An All-Star cast, an awesome director, and one of the most believable super heroes in Marvel's Goodie Bag, this past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching the first adaptation of Iron Man for the big screen.

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Summary:

Okay, maybe not the 1st Tier super heroe that Marvel has to offer, it does bring something to the table however that all the other super heroes do not, fun; more on that in a moment.

The movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, this Academy Award recognized cast comes together in Jon Favereau's take on Iron Man. Iron Man is the story of Tony Stark of Stark Enterprises. He is Marvel's equivalent of DC Comics Batman, except minus the brooding and the subdued secret love affair with little boys. I'm kidding! I'm kidding!

His story begins when he is taken hostage by middle eastern terrorists who are forcing Tony to make for them one of the most advanced weapon systems Tony has created called "The Jericho". During the attack to capture Stark, Tony gets severely injured and without the use of a Stark created power cell keeping shrapnel from entering his heart. The power cell, or as it's known in the movie as the Arc Reactor, is what keeps Stark alive, but supplies the power needed to sustain the Iron suits Iron Man is known for. So using the tools at his disposal, Stark creates an Iron Suit so that he can escape.

I won't go into too much detail of the movie, only because I don't want to spoil a lot for you, I only stated the story above because all that information you get is from the trailers. If you are reading this and have not seen Iron Man, I encourage you to see it first, for there may be possible spoilers for you.

You have been warned.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

The way this review and future movie reviews are going to be broken down is by Story, Characters/Acting, Special Effects, and Geek/Fun Factor.

Story:

Ozzy said it best when he ate that poor defenseless bat's head off, "I am Iron Man." Okay, so maybe he didn't say those words right after that, you never know, he may have said anything in that altered state he calls reality. However, Iron Man's story literally is all about Tony Stark and his journey becoming Iron Man. Yes there is an overarching storyline involving Obidiah Stane (played by Jeff Bridges, or as he is AKAed as Ironmonger in the Marvel universe); However, the ultimate story is the awakening of what Stark is doing in the world, and his role in it. He is a weapons manufacturer after all. Obviously with today's political state, that may be a bit on the bad side, but without going over the top political, Iron Man is about a chance of redemption for the wrongs that Stark has committed, and he wants to help the people he has put indirectly in harms way.

This is showcased really well by the first time we see Iron Man helping that middle eastern village. He saw something happening, and realized "Hey, I can do something about this!" So he goes and kicks ass doing it.

This story is extremely well crafted, it's witty as hell, and the one liners are excellently delivered by Robert Downey Jr. More about him in a moment.

I have to say that even though plot may have not have been a major priority in this movie, it is by far the best origin story, but also having a good story altogether.

Story = 4/5 Snowballs

Characters/Acting:

Okay, honestly I think Richard Roeper said it best, "Robert Downey Jr. is this movie."

This movie without Downey would've been a good movie, but not the over the top great movie as Iron Man is. When I heard that he was cast as Tony Stark, I couldn't have thought of a better actor who could play this role with so much dry humour, that Stark is known for. There may have been people who thought Downey was the wrong choice, but for me, there was no other choice. Even the fact that Stark is an alcoholic, and with Downey's unfortunate past, he can draw on those experiences and add some real depth to the character not seen since Christopher Reeve's Superman; minus the substance abuse part.

I wasn't sure about Paltrow's Pepper Potts, and Terrence Howard's Jimmy Rhodes. I wasn't sure if they both could've played their character's well, but they proved me wrong, and they took it and ran with it. Paltrow actually blew me away with her portrayal of Potts, and she looked liked she had fun with the role. Howard, didn't really have much character to chew into as Paltrow did, however from each moment he is on screen, you can't think of anyone else to play the role. I thought maybe Jamie Fox, but I'm going to go with Howard on this one. I can't wait to see him as War Machine.

Nice reference to it in the movie, by the way, "Next Time Baby." Brilliant.

Bridges as Stane, was also good as well. Didn't really buy him in the Ironmonger suit, but you know what, he pulled it off. Obviously with any Marvel villain you can never really stay dead, so Stane may have a repeat performance, but Bridges as Stane himself, was great, and definitely up there as the definitive "Jeff Bridges Style"

Oh, and before I finish this section, Stan Lee mistaken as Hugh Hefner, and Jon Favereau himself as Stark's own body guard? Brilliant x2!

Characters/Acting = 4/5 Snowballs

Special Effects:

Hands down the blending of practical effects and Special Effects really sold it for me. You couldn't really tell where practical effects ended and special effects began! Everything just looked real, and man made. Even the suit itself that Downey actually wore, was an actual working suit. Minus the rocket boots and repulsor gloves, but still, awesome suit! I want it for my room. Congrats to Favereau for going that route instead of making everything CGI.

Loved the style, loved the colour, the shots. I couldn't find fault with anything.

One side note though, when the head bag gets taken off of Stark in the cave as he is just captured, doesn't he look a lot like Chuck Norris? Maybe it's just me, but man I could swear it was Walker Texas Ranger, to a certain degree.

Meh, moving on.

Special Effects = Geek/Fun Factor = 5/5 Snowballs

Geek/Fun Factor:

Dude, it's Iron Man! How geeky can you get?! You have a well developed character, a great storyline that fits with a lot of Iron Man fans, (you know you're out there). Plus, the fact that it's made believable as something that could actually happen within the next five years, is amazing!

Oh, and can we talk about fun for a second? Sure we can, it's my damn review! Okay, this movie is sooo much fun to watch! Lagged a bit in patches at the beginning, but the fun only accelerated from there!

I say it again Downey is this movie. He is what makes this fun to watch. I was so pumped after walking out of the theatre, that I wanted to go right back in, pay another 10 bucks to get a ticket and watch it again. That is how fun this is!

Geek/Fun Factor = 5/5 Snowballs

Overall:

Okay, so overall, awesome movie. That's it. It dwells actually on Hawesome. So much so in fact that I almost should make a scale of hawesomeness just so I can put this at Number One with a Bullet of Hawesome!

Go out and see this movie! This is a hawesome start to a blockbuster summer, and I can't wait until the sequel in 2010!

Oh, and watch the end of the credits! You will not be disappointed!

I AM IRON MAN! DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-duh-DA-DA!

So, I'm no Ozzy, so sue me!

Overall = 4/5 Snowballs

What are your thoughts? Tell me what you think of this review or the movie!

As always I remain obediently yours.

Steve "Snowball" Saylor