Genius billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is the largest manufacturer of military weaponry in the world. He is a merchant of death and destruction, none of which really bothers him all that much, his carefree lifestyle of booze, women and leisure (intermingled with time spent inventing new ways to kill people in his mansion laboratory) all that really matters to him.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark in Paramount Pictures' Iron Man

That changes after a trip to Afghanistan to showcase a new missile system becomes a frantic fight for survival. Captured by a ruthless band of insurgents and his heart injured to the point it requires electrical assistance in order to function Tony decides to take matters into his own hands, constructing an advanced suit of impenetrable armor helping to facilitate his escape.

Once back stateside, the wily inventor discovers a new purpose to his life pledging to protect the innocent and see to it that none of his lethal weaponry falls into the wrong hands. With trusted personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) seeing to his every need and best friend (and military liaison) Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) providing the all-clear, Tony takes to the sky ready to fight for justice in an even more advanced suit. But evil lurks closer then this so-called ‘Iron Man’ knows, and if he’s not careful it won’t be long until this superhero has an even more super fall – to his very death.

The new comic book adventure Iron Man welcomes in the Summer movie season with a giddy exuberance and whiz-bang glee it feels like the multiplex hasn’t seen in eons. For a good hour or so this new take on one of Marvel’s signature characters is a blissful delight, and for a while there I was certain I was in for a superhero treat along the lines of Batman Begins or X-Men 2.

Alas this early glee does not last, director Jon Favreau (Elf) and his cadre of writers unable to avoid many of the origin story clichés plaguing just about every other comic adaptation ever made. At a certain point the film doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with itself, meandering from action set piece to quirky character moment and back again with all the subtlety of a swift kick to the head. There is a rote, been there-done that quality that’s kind of annoying, and sad to say walking out of the theater I wasn’t exactly jumping up and down for joy.

And yet, I find myself eagerly anticipating a sequel. The stuff that works here really works, and there are times during the film I was so enraptured and intoxicated by the proceedings I could have cared less just how derivative much of it truly is. That early escape from the caves of Afghanistan is absolutely thrilling, while an entire sequence devoted to Tony trying master the mechanics of flight recalls the delirious child-like wonder director Richard Donner so rapturously evoked in Superman.

The real ace in the hole, however, is Robert Downey, Jr. The man was made to play Tony Stark. You believe the character from the very first second he enters the frame, the actor fearlessly making the self-centered womanizer a full-fledged human figure worthy of pity and disdain. That means when the man’s crisis of conscience hits you immediately buy it, the industrialist’s razor sharp sarcastic wit masking a deep-rooted pain crafted over decades of self-indulgently narcissistic behavior.

The rest of the cast does just fine, if not so much so you really remember them all that longer than the time it takes to walk outside of the theater. That said Jeff Bridges makes a great villain, his ED-209 to Downey, Jr.’s Robocop a crafty back-and-forth that kept me consistently amused. The underrated dramatic veteran appears to be having a field day here and his affection for both the character and the evil he’s inflicting is actually kind of infectious.

Otherwise there isn’t too much to say. I liked the movie, sometimes a lot; I just never fell in love with it in a way that had any lasting impact or import. Still, there is real potential here worth anticipating, the film’s final scene a mischievous grin filled with just enough crooked inspiration I couldn’t help but smile myself. None of which is meant to say that this inaugural adventure of Iron Man soars very high, but it does get off the ground and I guess, for this installment at least, that’s going to have to be enough.

Film Rating: êêê  (out of 4)

Additional Links:

-  Iron Man Theatrical Trailer