Robert Downey, Jr. Gwynneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges,Terrence Howard
Screenplay by  Marc Fergus & Hawk Otsby and Art Marcum& Matt Holloway
Directed by Jon Favreau
 
When Marvel Comics finally decided to get serious about making movies, a new renaissance of Superhero films began. Bryan Singer's X-Men and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man were the most exciting thing to hit the genre in many years, outshining anything that DC had done for some time, including Tim Burton's original Batman. Marvel exec Avi Arad seemed to have the golden touch, and the choice of interesting and unique directors instead of mere studio hacks (culminating in the choice of Ang Lee for Hulk, a decision which resulted in the shocking development of the celebrated director delivering--of all the nerve--an Ang Lee film.) made each new Marvel film a major event. 
 
Sadly, this exciting era wasn't meant to last. Though X2 and Spider-Man 2 were even better than their predecessors, along came the decidedly mediocre and disjointed Daredevil,  followed by the truly terrible The Punisher, and before we knew what hit us, even Spidey and Wolverine put out three-quels that were as underwhelming as the 1984 Walter Mondale campaign (after such dismal reaction to Ang Lee, the studio felt it was time to employ Brett Ratner, who makes Joel Schumacher look like the epitome of coolness and artistic vision). Indeed, last year's best Marvel film was actually Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. The franchise was in major trouble.

But, just when it seemed all was lost, a new hero emerges, rising from the rubble to bring Marvel back to the top, and even perhaps give DC's "The Dark Knight" a run for its money. That hero is named Jon Favreau. The director of Elf and Zathura ignites the screen with his first mega budget summer blockbuster, Iron Man, the best superhero film since Batman Begins.
 
Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a hot shot wunderkind weapons dealer who is a bigger jerk than Bruce Wayne pretends to be. When Tony isn't creating spectacular new advancements in the art of killing, he is bedding supermodels and female reporters, and drinking from a seemingly bottomless glass of Scotch. But while on a trip to Afghanistan to show off his latest piece of hardware, the Jericho Missile, Stark is captured by terrorists, nearly killed, and imprisoned in a cave. There, his captors demand that Stark build them their own Jericho missile, or they will kill him.
 
If you haven't seen the trailer that shows what happens next, then you have been in a cave for the past nine months yourself. Stark instead builds a mechanized super suit and fights his way out. He then returns home to the land of the free and the home of the Whopper. Waiting for him are his plucky and loyal personal assistant, Pepper Potts (Academy Award Winner Gwynneth Paltrow), who, we suspect, despite being all business and having a tough exterior, may actually be SPOILER ALERT: a very attractive woman. Also on hand to welcome him are military officer and token black friend Rhodie (Terrence Howard), and Stark's mentor, Obadiah Stane (deliciously portrayed by Jeff Bridges), a fellow "Ironmonger" who has a vested interest in the future of Stark Industries. As such, he is none to happy when Tony shocks the world with his announcement about the new direction in which he plans to take the company.

All of this is, of course, a set up for dazzling effects and action sequences as Tony goes to work on a new pet project. The plot is fairly predictable, but we're not going to a movie like this to be surprised, we are going to have fun, and fun you will have. Favreau handles the action like a seasoned pro, and the edge of your seat thrills are so spectacular and relentless that even Indiana Jones himself is left with a tough act to follow. Favreau's insistence that practical effects and C.G.I. be mixed seamlessly is brilliantly realized--even jaded and savvy moviegoers will have trouble spotting the exact moments when one gives way to the other, and frankly, most will be way too engrossed in the excitement of the movie to even think about it. And Favreau's past expertise with comedy also has plenty of chance to shine. In addition to an abundance of clever dialogue and witty character interaction, there are a few sight gags in this movie that bring to mind the hilarious sight of Will Farrell tackling the Christmas tree in Elf.
 
A big part of the credit must go to the stellar cast Favreau has assembled. Downey brings so much nuance and energy to his role that he is positively electrifying to watch--as long-time fans, we could not have been more overjoyed to see this incredibly talented Hollywood badboy clean up his act and finally get his career momentum solidly back on track.  Paltrow rises above being merely the requisite girlfriend character and gives perhaps her most charming star turn since Shakespeare In Love, and, as mentioned previously, Bridges could not be better, bringing a subtle realism to a role that many actors would have overmilked.
 
The summer could not have gotten off to a stronger start than this. Frankly, if we didn't have Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystall Skull coming up, it couldn't have found a better ending. Let's hope that this is a good omen for where Marvel is headed, and await Favreau's planned sequel with baited breath.
 
Iron Man is rated PG-13 for violence (more than just hitting and kicking - this is a superhero who doesn't have any qualms about taking a life if the villian has it coming), mild profanity and some sexuality.