Iron Man

Iron Man

Iron Man
Directed by Jon Favreau
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow & Terrence Howard

Oh, the first weekend of May. The beginning of the ceaseless onslaught of studios’ summer offerings; their biggest, most “explosive” films. In a few months everyone will be tired by the continuous pummeling’s of superheroes and robots, but at this point we’re all excited for the months lying ahead, hopeful that through the wastelands of Transformers and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End’ we’ll find a Batman Begins or Bourne Ultimatum; something that signifies, maybe, just maybe, Hollywood isn’t completely dried up.
Of course, Hollywood will never be dried up; it’ll keep on making billions and billions, and the latest they have to offer that is on its way to making just that is Iron Man, the newest superhero, that is inexplicably garnering rave reviews.
These reviews truly are puzzling. What exactly is it that’s making critics praise Jon Favreau and co. so heartily? Is it the brazen lead performance by the Great Robert Downey Jr.? Is it the convincing and not over-used visual effects? Because other than those two admirable qualities, Iron Man has very little else to offer.
The story is simple, in fact, you’ve seen it numerous other times in numerous other super-hero movies, many of which have done it much better.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a playboy arms dealer. He’s in Afghanistan to sell his newest weapon to the American military when his vehicle is ambushed and he’s captured by evil terrorists, who want him to build a missile for them. Instead of building the missile, he builds a robotic suit, in which he escapes and exterminates all the evil afghans. He returns home with a change of heart. He’s realized that the weapons he creates are ending up in the hands of the bad guys, and so he turns his back on the old design of his company and decides to create a fancier version of the suit which he created while captured. The only...

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