The summer movie season kicks off with a film that has everything guys fantasize about and want to see in movies, but it doesn’t leave the ladies behind. Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark, the best weapons developer on the planet, who isn’t ashamed that his brilliance leads to death and destruction. Sure, Stark has fast cars, an awesome house in Malibu, flies on private planes all over the world and finds himself surrounded by beautiful women (LOTS of beautiful women). He even makes stuff go boom in new and cool ways! However, Stark’s life changes when he is captured by a mysterious terrorist organization using his weapons! Can Tony Stark escape and find out who betrayed him by providing his product to the enemy? And, what is he going to do about it? Iron Man is the perfect start to summer with action scenes that thrill, fight scenes that make you cheer, wisecracking dialogue that makes you laugh in all of the right places and an interesting story with the kind of depth that makes you appreciate the transformation Stark is undergoing. Director Jon Favreau and the screenwriting foursome take a little time to develop the characters. They even sex up Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark’s loyal assistant Pepper Potts, and that’s not a bad thing. Sure, you might see some similarities between Iron Man and other super heroes since he has his own Batcave, and flies like Superman, but you just don’t care because Iron Man is cool. Favreau gets the audience wrapped up in the action immediately, and Downey, Jr. makes Tony Stark into more than a cartoon character showing us the man’s regret and desire to change his life, especially in a poignant moment when Stark talks about how he should be dead and wants to find the reason why he is still living. Get your popcorn ready. If all of the summer blockbusters are this good, it’s going to be the greatest summer ever! Iron Man is rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.
