As a girl who has a boyfriend who is an avid comic book reader and endlessly interested in the movies that are based on comic books that have been coming out and slaughtering all other movies at the box office, I was thinking that Iron Man might be just another average comic book based movie.  But I was wrong.  Iron Man, starring the very talented Robert Downey Jr., who brings a fresh breath to the bad ass comic book heroes with a breath of real humanity and humor, was a thoroughly enjoyable flick.

The movie was directed by Jon Favreau, who’s come quite a long way since his first big role in Swingers, the cult classic that launched a bevy of catch phrases years ago.  Favreau clearly knows what he’s doing being the director’s lense, and he had a great vision with who he wanted Tony Stark, Downey’s character to be and how he wanted the other characters around him to interact with and complement his personality.

Jeff Bridges is excellent in his supporting role and barely recognizable with a shaved head and beard, and even Gwyneth Paltrow, whom I’m usually hard to warm up to, played her role as Mr. Stark’s nerdy assistant of years and his only real loyal friend to perfection.  There is so much that Iron Man has to offer, and it’s amazing that it does it with only moments of the movie being about Downey in his super hero outfit that makes him Iron Man the superhero.

There’s a lot fo comedic acting that is done well, including by Terence Howard, who plays another friend of Stark’s, and Downey himself is probably the best comedic actor of the bunch.  I can’t help but root for Downey in this role as well knowing that he’s suffered through some serious pain and addictions throughout his life and has come out of them only to rise above it and create this great new character, and make it totally his own thing. 

The audience loved the film, and we left the movie looking forward to a sequel, which will most definitely happen.  There is also a teaser at the end of the movie with Samuel L Jackson playing a character from the Avengers, hinting at a coming Avengers movie, which will include Downey and Jackson playing their respective roles.  All in all, Iron Man was great, every bit the blockbuster it was reported to be before its release and making up for box office disappointments like Speed Racer and a lack of other good films to go to the theater to see.