Review: Iron Man

Marvel found a winner in turning Iron Man into a movie. Unlike the comic flops of recent memory, the writers realized that an action movie is always better when it focuses on the story rather than the action and special effects. Aside from the ending action sequence, most of the special effects scenes are rather brief.

I was never a fan of the Iron Man comic books--I may have read one or two in the past, but I don't remember it that well. The movie is obviously updated, with a storyline involving terrorists in what appears to be Afghanistan. It opens with the life-altering situation for weapons developer Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). He realizes that his weapons aren't just used to protect his country, but also to attack it. There's significant opposition to Stark's plans of running a responsible corporation. His partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), marginalizes Stark's influence and continues some shady dealings all in the name of profits (doesn't sound so far fetched).

Iron Man is certainly an enjoyable movie. The performances from Downey, Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow were very good (I haven't watch a film with any of them in quite some time). There were some parts near the beginning that could probably have been cut to speed up the action without much effect on the story. The man who helps Stark in Afghanistan, Yinsen (Shaun Toub), is a great character, but is completely forgotten half way through the movie. The film runs 126 minutes, which is a little lengthy for an action movie.