IRON MAN!

It’s finally upon us: the beginning of perhaps the greatest summer (year?) in comic book movies ever. Here’s the list, for those keeping track:

• Iron Man
• Indiana Jones (I know, not a comic book movie, but screw you: it’s INDY!)
• The Incredible Hulk
• Wanted
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• The Dark Knight
• The Punisher: Warzone

That’s quite a spread of films.  Surprisingly, all of them are looking promising.  But that’s not the point of this post.  The point of this post is this: IRON MAN.

Iron Man is fantastic.  Not since Raimi’s Spider-Man or Nolan’s Batman Begins has a comicbook movie so sincerely (adoringly) translated its subject to the big screen.  The movie is tight, with no real fat even at a full 128 minutes, and despite a lack of what you might call calculated action-movie beats, the movie keeps moving.  There’s great action, don’t get me wrong, but the action is in service to the plot, and not the other way around.

Robert Downey is fantastic, and plays Stark as he should be: a super-successful man-child who is suddenly forced to grow up.  I wish there was a little more time spent on how smart Stark is, but let’s face it: geniuses are hard to write.

The rest of the cast is great.  Paltrow’s Pepper Potts is charming and down-to-earth.  Bridges’ Obidiah Stane has a kind of gravitas and glower that makes him seem like more than just another evil businessman (even if my obsession with the Dude made me whisper, “This agression will not stand, man!” during the battle scene).  Rhodey is played as the long-suffering friend by Terrence Howard, and gives a little wink to fans when he sees one of Tony’s other suits.

Best of all, the film drops all kinds of hints as to what’s to come in the Marvel Movie Universe.  The terrorist organization is called “The Ten Rings”, hinting at the Mandarin.  Rhodey’s longing look at the grey armour in Stark’s basement foreshadows his eventual career as War Machine.  And, best of all, if you stay until after the credits, you’ll get a hint of something even bigger to come.

Go and see it, if you haven’t.  Marvel’s going to be rolling in money off of this one.