I believe I’ve made note before of the fact that Iron Man is far from one of the most recognizable superheroes. Which makes the awesomeness of the new Iron Man movie all the more incredible as it easily delivers and lands in the Top 10 list of all-time comic book films. ‘Tis no idle boast as fan reaction, critical reception and box office have proven, but more to the point this is one of the few movies where when it was over I was actually disappointed despite its two hour and six minute running time. I may be mixing my metaphors, but Iron Man rocks.

In an update on the original origin story, weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (a pitch perfect Robert Downey Jr.) is taken prisoner while showing off his latest death machine in Afghanistan. He escapes from his captors by constructing a suit of armour that can wipe out an entire terrorist encampment single-handedly. Upon returning to the States, Stark decides to get his company out of the weapons business, which threatens the bottom line of Stark Industry shareholders like Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges). Stark’s real plan though is unfolding in his workshop, as he uses the latest technology to build a state-of-the-art suit of armour to undo the terrible things his weapons have wrought.

Now as we all know by now, a superhero film rises and falls on its cast, and a cast like this, in a movie called Iron Man, is a feat in and of itself. Aside from Downey, you get Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark’s secretary “Pepper” Potts and Terrence Howard as his friend and Air Force liaison Jim Rhodes. Now Howard gets a bit of the short end of the stick, but that’s due mostly to the fact that the filmmakers are developing Rhodes for a more heroic role in future films. At the film’s climax, Rhodes looks over at a silver variation of the Iron Man armour and says, “Next time, baby.” (Ask your comic book reading friends what this can mean.)

And if that’s not enough for the fans out there, I highly suggest that you stick around to the very end of the end credits for a very special cameo from a character that was redesigned in The Ultimates line to look like a very specific actor. All these little Easter Eggs are almost enough to make up for the fact that Shell Head really doesn’t have a compelling villain to fight. Rich people being motivated to do really bad things out of love for money has never really interested me, but I will say it helps keep things plausible and realistic. Plus, it’s worth adding that Iron Man never had a really, robust, rogues gallery shall we say.

In context though, having a weak villain like “The Iron Monger” keeps the focus on the characters rather than the action. Anytime, that Downey and Paltrow are together on screen, it’s pure chemistry. In fact, I’d dare say that I can’t remember the last time that Paltrow was this good and she can find no better partner in banter than Downey who can sling comments in conversation with two robotic arms as easily as he can Academy-calibre actors. Stark is ideally suited for Downey’s talents, especially Stark’s comic book past (though movie future) as an alcoholic. He takes the dual nature of a high flying superhero and a jet setting playboy billionaire and makes it look very natural. Downey is batting 1000 as Stark and this is easily some of his best work.

As I observed earlier, I was actually sorry the movie ended when it did, it fells like just as it’s getting going, it’s winding down. This may come from Jon Favreau’s lack of expertise on directing action, but at least the man knows his strengths: real characters and cool dialogue. One of the other things I appreciated was the emphasis on a man building himself into a hero. In most superhero movies, the hero gains his powers through birth or by accident. In Iron Man, we see a man with a goal and see him take great pains to accomplish it, including the frantic suit up and costume removal. These little touches, as well as Stark’s implied personal demons, create a complete and provocative portrait of a hero who’s a little too human.

With much relief, the hype on the inaugural film of the Summer of 2008 pays off and leaves a huge surplus leftover in the bank. I can say without an ounce of hesitation that I look forward to many more Iron Man films (an