Iron Man shows yet again what a superhero movie can be if taken seriously and given over to talented people who actually care about making a good movie instead of a merchandising extravaganza.
Everyone from the top down on screen in this film gets it right, from Robert Downey, Jr.'s cocky and personable Tony Stark to Faran Tahir's villainous Raza.
One of the things that I was worried about going into this film was whether or not the action and the characters would mesh well or if it would end up as two halves that never quite meet.
This is a really smooth movie and doesn't fall prey to the sins of most superhero films. There is no real camp, the progression of the character makes sense and is believable. There is no real forced love story. No one is hamming up their roles. The action and special effects are well done and believable (even the CGI is better done in this film than in many others of the type).
Jon Favreau has done an excellent job of bringing this film together with a kick-ass cast.
Tony Stark is not Bruce Wayne in this film, nor should he have been. If the proposed JJ Abrahms/Tom Cruise version had been made that is probably what we would have gotten. Instead Downey makes Tony a unique character rather than the standard millionaire playboy with lots of technology. He has all the technology because he built it, not because he bought it.
I also liked the subtle nods to the comic book fans such as the obvious S.H.I.E.L.D. references, as well as the terrorists belonging to the Ten Rings which would seem to foreshadow both Hydra and the Mandarin (the logo of the ten rings in the back of the terrorist base looked quite a bit like the Hydra logo and the Mandarin does wear those ten rings).
Excellent film.
