Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 2 hours, 6 min.
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, and Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by: John Favreau

At a glance:
Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

The_Walrus Review:
I hate to break it to you kids, but IRON MAN isn’t a great super-hero movie. It’s just a great movie, period. You see, there is one thing that makes Iron Man stand out and above it’s counterparts, it was actually BELIEVABLE.

Superman is an alien, Spider-Man was bitten by a radio active spider, and heck, even Bat-Man has had super-duper jujitsu training. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is just smart. And rich. Really, really rich.

As a weapons designer Tony Stark inherited “Stark Industries” from his father, and has made billions on providing high-tech weapons to the military. But after being captured by the enemy Tony realizes that his weapons, made to protect the United States, may have fallen into the wrong hands. To right this wrong, Tony becomes Iron Man.

Does the plot sound a little heavy-handed to you? Me too. But amazingly… the movie is not. There’s no grand epiphany. No change in Tony’s persona. No underlying message like ‘weapons are bad’. Cause let’s face it (and the movie does) Iron Man is the ultimate weapon. And let me tell you, he’s cool as f–k.

In most super-hero movies, one is forced to suspend disbelief. A man can fly, a boy can climb buildings, a Bat-Man’s cape can allow him to jump off a 30 story building. Don’t get me wrong, these modern day fables are fun, cool, and exciting, but Iron Man is different. Iron Man seems REAL. Thanks to the amazing work of Stan Winston studios, we get to see the Iron Suit progress from it’s meager beginnings to the ultimate suit, named the “Mach 1.” Thanks to the ‘real life’ suit, the CGI doesn’t seem so, well, CGI-ish. In fact, it’s almost seamless.

But the suit and the CGI can only get you so far. The real hero of the movie is Robert Downey Jr. I hate to sound cliche, but he really does bring Tony Stark to life. Let’s face it, most people don’t know much about the character of Tony Stark, but by the end of the movie, men will want to be him, and women will want to do him. With the perfect amount of smarmy charm, quick wit, & high class taste, Tony Stark is the ultimate bachelor. And he knows it. It’s truly amazing how great a ’super-hero’ movie can be when good actors are involved.

Does it sound like I’m gushing? I am. I loved Iron Man. But if you haven’t seen it yet, I don’t want to get your expectations too high. The film does have it’s flaws. I wouldn’t want more scenes with the suit, just longer ones. The film does drag just a tad two-thirds of the way through, and it’s predictable. The ending battle we’ve seen before, many, many times. And as a director John Favreau is a master at character development but falls short in some of the action.

Despite these flaws, Iron Man has set the bar extremely high for this summer’s movies. By the time August rolls around, I wouldn’t be surprised it Iron Man still holds up as the best movie of the season.