Marking the start of the newest Marvel franchise, Jon Favreau’s _Iron Man_ is where things begin. I really like superhero movies; I wouldn't say I love them as much as slashers or psychological thrillers, but they definitely have a special place for me. I’m excited about this whole "Avengers" project finally happening because everything so far has been pretty great, and it all started with _Iron Man_, which Robert Downey Jr. (_Natural Born Killers, Gothika, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, A Scanner Darkly, Zodiac, Sherlock Holmes, Due Date_) portrays wonderfully. It’s important to have a reason for things. For instance, Batman's parents were murdered and his home destroyed by crime; The Punisher’s family was killed in front of him, which sent him over the edge; characters like the X-Men and the Fantastic 4 are protecting themselves while also ending up saving the world. Those reasons work fine, and I'm happy with them. But what really gets me about Tony Stark is why he became Iron Man... He’s a jerk. That's right—he supplies the world with incredibly dangerous weapons, and those weapons cause countless deaths. Then, he experiences firsthand how his creations are used, and he's told by someone who helped him escape that world not to waste his life. He feels he still has a purpose, and decides that purpose is to become a jerk focused on privatizing world peace. I think that makes perfect sense. I realize that might have sounded sarcastic, but I’m being serious. Tony Stark becomes Iron Man, and that's why it works so well. We get to see all of his suit designs, how difficult they were to build, what powers them, the technology—everything. And I really like backstories, which _Iron Man_ delivers on. It’s almost the opposite of DC’s _Batman Begins_. Even though both are young adults from wealthy families with no parents, a British butler (though Iron Man's butler Jarvis was turned into AI for the film [he was originally a real person in the comics]) manages their family’s business empire until they take over, and they both become “____ Man” while going about saving people—not through superpowers but through technology. I could go on. But they are also very different. Batman is this intense, shadowy defender of his city who uses fear as a weapon and refuses to kill; Iron Man is flashy, loud, and attention-grabbing, fighting crime internationally and wanting everyone to know he’s Iron Man—so it's no surprise he doesn’t mind killing. Batman’s secret identity, Bruce Wayne, seems like an angsty person trying too hard. But Tony Stark is a witty, brilliant inventor who has essentially taken all of Batman's training, strength, weapons, vehicles, and flight capabilities, improved them, and put them into a single suit. Though I personally prefer Batman as a hero, I like Tony Stark more as a character. The interaction between Stark and Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow (_Se7en, The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Royal Tenenbaums, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_), was great. It just goes to show what good casting can do, even in an action movie; the dialogue is funny and clever. I guess it’s possible for a superhero film to be a bad superhero movie but still be a really good film. The villains are lacking, and their defeats aren't very satisfying. That’s usually not a big deal when everything else is so well done, but it's a comic book film about superheroes and supervillains—they’re supposed to fight each other repeatedly; that’s what the comics are all about. It’s quite a significant weakness. However, it’s really the only one _Iron Man_ has. They’re similar in some ways to the recent Batman films; Iron Monger and Whiplash are flashy but disappointing, while The Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow, and Ra's al Ghul are excellent villains. Whereas Ironman's Obadiah Stane and Ivan Vanko were great characters, Batman’s The Joker is only seen as a villain, and Harvey Dent, Jonathan Crane, and Henri Ducard are just vessels for their alter egos. Regardless, the film is simply good, and you don’t need to be a fan of Iron Man, superheroes, or comics in general to enjoy _Iron Man_. 82% -Gimly

Source on TMDB