Iron Man

Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard) — I don’t see many comic book movies but I was intrigued by this one since it stars aging Hollywood bad boy Robert Downey and rarely seen Hollywood darling Gwyneth Paltrow.  Surprise!  I liked this.  It’s not all just about the fight between two CG robots (although there is that); it’s a character study and a political tale.  The obligatory bad guy is played by a bald Jeff Bridges as the long-time senior executive of the arms manufacturer founded by the father of Tony Stark (Downey), who is selling arms not only to the U.S. government but to Afghan rebels, too.  He sets up Stark, who escapes his captors by inventing an impregnable armor suit.  In the process, he becomes Iron Man and decides to abandon the company’s war-mongering ways, much to the chagrin of his top executive.  The graphics are impressive, but the movie doesn’t totally rely on them to carry the story.  Rather, it’s about the clever and engaging Stark, his so-far platonic relationship with his trusty assistant, Pepper Potts (Paltrow), and his long-standing friendship with an army officer (Howard).  This film reminds me most of Batman but there are elements of Superman, too.  If you go, stay all the way through the credits for a cameo and more.