A fresh new start to Downey's career

To make a long story short: if you like Comic Book movies, this one is a must-see. Funny and fascinating in turns, and features Robert Downy Jr at his best. It's a great action film and never gets too horribly preachy. Just great fun to watch.

And now for the spoilery bits.

I will admit, the amount of stuff I know about Tony Stark/Iron Man would fit on the head of a pin, but this movie played up the few bits I knew exceptionally well. The fact that he's a playboy who would put Bruce Wayne to shame. The fact that he drinks like a fish. The fact that he's permanently attached to part of his suit. All of it explained exceptionally well.

And, too, they grounded him not just in the real world (he's in a convoy in Afghanistan when he's attacked and captured), but also in the Marvel world (the repeated joke about S.H.I.E.L.D.), which was great to see, knowing how many more Marvel films we're likely to see in the next 5 to 10 years.

Robert Downy Jr took this role and ran with it. Not only is he believable as the millionaire arsehole who just wants to make his weapons, bigger, faster, better; but also as the playboy who can't be arsed to care about anyone, and the captive who realizes just what he's done to the world, and the man who would be Superman (okay, Iron Man, but you get the gist, right?). He's also the creator of the suit, rather than having it made for him. And each stage of the process, his delight as each new part works is just incredible to see. If he has any chance of regaining some of the stature he once had, this film has definitely managed that.

The comedy aspects keep from making the movie too depressing and too dark. My particular favorite was one of the robots Tony has helping him work on and test the suit as he rebuilds it once he gets home. The timing in those scenes... Especially the comments about not wanting to hurt his precious cars, his first "flight" and the arm's "help" in fire suppression.

The plot is a bit obvious in points, particularly when it comes to Stark's right-hand-man. He's set up almost from the get-go as the badguy, though he doesn't show his spots till about the middle of the movie, and the pacing of the plot kept that from being too annoying.

All in all, I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

9/10