Iron Man

"Iron Man"
Directed by Jon Favreau
Do you remember movies that set a standard for the Comic Book genre? (Well, we'll talk Marvel for our purposes. DC Comics is another topic for another day) Movies like "Spiderman," "X-Men," etc? You know movies that you left the theatre going, "That was so freakin' awesome!" You felt like you could be a superhero if afforded the right opportunities. Then the sequel was released so the studio could capitalize on the first one and you were wicked pumped for it and it was pretty good. But then the third one comes out and you're still excited because you feel like it should be better than the second, but you leave the theatre saying things like, "Brett Ratner did a disservice to that," or "Well, I thought Venom was cool for the five minutes he was in the film."
I say all that to say, WEE FREAKIN' HOO! "Iron Man," the first blockbuster of the summer, has brought the cool back to the genre. A fresh hero, fresh story, fresh franchise. I'm hard pressed to find something that I didn't like. The closest I can come is that they had to throw in a very brief sex romp. There's no nudity and I get that they are establishing the kind of man Tony Stark was before his change. But, as the father of a son, I of course see these things and go, "I get it, but can I distract my son for a few seconds so he can enjoy the rest of the 2 hour film that I know he'll love?"
Anyway, very non-offensive overall and that impresses me since too many times people seem to want to push the envelope too far. At any rate, Iron Man delivers and I was not in any way shape or form disappointed. Great story, great visuals, great writing (one liners and all), great acting (I love Downey Jr. in this role), great teaser at the end of the credits. All I'm saying is, "Ultimate Avengers?"
This is a film that I will make it a point to go back and see in the theatre and I will pre-order the special edition DVD when the time comes. So, Check Robert Downey Jr. out in this Jon Favreau film. You will not be sorry.