As comic book superheroes go, Iron Man has always been kind of a second-team All-American, behind Superman, Batman, Spiderman, the Hulk, maybe even the Green Lantern. He finally gets the big-screen treatment, and the result is much like Iron Man himself—pretty cool.
The best thing about "Iron Man" is Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as the billionaire playboy weapons-maker Tony Stark, who becomes Iron Man—and the special effects from Industrial Light and Magic. We also get excellent supporting work from Jeff Bridges as Tony’s longtime mentor…Terrence Howard as his best friend…and Gwyneth Paltrow as his adoring assistant.
The weakest part of "Iron Man" is the script. It takes a long time for us to meet Iron Man, and the bad guys are stereotypical Middle Eastern terrorists and one former friend who is obviously up to no good. Still, this is a lot of fun, and it’s set up nicely for a sequel that could be even better.