhere close to doing as superb a job as Downey does. Downey himself identifies the real crux of his performance: "[the] challenge of making a wealthy, establishmentarian, weapons-manufacturing, hard-drinking, womanizing prick into a character who is likable and a hero." A challenge? Downey makes it look easier than breathing.

So, long story short, Iron Man is awesome. Go and see it. A+.

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